‘He’s just lights out’: How freshman Aaron Brooks’ Big Ten title run impressed teammate Mark Hall
Penn State wrestling came away from the 2020 Big Ten championships on Sunday at the Rutgers Athletic Center with two champions — each on opposite ends of their collegiate careers.
One, senior Mark Hall, is nearing the end of his, with three individual Big Ten titles and an NCAA title to his name. The other, freshman Aaron Brooks, is just at the beginning.
The two started out their careers similarly, both as highly touted recruits — Hall as FloWrestling’s top pound-for-pound wrestler in 2016 and Brooks as No. 2 in 2018 — and both were pulled out of redshirt partway through their freshman seasons.
But Hall believes there’s a difference.
“I think he’s better than I was my freshman year,” the senior said after his 8-5 finals win over Iowa’s Michael Kemerer. “He’s going to be the man and he’s going to continue to be the man for years to come.”
That’s high praise, coming from a true freshman national champ, but so far the 2020 Big Ten Freshman of the Year has looked the part, demonstrating the poise of a seasoned veteran throughout the tournament.
Tied at 1 apiece after a quick escape to start the third period in his finals match against Michigan State’s Cam Caffey, Brooks kept up his relentless offense, shooting until he finally connected on a counter-takedown with just 15 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
“He’s a calm kid and he has a big-picture perspective which is helpful,” coach Cael Sanderson said. “He’s a competitor and that’s what we’ve seen, the bigger the match, the better he wrestles.”
His calmness under pressure was also on display in his first two matches. Up by two heading into the final period of his first-round bout against Minnesota’s Owen Webster, Brooks hit his stride and unleashed five takedowns, rolling to a 15-4 major decision. When Nebraska’s Taylor Venz had the freshman on his briefly on his back, Brooks was able to get out without giving up any back points. Unfazed by the close call, Brooks pinned the junior in four minutes, avenging his only loss of the season.
Brooks’ performance was enough to make even as an accomplished teammate as Hall a bit envious.
“Wrestling in this type of atmosphere, he’s just lights out,” Hall said. “That guy from Michigan State is a very good opponent so it’s just like, keep going to his attacks over and over and being relentless. It’s amazing that he’s able to do stuff like that. I wish that I had that type of mentality.”
Brooks, however, is trying not to dwell too much on his success this weekend, becoming the first Penn State freshman to win a Big Ten title since Bo Nickal did it in 2016, and the first true freshman accomplish the feat in program history.
He knows the season isn’t over yet.
“I’m feeling really good. I’m confident in my wrestling. 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, along with six of his teammates, will travel to Minneapolis in two weeks to compete in the NCAA championships. There, Brooks will look to join Hall and fellow teammate Vincenzo Joseph and become just the third Nittany Lion to win a national title as a freshman.
Brooks’ success in Minneapolis will also likely be key to the Nittany Lions’ chances of overcoming the Big Ten champion Hawkeyes to win their fifth straight national title — just like in 2017, when then-freshman Hall, along with Joseph, stepped up to help lift the Nittany Lions over that year’s conference champ, Ohio State.
As the sun is beginning to set on Hall’s illustrious career, Nittany Lion wrestling fans will have three more years to watch Brooks’ career unfold and to see what heights he can reach. With his first Big Ten title already under his belt, Brooks has already turned his attention to winning a national championship.
And for his part, Hall his looking forward to it.
“I excited for him and his last tournament of the year,” Hall said.
