Nittany Lions’ Mark Hall and Aaron Brooks claim Big Ten wrestling titles
The second day of the Big Ten wrestling championships was not very kind to Penn State.
The Nittany Lions had five finalists and only two won. Mark Hall and Aaron Brooks were those lone champions for Penn State, which will have seven wrestlers at the NCAA Championships in two weeks.
Penn State finished fourth in the team race, which is the lowest since the 2015 Big Ten Championships where they finished fifth. The Nittany Lions finished with 107 points.
“It wasn’t a great day. Obviously, the guys wrestled hard and we can wrestle better,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said. “I think we will in a week and a half.”
Iowa won the team title, going away with 157.5 points. They were 25.5 points ahead of Nebraska, which finished second.
Ohio State rounded out the top three with 112 points. Purdue finished fifth with 83 points.
“Iowa, Nebraska and Ohio State wrestled a great tournament … I think we were 4,” Sanderson said. “It’s a great conference with a lot of great wrestlers and great teams and coaches … let’s see what we can do and come back with some fire (in a week and a half).”
Here’s a look at how each wrestler stands heading into the NCAA Championships:
174 Pounds: Mark Hall
Tournament record: 3-0
Finish: 1st
Recap: It wasn’t easy for Hall to collect his third Big Ten title, but he was able to pull it off.
He came out on the winning end of a scramble in the first period for a takedown. However, Hall was unable to keep Iowa’s Michael Kemerer from escaping in the same frame.
Hall led 2-1 to start the second and that’s when he blew open an even bigger lead. After escaping to start the period, Hall caught Kemerer in the danger position for two points and finished off a takedown.
“I definitely feel like he could have bailed, I had his arm,” Hall said of catching Kemerer in danger. “I had a good position and I just wrestled through it. Maybe he didn’t hear it (the referee’s count). Maybe I did have his hand or something, but it’s just wrestling.”
Kemerer escaped, but trailed 7-2 after two periods of wrestling.
In the third, Hall seemed to relax a little bit and Kemerer was able to get within 8-5, but couldn’t get any closer.
“With the rules the way they are now, if you can hold them on their back, you can get guys and beat them in scrambles,” Sanderson said. “He did a nice job, that’s a tough match and very likely a national championship final match, in a couple weeks. I’m happy for Mark.”
184 Pounds: Aaron Brooks
Tournament record: 3-0
Finish: 1st
Recap: Brooks is wrestling with a lot of confidence right now and it led to him winning his first Big Ten title.
“I’m feeling really good. I’m just staying humble and getting better every day,” Brooks said. “It’s fun to win, but I know I still have the biggest event of the year coming up.”
Brooks became the first freshman to claim a Big Ten title since Bo Nickal in 2016, which was his redshirt freshman campaign. Brooks was named the conference’s most Outstanding Freshman for his season so far.
For Brooks, winning his first Big Ten title feels like a coming out party.
“It’s rewarding. It’s the next big level, so freshman in college, it lets them know I’m here,” he said.
The true freshman took on Michigan State’s Cam Caffey and trailed 1-0 after two periods of wrestling. In the third period, he picked up an escape three seconds into the frame to be tied 1-1.
With 20 seconds remaining, Brooks countered a Caffey takedown for a score of his own. It was the winning points in a 3-2 victory.
“He had a really good game plan. A lot of guys this time of year are scouting,” Brooks said. “Scouting is good, but you got to reach the right flow.”
133 Pounds: Roman Bravo-Young
Tournament record: 2-1
Finish: 2nd
Recap: Bravo-Young took on Northwestern’s Sebastian Rivera in the finals, and looked good from the start.
RBY ripped off a takedown 15 seconds into the match, but Rivera was able to escape. It was 2-1 RBY after one period.
Those two points that Bravo-Young scored would be the lone of the match as Rivera took control from there.
Rivera collected an escape and a takedown with 11 seconds left in the second period to lead 4-2 after two periods of wrestling. In the third period, Rivera put a strong ride on RBY, keeping him from escaping. Rivera even got two near-fall points and tacked on a riding time point for the 7-2 win.
“I think Rivera is really good. I think Roman can beat anybody,” Sanderson said. “He just has to be himself a little bit more. He had some really beautiful attacks. He just needs to fire a couple more of those off.”
141 Pounds: Nick Lee
Tournament record: 2-1
Finish: 2nd
Recap: Lee was in a perfect spot to claim his first Big Ten title as he took on Ohio State’s Luke Pletcher, who he beat earlier in the year.
However, Pletcher had other plans, by coming out and scoring the match’s first points with a takedown. Lee escaped and added a takedown of his own with 1:12 left. Pletcher escaped and it was 3-3 after one period.
Pletcher’s escape in the second period were the lone points. In the third period, Lee escaped five seconds into the period and it was tied up.
Pletcher secured a counter takedown of Lee with 50 seconds remaining. Lee escaped immediately, but was unable to score any other points in the 6-5 loss.
