Penn State sends 8 wrestlers into Big Ten semis with chance to lock up team title
(Note: You can find the most updated Saturday story, which also includes the evening’s second session, right here.)
The postseason is finally here for Penn State wrestlers as the Big Ten championships got underway Saturday inside Williams Arena.
After the first session was completed, the Nittany Lions have nine of their 10 wrestlers still alive with eight in the semifinals. Seven of those eight wrestlers also secured their spots in the NCAA championships in two weeks in Pittsburgh.
It was a slow start to the day as only four wrestlers had preliminary matches. Penn State went 3-for-4 in those bouts but continued the momentum into the quarterfinals.
The Nittany Lions hold the team lead with 77 points. They are 23 points ahead of the host school of Minnesota, which is currently in second place. It is quite possible that Penn State could lock up the team race Saturday night.
Wrestling resumes in Saturday’s second session at 7 p.m. In the meantime, here’s a look at how each wrestler did in the first session:
125 Pounds: Devin Schnupp
Record after session: 0-2
Current round: Ninth-Place Bracket
Recap: Schnupp came out in his preliminary match against Illinois’ Travis Piotrowski by shooting and looking for the first takedown. However, Schnupp was at the edge of the mat on that first shot. It was the final good action of the mat for the Nittany Lions wrestler.
Piotrowski snapped off multiple takedowns and collected near-fall points on way to a 17-0 technical fall in 4:39.
The day didn’t get much better for Schnupp.
He was unable to get anything going against Rutgers’ Shane Metzler in a 6-1 loss. Schnupp is still alive though as he will be in a six-man bracket for the ninth and final automatic spot for the Big Ten.
133 Pounds: Roman Bravo-Young
Record after session: 1-1
Current round: Consolation second round
Recap: Bravo-Young looked like the wrestler that began the season for Penn State and not like the wrestler coming off an injury.
He was quick and light on his feet, rattling off three first-period takedowns. The true freshman continued to push the pace and rolled to an 18-5 major decision in his Big Ten championships debut.
Bravo-Young got a rematch with Ohio State’s Luke Pletcher in the quarterfinals. Pletcher dropped the duo’s first match in the dual at the beginning of February, 2-1, in ultimate tie breaker.
This time around, they didn’t go that far and the result was different for Bravo-Young. The Buckeye recorded the first takedown in the match as Bravo-Young trailed 6-3 after two periods. The Penn State wrestler then got an escape in the third period to get within two, but a counter takedown from Pletcher proved to be the winner in an 8-5 OSU victory.
Bravo-Young needs at least one more win to secure his spot in the national championships.
141 Pounds: Nick Lee
Record after session: 1-0
Current round: Semifinals
Recap: Lee was one of six wrestlers to only have one match during the first session for the Nittany Lions.
Lee quickly raced out to a 4-2 lead on Iowa’s Max Murin. Murin added an escape in the second period to give Lee a one-point lead to start the third.
Lee recorded four points in the third period but got some help. Murin gave up an interlock point; Lee collected an escape and takedown to win 8-3.
149 Pounds: Brady Berge
Record after session: 2-0
Current round: Semifinals
Recap: Berge had one of the more exciting first sessions for the Nittany Lions in his Big Ten championships debut.
He didn’t seem to have any trouble with his preliminary opponent in Purdue’s Parker Filius. Berge earned a 12-3 major decision.
In the quarterfinals, he picked up his second win of the season over a guy ranked in the top 10 in Iowa’s Pat Lugo.
The pair went to sudden victory after trading escapes in the second and third periods. They went through a pair of ultimate tiebreaker periods tied 2-2 after each escaping in the periods.
In the second sudden victory period, Berge got off a counter takedown on Lugo with 31 seconds left for a 4-2 win. The win secured Berge’s spot in the NCAA championships as he can finish no lower than sixth.
157 Pounds: Jason Nolf
Record after session: 1-0
Current round: Semifinals
Recap: It was no surprise to see Nolf in this position.
He proved why he is the No. 1 seed and No. 1 guy in the country. Nolf also began a string of five straight bouts where Penn State wrestlers secured bonus points.
The senior worked up to a 6-2 lead before cradling up Illinois’ Eric Barone. Nolf finished off his work with a pin in 2:13.
