Here’s where Penn State wrestling stands after Day 1 of the Big Ten Championships
Despite Penn State’s underwhelming first session of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships, the Nittany Lions rebounded nicely to finish off the day on Saturday.
The Nittany Lions pushed four into the finals in Roman Bravo-Young (133 pounds), Nick Lee (141), Carter Starocci (174) and Aaron Brooks (184). They sit in second place of the team race.
Penn State was also able to secure nine automatic bids to the NCAA Championships, and has one other wrestler alive for an at-large bid.
“We definitely started off pretty slow there. We had some tough losses,” Nittany Lions coach Cael Sanderson said. “The guys wrestled better this afternoon. We were hoping to get 10, but we’re happy with the nine. We just need to finish strong tomorrow, and get ready for the NCAAs.”
Iowa holds a comfortable 15-point lead in the team race with 126.5 points. The Nittany Lions have 111.5 points. Nebraska rounds out the top three with 88 points.
Michigan and Purdue round out the top 5, in that order.
Here’s a look at where each Nittany Lions’ wrestler stands after the session was completed:
125 Pounds: Robert Howard
Record after day: 3-1
Current round: Consolation semifinals
Recap: Howard put in a lot of work on Saturday. He dropped his Big Ten Championships’ debut, but has rallied his way through the consolations to secure his first NCAA spot.
The true 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.
The New Jersey native followed his win over Spence with a 10-1 major decision over Rutgers’ Dylan Shawver that secured his spot to St. Louis. Howard followed that up with a 3-1 sudden-victory win over Michigan’s Dylan Ragusin to make the consolation semifinals against Ohio State’s Malik Heinselman.
133 Pounds: Roman Bravo-Young
Record after day: 2-0
Current round: Finals
Recap: RBY was able to make it to his second straight Big Ten finals. He fell in last year’s finals to Sebastian Rivera, who was wrestling for Northwestern at the time.
This year, the junior had to take on another Wildcats’ wrestler just to make the finals in Chris Cannon. RBY jumped out to a 4-2 on Cannon thanks to two first-period takedowns.
Cannon’s escape was the lone point of the second period. It was all Bravo-Young in the third period as he recorded an escape, a takedown and added a riding time point for an 8-3 win.
RBY will take on Iowa’s Austin DeSanto, who he beat in the 133-pound semifinals last year.
“Roman did a nice job getting back to the finals,” Sanderson said. “He’s got a tough opponent in DeSanto. They’ve seen each other a few times over the years.”
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 day: 2-0
Current round: Finals
Recap: Lee may not be considered a heavyweight, but his semifinals’ match with Rutgers’ Rivera sure had a heavyweight title fight feel to it.
The pair found themselves in several scrambles early with each securing one takedown apiece and an escape a piece in the first period. In the second period, Lee recorded two escapes and received a penalty point from Rivera for interlocking, but Rivera had a takedown.
Lee led 6-5 to start the third period. Rivera earned an escape midway through the period, but neither would score again, forcing sudden victory.
In the sudden victory period, Lee came out on top of a final scramble with two seconds remaining to secure an 8-6 win. He’ll take on Iowa’s Jaydin Eierman in the finals.
“Nick Lee had a nice win. I think we have the top three guys in ranked in the (country) or maybe top four,” Sanderson said. “Nick Lee wrestled great. He’s got a big match tomorrow against another tough Iowa guy in Eierman.”
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 day: 1-2
Current round: Eliminated
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.
The true freshman saw his tournament come to an end when he suffered a 7-5 defeat to Northwestern’s Yahya Thomas in sudden victory. His postseason may or may not be over as he is eligible for a wildcard for the NCAA Championships.
157 Pounds: Brady Berge
Record after day: 3-1
Current round: Consolation semifinals
Recap: Berge collected the Nittany Lions’ first win of the day in the first session.
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.
Berge rebounded nicely with a pair of major decision victories to get to the consolation semifinals. He first beat Maryland’s Michael Doetsch 11-2, and followed up with a 12-2 win over Nebraska’s Caleb Licking.
165 Pounds: Joe Lee
Record after day: 2-2
Current round: 7th Place match
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. Lee kept the winning streak rolling when he pinned Minnesota’ Andrew Sparks in 44 seconds.
