Aaron Brooks leans on faith, staying present to lead successful Penn State wrestling squad
Faith can be a touchy subject matter when it comes up in conversations.
But when it comes to many of Penn State’s wrestlers, they speak freely and openly about their faith in God and Jesus Christ.
For some people, it can come off weird, but for fellow believers, it is a sign of strength.
Aaron Brooks loves every chance he gets to talk about his faith. After winning his most recent NCAA title, he fell to his knees in the middle of the mat and pointed to the heavens. It’s just one of the many ways wrestling allows him to express his faith.
“I’ve been blessed with a platform, to go out there and compete on a big level (at) Penn State,” he said earlier this week, “but I’ve also been blessed with being a leader on this team. ... It’s really important for me to make sure I’m doing the right things in everything I’m doing. No one’s perfect, but when God calls me, and reminds me, how high my calling is and how much of an influence I have on everyone around me, I take it seriously.”
Following a calling
Brooks has been a leader on the mat for the Nittany Lions a lot. He holds a career mark of 51-2 and is a two-time Big Ten champion.
Since high school, Brooks has only lost four matches. At the age of 22, he is one of the older guys in the lineup on such a young squad. He got his start in wrestling roughly 17 years ago — a path he felt was destined for — during a visit to a family friend’s house.
“I saw like a picture of her son and he was with the wrestling team,” Brooks said. “I asked my dad, ‘What is this?’ He’s like, ‘it’s not WWE, it’s real wrestling.’ I was like, ‘Alright, sign me up.’
“Like I said, it was just God. I was supposed to wrestle. I fully believe that’s my calling. It is one of the things I was meant to do, just come wrestle. It doesn’t last forever. I’m not a wrestler, I wrestle, but it found me.”
Everyone knows he is the two-time defending NCAA champion, and could quite possibly be a three-time champion at the end of this season. If it wasn’t for the COVID-19 pandemic, Brooks might already have that distinction and be going for his fourth this year.
His freshman season — which started as a redshirt year, but he later had the redshirt removed — got cut short. It ended at the Big Ten Championships as the NCAA canceled the wrestling championships that season as the pandemic took hold.
But Brooks said he isn’t worried about the past or the future. All he thinks about is the now.
“I just wanted to be present. I think in life in general, a lot of times we can get caught up in the future and the past,” he said. “If I’m present, I see what’s coming, whether it’s wrestling or a friend that needs help. God’s been showing me what true peace is and what things I really seek. Like I said, being present is a big blessing.
“Growing up in high school, first couple years in college, that’s something that you don’t realize is a big blessing. You go out there, you kind of have expectations (from) the world, coaches, fans, media, and you’re not present, you’re focused on other things. He (God) shows me that, so I want to take it to the next level.”
Being present, setting goals
For Brooks, being present has meant wrestling just two matches so far this season. It was his first set of action since claiming his second NCAA crown.
His first match was a 24-9 technical fall over Lock Haven’s Colin Fegley in 6:32 of wrestling. His second action came last Tuesday in the NWCA All-Star Classic, where he took on Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen.
Brooks claimed his eighth win against Keckeisen to remain perfect in his collegiate career against the Panthers’ wrestler in a 12-8 win.
“It was good to see that he made good progress. He looked great. His shots looked good,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said earlier this week. “There’s always little things he can improve on. He knows about it. He’s not a guy that’s ever going to be satisfied with where he’s at. His goal is to to win the NCAA Tournament, of course, but he wants to be a world and Olympic champion. If you’re going to do that, you got to continue to show some progress. He’s shown that, so that’s a good sign.”
As much as Brooks doesn’t worry or think about the future, he still has goals for life after wrestling. He has one more year of collegiate wrestling after this season, if he’d like to take it.
And as for his life after wrestling, Brooks said it all depends on what God calls him to do.
“I’ve been blessed with a lot outside of wrestling. A lot of people see the wrestling,” he explained, “but I got a big heart that I got to protect, so whether that’s giving back to my community, being a coach, opening up homeless shelters, all these things, so whatever speaks to me. However God speaks to me, is where I’ll go. I don’t want to put it in my own hands. Then, I’m holding myself accountable, when I shouldn’t be, and expecting things that might not be for me at all. I could be chasing the wrong things. But, Olympic aspirations for sure, God willing.”
No. 1 Penn State (1-0) at Rider (2-0)
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday
Where: CURE Insurance Arena, Trenton, NJ
Radio: WRSC (93.3 FM) or WQWK (103.7 FM)
Online: Radio, Lionvision at GoPSUsports.com; Video, FloWrestling (paid subscription)
Twitter: @byncobler, @pennstatewrest
| Nittany Lions | vs. | Broncs |
| 125: Gary Steen (3-2) | vs. | Tyler Klinsky (7-5) |
| 133: No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young (1-0) | vs. | Richie Koehler (4-3) |
| 141: No. 9 Beau Bartlett (5-0) | vs. | McKenzie Bell (9-3) |
| 149: No. 20 Shayne Van Ness (4-0) | vs. | No. 24 Quinn Kinner (9-2) |
| 157: No. 30 Terrell Barraclough (4-1) | vs. | Jake Silverstein (1-3) OR Colton Washleski (4-5) |
| 165: No. 17 Alex Facundo (4-0) | vs. | Hunter Mays (10-4) |
| 174: No. 1 Carter Starocci (1-0) | vs. | Shane Reitsma (3-1) OR Michael Wilson (7-6) |
| 184: No. 1 Aaron Brooks (1-0) | vs. | Asa Terrell (0-6) |
| 197: No. 1 Max Dean (5-0) | vs. | No. 12 Ethan Laird (8-0) |
| 285: No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet (1-0) | vs. | David Szuba (7-4) |
No. 1 Penn State (1-0) at No. 17 Lehigh (3-2)
When: Sunday, 2 p.m.
Where: Stabler Arena, Bethlehem
Radio: WRSC (93.3 FM) or WQWK (103.7 FM)
Online: Radio, Lionvision at GoPSUsports.com; Video, FloWrestling (paid subscription)
Twitter: @byncobler, @pennstatewrest
| Nittany Lions | vs. | Mountain Hawks |
| 125: Gary Steen (3-2) | vs. | No. 26 Carter Bailey (2-3) OR Jaret Lane (2-0) |
| 133: No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young (1-0) | vs. | No. 19 Connor McGonagle (4-1) |
| 141: No. 9 Beau Bartlett (5-0) | vs. | Malyke Hines (1-3) |
| 149: No. 20 Shayne Van Ness (4-0) | vs. | No. 26 Manzona Bryant IV (0-2) OR Max Brignola (3-0) |
| 157: No. 30 Terrell Barraclough (4-1) | vs. | No. 8 Josh Humphreys (5-0) |
| 165: No. 17 Alex Facundo (4-0) | vs. | Brian Meyer (1-4) |
| 174: No. 1 Carter Starocci (1-0) | vs. | Jake Logan (2-3) |
| 184: No. 1 Aaron Brooks (1-0) | vs. | No. 22 Tate Samuelson (2-3) |
| 197: No. 1 Max Dean (5-0) | vs. | No. 9 Michael Beard (4-1) |
| 285: No. 2 Greg Kerkvliet (1-0) | vs. | No. 22 Nathan Taylor (2-2) |
This story was originally published December 1, 2022 at 10:42 AM with the headline "Aaron Brooks leans on faith, staying present to lead successful Penn State wrestling squad."