165 Pounds: Vincenzo Joseph
Record after session: 1-0
Current round: Semifinals
Recap: Joseph came out in the first period against Illinois’ Joseph Gunther like a man possessed.
The redshirt junior rattled off five first-period takedowns to jump out to a 10-4 lead. In the second period, he added another five points with two more takedowns involved.
In the third period, Joseph collected four near-fall points and a bout-finishing takedown for a 21-6 technical fall in 5:59. He finished with eight takedowns.
174 Pounds: Mark Hall
Record after session: 1-0
Current round: Semifinals
Recap: Hall kept the bonus-point parade rolling for Penn State in his home state.
He was leading 6-3 on Michigan State’s Drew Hughes. The fourth takedown that Hall scored was the last points of the match.
He bundled up Hughes’ arms, threw him to the mat and pinned him in 2:38.
184 Pounds: Shakur Rasheed
Record after session: 1-0
Current round: Semifinals
Recap: Rasheed followed up Hall with a fall of his own.
The senior sported the bulky knee brace still on his right leg, but it didn’t seem to faze him against Michigan State’s Cameron Caffey.
Rasheed raced out to a 9-0 first-period lead, and Caffey chose netural to start the second. Rasheed made him pay with a takedown into a cradle, and the fall in 5:17.
197 Pounds: Bo Nickal
Record after session: 1-0
Current round: Semifinals
Recap: Nickal is the lone semifinalist to not secure a spot to the NCAA championships. At least not yet.
The 197-pound weight class only gets five automatic qualifiers, so if Nickal were to lose his next three matches, he would finish sixth.
Obviously, that’s probably not going to happen.
As for Nickal’s lone match of the session, he cruised to a 19-4 technical fall in 5:34 over Michigan State’s Brad Wilton. Nickal had six takedowns and two sets of near-fall points.
285 Pounds: Anthony Cassar
Record after session: 2-0
Current round: Semifinals
Recap: Cassar scored a total of 20 points in the first session.
He didn’t seem caught off-guard by the big stage in his first Big Ten championships. He was dominant in a 12-4 major decision over Purdue’s Jacob Aven.
In the quarterfinals, Cassar took on Nebraska’ David Jensen, whom he beat in the dual in the middle of January, 10-4. Well, Jensen again scored four points, but Cassar came up just short of the 10 in an 8-4 win.
Big Ten Championships
Friday at Minneapolis
Team key: Illinois (Ill.), Indiana (Ind.), Iowa (I), Maryland (MD), Michigan (M), Michigan State (MSU), Minnesota (Minn.), Nebraska (Neb.), Northwestern (N), Ohio State (OSU), Penn State (PSU), Purdue (P), Wisconsin (W)
Team scores: 1. Penn State 77, 2. Minnesota 54, 3. Ohio State 53.5, T4. Michigan 47, T4. Nebraska 47, 6. Iowa 42, 7. Wisconsin 31.5, 8. Rutgers 24.5, 9. Northwestern 20, 10. Michigan State 17
Quarterfinals
133: Luke Pletcher, OSU, dec. Roman Bravo-Young, PSU, 8-5; 141: Lee, PSU, dec. Max Murin, I, 8-3; 149: Berge, PSU, dec. Pat Lugo, I, 4-2 (SV2); 157: Nolf, PSU, pinned Eric Barone, Ill., 2:13; 165: Joseph, PSU, tech. fall Joseph Gunther, Ill., 21-6 (5:59); 174: Hall, pinned Drew Hughes, MSU, 2:38; 184: Rasheed, PSU, pinned Cameron Caffey, MSU, 5:17; 197: Nickal, PSU, tech. fall Brad Wilton, MSU, 19-4 (5:34); 285: Cassar, PSU, dec. David Jensen, Neb., 8-4
Consolation First Round
125: Shane Metzler, R, dec. Devin Schnupp, PSU, 6-1
Preliminaries
125: Travis Piotrowski, Ill., tech. fall Schnupp, PSU, 17-0 (4:39); 133: Bravo-Young, PSU, major dec. Jevon Parrish, Neb., 18-3; 149: Berge, PSU, major dec. Parker Filius, P, 12-3; 285: Cassar, PSU, major dec. Jacob Aven, P, 12-4
This story was originally published March 9, 2019 at 5:01 PM.
