Penn State wrestling at the NCAA Championships: Two Lions to enter transfer portal?
PHILADELPHIA − As Penn State wrestling continues its quest for a record-setting NCAA Championships it appears that it will be losing two members of its team.
Promising middleweight Alex Facundo and backup lightweight Gary Steen will be entering the transfer portal and leaving Penn State, first reported by national wresting insider Justin Basch of the BaschAMania podcast. The NCAA wrestling transfer portal closes on May 2.
Neither wrestler saw much action this past season for the Nittany Lions.
Facundo, a redshirt sophomore, was a PSU starter two years ago at 165 pounds, going 19-6 but losing both of his NCAA Championships matches. He took an Olympic redshirt last year. He moved down to 157 pounds this season but quickly lost the starting spot to sophomore Tyler Kasak, who is ranked No. 1 in the nation and won both of his preliminary matches here on Thursday.
Facundo owns a 34-10 career record at Penn State, including a 5-0 mark this season.
Steen, a junior, started most of the 2022-23 season at 125 pounds. However, he's seen little dual meet action ever since, even after a move to 133 pounds. He appears to finish his PSU career with a 19-25 record, 3-3 this season.
Penn State, which went a stunning 20-0 in Thursday's opening of these NCAA Championships, will return its starters next season at 125 pounds (Luke Lilledahl), 133 (Braeden Davis), 149 (Shayne Van Ness), 157 (Kasak) and 165 pounds (Mitchell Mesenbrink).
Penn State sends all 10 of its starters to today's NCAA quarterfinals for the first time in school history. It comfortably leads the team points with 39.5 over second-place Nebraska (28), Oklahoma State (27) and the rest of the field.
The Lions, incredibly enough, gave up only one takedown through the entire opening two sessions on Thursday − that coming in the first match.
One of the key quarterfinal matches for PSU on Friday features Davis (14-5 this season) against Illinois' Lucas Byrd, the tournament's No. 1 seed at 133 pounds.
Another is freshman Josh Barr, who overcame a leg injury, then concussion protocol, to win both of his 197-pound matches on Thursday, the second in overtime. He'll now face former Lehigh's Michael Beard, who started his career at Penn State.
Frank Bodani covers Penn State wrestling for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at fbodani@ydr.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Penn State wrestling report: Alex Facundo to enter NCAA transfer portal
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