“Pletcher’s a great wrestler. He’s strong, solid, quick and has great positioning,” Sanderson said. “It’s one of the guys Nick’s got to beat if he wants to be a national champion.”
165 Pounds: Vincenzo Joseph
Tournament record: 2-1
Finish: 2nd
Recap: Joseph just can’t seem to give over the hump in the Big Ten Championships.
He has been in the final three times now, and again he had his shot ripped away from him by Iowa’s Alex Marinelli.
Joseph was in on a deep double leg one minute into the bout, but Marinelli shrug off the shot. A Marinelli escape in the second period was the lone points as the pair looked for an opening.
Joseph earned an escape 10 seconds into the final period to lock it up at 1-1. With 10 seconds remaining and the pair in an upper body lock, Marinelli dropped down for a low single. He finished it off to keep Joseph from ever winning a Big Ten Championship.
“I thought Cenzo wrestled really well, he just lost to a tough guy,” Sanderson said. “I think we lost to guys, who they could very likely be wrestling in the national finals, so they just have to stay positive and focus on Minneapolis.”
197 Pounds: Shakur Rasheed
Tournament record: 2-2
Finish: 4th
Recap: Rasheed had an unusual start to the day. He was expecting to wrestle in the first session on Sunday afternoon.
However, his opponent Purdue’s Christian Brunner medical forfeited, sending Rasheed to the third-place match.
Rasheed took on Iowa’s Jacob Warner for third place but was trailing 4-1 early in the match as Warner tallied two quick takedowns. On the second takedown attempt, Rasheed looked to land awkwardly on Warner’s hands in his rib area.
Rasheed attempted to finish out the match, but as the first period ended, Sanderson and Co. threw in the towel.
“He just wasn’t moving. I mean if he can’t defend himself,” Sanderson said, “especially in that match, when he’s already qualified for the nationals, it doesn’t make any sense to just let him put himself in a vulnerable spot there.”
149 Pounds: Jarod Verkeleeren
Tournament record: 2-2
Finish: 9th
Recap: Verkleeren came into the Big Ten Championships on Sunday morning just one win to secure his NCAA ticket.
He took on Northwestern’s Yahya Thomas in the ninth-place bracket semifinals, as the Big Ten is getting 10 automatic qualifiers to the NCAA Championships.
Thomas beat Verkleeren in the first round on Saturday morning, so Verkleeren had a tall task ahead of him. A takedown with 29 seconds remaining in the second period handed the Nittany Lions’ wrestler a 3-2 lead after two periods.
A stall against Verkleeren and an escape for Thomas were Thomas’ points in the second period. Neither got anything going in the third period as Verkleeren added a riding time point for a 4-2 win.
Verkleeren continued his momentum into the ninth-place match against Indiana’s Graham Rooks. Verkleeren secured two takedowns, amassed 1:40 in riding time for a 6-4 win.
Big Ten Championships
Saturday at Piscataway, NJ
Team key: Illinois (Ill.), Indiana (Ind.), Iowa (I), Maryland (M), Michigan (Mich.), Michigan State (MSU), Minnesota (Minn.), Nebraska (Neb.), Northwestern (N), Ohio State (OSU), Penn State (PSU), Purdue (P), Rutgers (R), Wisconsin (W)
Team scores: 1. Iowa 157.5, 2. Nebraska 132, 3. Ohio State 112, 4. Penn State 107, 5. Purdue 83, 6. Northwestern 79.5, 7. Michigan 73, 8. Minnesota 63.5, 9. Wisconsin 62.5, 10. Michigan State 57
Finals
125: Spencer Lee, I, major dec. Devin Schroder, P, 16-2; 133: Sebastian Rivera, N, dec. Roman Bravo-Young, PSU, 7-2; 141: Luke Pletcher, OSU, dec. Nick Lee, PSU, 6-5; 149: Pat Lugo, I, dec. Sammy Sasso, OSU, 2-1; 157: Ryan Deakin, N, dec. Kendall Coleman, P, 7-2; 165: Alex Marinelli, I, dec. Vincenzo Joseph, PSU, 3-2; 174: Mark Hall, PSU, dec. Michael Kemerer, I, 8-5; 184: Aaron Brooks, PSU, dec. Cam Caffey, MSU, 3-2; 197: Kollin Moore, OSU, dec. Eric Schultz, Neb., 4-1; 285: Gable Steveson, Minn., dec. Mason Parris, Mich., 8-6
Third-Place Match
197: Jacob Warner, I, def. Shakur Rasheed, PSU, med. forfeit
Ninth-Place Match
149: Jarod Verkleeren, PSU, dec. Graham Rooks, Ind., 6-4
Consolation semifinals
197: Rasheed, PSU, def. Christian Brunner, P, med. forfeit
Ninth-Place Bracket Semifinals
149: Verkleeren, PSU, dec. Yahya Thomas, N, 4-2
This story was originally published March 8, 2020 at 7:36 PM.
