One man’s misfortune can be another’s golden opportunity. Or that’s what Joe Sealey had thought. With Tyler Kasak out of the starting Penn State wrestling lineup, the U17 world champ got his much-needed break for the team last Friday. However, his first two bouts in the 157lb bracket against Ohio and Illinois both proved to be underwhelming, considering Sealey’s massive potential. However, fans aren’t giving up on him just yet.

In his first match in the NLWC jersey, Joe Sealey was subdued by the Buckeyes’ Brandon Cannon by a 10-1 major decision. However, the wrestling community wasn’t on board with his loss to Illinois’ Jason Kraisser last Sunday. A controversial call by the match referee irked Penn State fans, who seem to believe the unfortunate back-to-back isn’t something to judge Sealey by.

The Penn State wrestling star lost by a hair’s breadth

Saturday Night Lights hit up X on February 16 to share snippets from the Class of 2024 star’s bout against Kraisser from the night. “#30 Jason Kraisser (Illinois) defeats Joe Sealey (Penn State) 2-0 with a riding time point after a no-takedown call in the final moments,” read the post’s caption, as it highlighted how the match official decided against awarding the match point to the No. 3 overall recruit.

With 15 seconds left on the clock, Sealey and the Illinois grad student were tied 1-1. But just five seconds later, Joe managed a slick move at the edge of the mat, which many felt was a takedown, and the Penn State freshman was ahead 4-1. But the hosts challenged the decision, and after a lengthy review, it proved to be a grim one for Cael Sanderson’s side.

Thanks to the Kraisser’s secured riding time, Illinois was awarded a 2-1 victory, despite the match referee initially giving the bout to Penn State after Sealey’s takedown. However, it was what it was. With the latest defeat, Joe now rides on a 0-2 record, not what you’d expect to see from an NLWC athlete. However, the community still doesn’t seem to agree that the call was beyond reproach. Even more so, they think Sealey shouldn’t be making things too hard on himself.

Fans show up in throngs to back the NLWC freshman

“Can’t believe they wiped Sealey’s TD,” Christian Pyles of FloWrsetling wrote on social media. Chaos also ensued in the comment section of the Saturday Night Lights post, as fans firmly believed that the ref should have just stuck with his initial gut feeling and announced the Penn State wrestler as the winner of the bout. “Absolutely horrendous call!” one fan thrashed the match official’s decision.

The NLWC has been dominating the 157lb bracket with Tyler Kasak leading the charge in the weight class this season. But his head injury during February 9’s clash against Maryland worried fans and opened the flood gates for Sealey to make his mark. But while the true freshman is yet to register a win, the community seemed sure that the much-awaited first win was to happen on Sunday, if it wasn’t for the dubious call. “It was 2-1. IT WAS A TAKEDOWN,” one more wrestling loyalist was in favor of awarding the bout to Penn State. “In person, terrible call, big screen did not lie,” a second fan backed up the sentiment and proclaimed Sealey’s victory.

Nittany Sports Now’s Joe Smeltzer took to X to learn the general consensus on the fiasco, ‘Penn State wrestling fans, what have your impressions been of Joe Sealey through his first two college matches? Let me hear them..’ to which the majority of opinions matched this, “I think he’s going to be a star. Dude is a true freshman coming off the bench in one of the most athletic weight classes in NCAA wrestling and holding his own,” one fan said flatly about why Joe Sealey is on the fast track to be a future Penn State stalwart.

Another placed their trust in the legendary HC of Penn State, who has almost never let the team down with his insights and wisdom. “We’ve seen our freshman struggle many times before this. Trust Cael and co.,” reads the comment. Are you also a firm believer in Cael Sanderson’s abilities to develop stars? Do you think Joe Sealey will find his footing soon? Tell us your predictions about the athlete’s possible future below!