The redshirt freshman saw his night end by being pinned by Purdue’s Gerrit Nijenhuis in 4:29.
174 Pounds: Carter Starocci
Record after day: 3-0
Current round: Finals
Recap: Starocci was the man of the day for the Nittany Lions.
He went from the first round to the finals with some bonus points to start and a pair of two-point victories.
The redshirt freshman took on Nebraska’s Mikey Labriola in the semifinals. The pair traded escapes in regulation to force sudden victory at 1-1.
In the sudden victory period, the pair got into a scramble that looked like Labriola was going to win. Instead, Starocci bounced over top of Labriola, and locked a cradle up with five seconds remaining for the winning takedown in a 3-1 win.
Starocci takes on Iowa’s Michael Kemerer in the finals.
“Starocci had some tough, dig deep wins today. He’s just a hard-nosed kid,” Sanderson said. “He was finding ways to win some matches against some of the best guys in the country, so that’s good to see from a freshman.”
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 day: 2-0
Current round: Finals
Recap: Brooks is making a return trip to the Big Ten finals for the second straight time. He also helped keep Penn State perfect in the semifinals.
The true sophomore took on Rutgers’ John Poznanski in the semifinals, and just went to work with a methodical approach. Brooks turned a single-leg shot into a double-leg takedown for the lone points of the first period.
In the second period, Brooks used an escape and takedown to push his lead out to 5-0. The Maryland native opened with a double-leg takedown, add a sweet ankle pick transition to double-leg takedown and amassed 1:49 in riding time for a 10-2 major decision.
Brooks will take on Nebraska’s Taylor Venz, who he pinned in last year’s championships in the semifinals.
“Aaron has done fantastic. He had a little scare in the first match with his injury time,” Sanderson said. “He’s a tough kid. He wants to keep rolling here, so we are letting him.”
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 day: 3-1
Current round: Consolation semifinals
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.
Beard didn’t stay down for long. After dropping into the consolations, the Malvern Prep graduate topped Illinois’ Matt Roblewski 6-2.
Beard then used a 6-5 edging of Purdue’s Thomas Penola to lock up his first NCAA berth.
285 Pounds: Greg Kerkvliet
Record after day: 3-1
Current round: Consolation semifinals
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.
In the consolation bracket, Kerkvliet opened with a 16-5 major decision over Michigan State’s Christian Rebottaro. Like Beard, Kerkvliet reached the consolation semifinals to secure his NCAA bid. Kerkvliet topped Wisconsin’s Trent Hillger 7-3 to reach the consolation semifinals.
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 126.5, 2. Penn State 111.5, 3. Nebraska 88, 4. Michigan 76, 5. Purdue 67, 6. Northwestern 63.5, 7. Ohio State 63, 8. Minnesota 62.5, 9. Michigan State 61, 10. Rutgers 35
Semifinals
133: Roman Bravo-Young, PSU, dec. Chris Cannon, NW, 8-3; 141: Nick Lee, PSU, dec. Sebastian Rivera, R, 8-6 (SV); 174: Carter Starocci, PSU, dec. Mikey Labriola, N, 3-1 (SV); 184: Aaron Brooks, PSU, major dec. John Poznanski, R, 10-2
Consolation quarterfinals
125: Robbie Howard, PSU, dec. Dylan Ragusin, Mich., 3-1 (SV); 157: Brady Berge, PSU, major dec. Caleb Licking, N, 12-2; 165: Gerrit Nienhuis, P, pinned Joe Lee, PSU, 4:29; 197: Michael Beard, PSU, dec. Thomas Penola, P, 6-5; 285: Greg Kerkvliet, PSU, dec. Trent Hillger, W, 7-3
Consolation second round
125: Howard, PSU, major dec. Dylan Shawver, R, 10-1; 149: Yahya Thomas, NW, dec. Beau Bartlett, PSU, 7-5 (SV); 157: Berge, PSU, major dec. Michael Doetsch, M, 10-2; 165: J. Lee, PSU, pinned Andrew Sparks, Minn., :44; 197: Beard, PSU, dec. Matt Wroblewski, Ill., 6-2; 285: Kerkvliet, PSU, major dec. Christian Rebottaro, MSU, 16-5
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
This story was originally published March 7, 2021 at 12:00 AM.
