Here’s where Penn State wrestling stands after Session 1 of the Big Ten Championships
The first session of the Big Ten wrestling championships was not a friendly one for the hosts in Penn State.
The Nittany Lions have just four semifinalists and sit in fourth place of the team race. However, they do still have all 10 wrestlers alive for a chance to earn automatic qualifying spots for NCAAs.
Penn State had seven first-round bouts, and its wrestlers were a combined 4-3 in that round. In the quarterfinals round, the Nittany Lions again went 4-3.
Iowa holds a comfortable 12.5 point lead in the team race with 75.5 points. Nebraska is second with 63 points as Michigan rounds out the top three with 47.5 points. Penn State has 45 points, and Minnesota finishes out the top five with 35 points.
Here’s a look at where each Nittany Lions’ wrestler stands after the session was completed:
125 Pounds: Robert Howard
Record after session: 1-1
Current round: Consolation quarterfinals
Recap: The freshman began his Big Ten debut by scoring first.
Howard snapped off a takedown of Wisconsin’s Eric Barnett. Barnett responded right away with a reversal to tie up the bout.
The duo opened the second period with the 2-2 tie. A Barnett escape was the lone points of that second period.
In the third period, Howard started on his feet, but was unable to score against the bigger Barnett in a 3-2 loss.
Howard stayed alive by hanging a 16-4 major decision on Maryland’s Zach Spence in consolations.
133 Pounds: Roman Bravo-Young
Record after session: 1-0
Current round: Semifinals
Recap: The junior’s day had a late start to it as he had a first-round bye, thanks to being the No. 1 seed.
Bravo-Young had no problems with his quarterfinals’ opponent in Purdue’s Jacob Rundell. RBY controlled from the opening whistle
He tallied two takedowns in the first period to hold a 4-1 lead after one period of action. In the second period, tacked on one more takedown to hold a 6-2 lead.
A fourth takedown and a riding time point handed RBY a semifinals’ berth and a 9-3 win.
141 Pounds: Nick Lee
Record after session: 1-0
Current round: Semifinals
Recap: Lee, who is the No. 2 seed, got to start his day late, too, with a tournament-opening bye. He didn’t take too long to wrestle in his quarterfinals’ match with Ohio State’s Dylan D’Emilio.
Lee snapped off two takedowns and recorded three sets of near-fall points to hold a commanding 14-1 lead after one period. He earned two sets of four-point near falls in that frame.
In the second period, Lee picked up a reversal 12 seconds in and secured the 16-1 technical fall.
149 Pounds: Beau Bartlett
Record after session: 1-1
Current round: Consolation quarterfinals
Recap: Bartlett is one of six freshmen in the Nittany Lions’ lineup.
He got a quick taste of Big Ten postseason wrestling when Minnesota’s Michael Blockhus recorded a takedown right off the whistle. Bartlett escaped to trail 2-1 after one period.
Bartlett opened the second period with an escape to tie the bout. However, Blockhus tallied another takedown with 1:14 left in the period. Bartlett escaped to trail 4-3 to start the final frame.
Blockhus’ escape was the lone points in the third period as Bartlett was unable to secure a bout-tying takedown in a 5-3 loss.
Bartlett later used a 55-seconds pin of Maryland’s Michael North to reach the consolation quarterfinals.
157 Pounds: Brady Berge
Record after session: 1-1
Current round: Consolation quarterfinals
Recap: Berge collected the Nittany Lions first win of the day in the first round.
He took on Illinois’ Johnny Mologousis and controlled from start to finish. Berge snapped off three first-period takedowns to lead 6-2.
In the second period, the junior added another two takedowns to hold a 10-4 to open the third period. Berge added one more takedown and added a riding-time point for a 13-4 major decision.
In the quarterfinals, Berge gave up a takedown to Purdue’s Kendall Coleman with 1:40 left in the third period. He escaped but was unable to get the winning points in a 3-2 loss.
165 Pounds: Joe Lee
Record after session: 1-1
Current round: Consolation quarterfinals
Recap: Lee came in as the No. 6 seed in the weight. He drew Maryland’s Jonathan Spadafora, who Lee pinned in the season-ending dual.
Spadafora got some revenge. The pair were tied 4-4 after two periods of wrestling. Spadafora picked up an escape in the third, but Lee had riding time advantage to send the bout to sudden victory tied 5-5.
Spadafora secured a takedown 20 seconds into the overtime period for the 7-5 upset.
Lee rebounded with a 4-2 defeat of Wisconsin’s Josh Otto to stay alive.
174 Pounds: Carter Starocci
Record after session: 2-0
Current round: Semifinals
Recap: Starocci was the man of the morning. The freshman showed off his skills and riding ability to secure his spot in the semifinals.
