A few of the notable PSU wrestlers were absent from the UWW Junior Nationals in Las Vegas. The Lions didn’t have Bo Nickal, Jason Nolf or Anthony Cassar in the mix then, but those three plus Vincenzo Joseph have registered for the Junior World Team Trials this weekend in Dallas, Texas.

At 74kg Vincenzo Joseph impressed when he knocked off Anthony Valencia and Joe Smith last month.  He will be challenged by those competitors as well as his teammate Jason Nolf.  Everyone in this bracket is looking up at Mark Hall, who made the team a year ago and is coming off the 74kg title a month ago.  Oh yeah, he’ll be heading to Penn State too. Watch all of the action live here. 

'Cenzo's pin over Valencia


Anthony Cassar will provide a definite boost to the 96kg field.  Cassar, who made the Junior World Team last year at this weight, was out of the lineup for Penn State this year.  Reports are he’s back and healthy and looking outstanding.  Cassar had a brutal shoulder injury at Junior Worlds last year.  Jacob Seely of Northern Colorado won UWW Nationals last month.  Should Cassar win the challenge bracket, he’d be facing Seely in the best two out of three finals.

Cassar looked strong in early action at Junior World's.

A notable omission is Nick Nevills.  The PSU big man injured his pectoral muscle early last year.  When Nevills returned late in the season, it appeared he still wasn’t quite clicking on all cylinders.  It is likely Nevills is staying back to continue recovering and prepare for the upcoming season.

In 2014, Bo Nickal impressed at Junior World Team Trials downing NCAA 4th placer Jack Dechow, and then pushed Gabe Dean