Penn State Wrestling: Alex Facundo Shuts out Levi Haines

UNIVERSITY PARK– Freestyle wrestling presents Penn State wrestling fans with a chance to see PSU vs. PSU matchups.

The first one of this weekend’s US Olympic Trials– which happen to take place in the Bryce Jordan Center– was Levi Haines taking on Alex Facundo at 74 KG.

Haines is the reigning and two-time defending runner-up at 157 pounds and Facundo didn’t wrestle at all this season, opting for an Olympic redshirt.

Based on that, many probably would have expected Haines to win. Instead, Facundo came out on top 6-0. This is an encouraging sign for Penn State wrestling. Facundo figures to be in the starting lineup next season at 174 pounds, owning a slight weight advantage over Haines, who could move up to 165. 

Carter Starocci has been Penn State’s man at 174, winning the last four national titles. But the odds are that Starocci will either be done with college wrestling or move up in weight class based on a recent interview he did with FloWrestling.

Starocci beat Patrick Downey, 10-4 in his first match at 86 KG.