Beau Bartlett and Greg Kerkvliet set to wrestle for Penn State at Big Ten championships
It’s official. Penn State wrestling knows who it’s taking to the Big Ten Championships this weekend (Hint: it’s a lot of freshmen).
Penn State coach Cael Sanderson cleared up two of the biggest question marks Tuesday morning when he confirmed true freshman Beau Bartlett will take the mat at 149 pounds for the NIttany Lions and redshirt freshman Greg Kerkvliet will go at heavyweight.
“They’re excited to compete,” Sanderson said.
Penn State then sent out its notes for the weekend, confirming the rest of the lineup. In all, six freshmen, as well as one sophomore, will be taking the mat at the Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday and Sunday for a total of seven underclassmen.
Making their Big Ten Championships debuts will be freshmen Robert Howard (125 pounds), Bartlett (149), Joe Lee (165), Carter Starocci (175), Michael Beard (197) and Kerkvliet (285). Sophomore Aaron Brooks will look to defend his conference title at 184 pounds, and veterans Roman Bravo-Young (133), Nick Lee (141) and Brady Berge (157) will all be on the hunt for their first titles..
“We’ve got some competitors that are freshmen,” senior Nick Lee said. “I mean these guys are having a lot of fun in the room. They bring a lot of energy. They motivate me, most days, probably not even the other way around. And I’m just really excited for them.”
While there weren’t many question marks about Penn State’s lineup, 149 and heavyweight still remained up in the air until Sanderson confirmed Tuesday. Both Bartlett and Kerkvliet entered the Nittany Lions’ starting lineups late in the season, with Bartlett making his debut Feb. 19 against Ohio State, and Kerkvliet in Penn State’s final dual of the season on Feb. 22 vs. Maryland.
Bartlett — who is ranked No. 10 at 149 pounds by InterMat — made his dual debut against Ohio State’s No. 2-ranked Sammy Sasso, who he lost to by decision, 5-3. That’s been his only loss this season in eight matches as a Nittany Lion on his way to a 7-1 record.
Kerkvliet — who is ranked No. 6 at heavyweight by InterMat — originally enrolled at Ohio State out of high school, but transferred to Penn State last season after entering the NCAA transfer portal. He was expected to start at heavyweight for the Nittany Lions this season, but had been “unavailable,” according to Sanderson. He recorded two pins in his surprise debut against Maryland.
His 2-0 record will be put to the test against some of the best heavyweights in the country this weekend with InterMat’s top three at the weight class — Minnesota’s Gable Steveson, Michigan’s Mason Parris and Iowa’s Tony Cassioppi — all in the Big Ten.
Even with the high level of competition, Sanderson expects the redshirt freshman to be ready.
“I think he brings a lot of energy to the team,” Sanderson said. “He loves to compete. He’s smiling and laughing before practice. I think that alone is very powerful. Obviously he’s very talented and he’s had a lot of success, even at the senior level. He wants to be a national champion and we think he’s right there, right now. ... He has to dig deep here, but every day he’s getting stronger and bigger. ... He’s just a great wrestler and loves to compete. We’re excited for him. We expect him to be right in the mix, no question about that.”
Here’s the team’s expected lineup in its entirety heading into the weekend, with their InterMat rankings in parentheses.
Penn State wrestling’s 2021 Big Ten lineup
125 pounds
Freshman Robert Howard
133 pounds
Junior Roman Bravo-Young (No. 3)
141 pounds
Senior Nick Lee (No. 2)
149 pounds
Freshman Beau Bartlett (No. 10)
157 pounds
Junior Brady Berge (No. 8)
165 pounds
Redshirt freshman Joe Lee (No. 15)
174 pounds
Redshirt freshman Carter Starocci (No. 4)
184 pounds
Sophomore Aaron Brooks (No. 1)
197 pounds
Redshirt freshman Michael Beard (No. 15)
Heavyweight
Redshirt freshman Greg Kerkvliet (No. 6)
This story was originally published March 2, 2021 at 2:08 PM.