The Erie native built up an 11-2 lead on Maryland’s Philip Spadafora before sticking the Terrapins’ wrestler in 4:47 to make an emphatic Big Ten Championships’ debut.
In the quarterfinals, Starocci took on a much longer opponent in Ohio State’s Kaleb Romero. Starocci used a second-period escape to hold a 1-0 lead to open the third period.
Starocci put on a riding display in the third period, keeping Romero from escaping and securing 1:52 in riding time for a 2-0 win.
184 Pounds: Aaron Brooks
Record after session: 1-0
Current round: Semifinals
Recap: Brooks received a bye in the first round thanks to being the No. 1 seed.
He took on Iowa’s Nelson Brands and was taken down early by the Hawkeyes’ wrestler. Brands hung with the reigning Big Ten champ and even led 7-5 to start the third period, thanks to two injury timeouts for Brooks.
Brooks wasn’t fazed, even with a heavily taped right ankle. He scored seven unanswered points in the third period to rally for a 14-8 win.
197 Pounds: Michael Beard
Record after session: 1-1
Current round: Consolation quarterfinals
Recap: Beard became just the second freshman to secure a win for Penn State in his postseason debut.
He took on Rutgers’ Billy Janzer, and scored the bouts first points with a takedown in the first period. In the second period, Beard used two escapes to hold a 4-2 lead.
Beard added one more takedown and added a riding time point to secure a 7-3 win.
He then took on Michigan’s Myles Amine, who is the No. 2 seed, in the quarterfinals. The pair traded escapes and takedowns to be tied 3-3 after one period of wrestling.
Amine used and escape in the second period to hold a 4-3 lead to open the third period. Beard opened with a quick escape in that third period, and picked up a takedown with just under 30 seconds to go.
However, he didn’t quite have Amine under control when the Wolverines’ wrestler reversed Beard to send the bout to sudden victory. The veteran in Amine secured the winning takedown with 31 seconds remaining for an 8-6 win.
285 Pounds: Greg Kerkvliet
Record after session: 1-1
Current round: Consolation quarterfinals
Recap: Kerkvliet was able to make sure the freshmen’s records would stay at .500 as he secured a win to give the younger wrestlers a 3-3 record in their debuts.
Kerkvliet took on Northwestern’s Jacob Heyob and recorded multiple takedowns in each period of wrestling. He opened by securing three takedowns to amass a 6-2 first period lead.
In the second period, Kerkvliet added two more takedowns and an escape to hold an 11-3 lead. He capped off his first match by recording two other takedowns and a riding time point for a 16-5 major decision.
Michigan’s Mason Parris then brought the freshman back down to Earth. The Wolverines’ wrestler used a seven-point third period and was controlling in an 11-3 major decision on Kerkvliet to send him to the consolation bracket.
Big Ten Championships
Saturday at Bryce Jordan Center
Team key: Illinois (Ill.), Indiana (Ind.), Iowa (I), Maryland (M), Michigan (Mich.), Michigan State (MSU), Minnesota (Minn.), Nebraska (N), Northwestern (NW), Ohio State (OSU), Penn State (PSU), Purdue (P), Rutgers (R), Wisconsin (W)
Team scores: 1. Iowa 75.5, 2. Nebraska 63, 3. Michigan 49, 4. Penn State 45, 5. Minnesota 35, 6. Ohio State 33, 7. Michigan State 25, 8. Northwestern 24, T9. Purdue 23.5, T9. Rutgers 23.5
Consolation first round
125: Howard, PSU, major dec. Zach Spence, M, 16-4; 149: Bartlett, PSU, pinned Michael North, M, :55; 165: J. Lee, PSU, dec. Josh Otto, W, 4-2
Quarterfinals
133: Bravo-Young, PSU, dec. Jacob Rundell, P, 9-3; 141: N. Lee, PSU, tech. fall Dylan D’Emilio, OSU, 16-1 (3:12); 157: Kendall Coleman, P, dec. Berge, PSU, 3-2; 174: Starocci, PSU, dec. Kaleb Romero, OSU, 2-0; 184: Brooks, PSU, dec. Nelson Brands, I, 14-8; 197: Myles Amine, Mich., dec. Beard, PSU, 8-6 (SV); 285: Mason Parris, Mich., major dec. Kerkvliet, PSU, 11-3
First round
125: Barnett, W, dec. Howard, PSU, 3-2; 149: Blockhus, Minn., dec. Bartlett, PSU, 5-3; 157: Berge, PSU, major dec. Johnny Mologousis, Ill., 13-4; 165: Jonathan Spadafora, M, dec. J. Lee, PSU, 7-5 (SV); 174: Starocci, PSU, pinned Philip Spadafora, M, 4:47; 197: Beard, PSU, dec. Billy Janzer, R, 7-3; 285: Kerkvliet, PSU, major dec. Jack Heyob, NW, 16-5
