LIVE BLOG: Penn State wrestling updates from the Big Ten Championships

By Jon Sauber, Parth Upadhyaya

Updated March 6, 2021 10:37 PM

Penn State wrestling and the rest of the conference are taking the mat Saturday for the Big Ten Wrestling Championships at the Bryce Jordan Center.

The preliminaries and quarterfinals are taking place at 10 a.m. with the semifinals beginning at 7:30 p.m.

The Nittany Lions have four wrestlers seeded in the top three of their class. Roman Bravo-Young (133 pounds) and Aaron Brooks (184 pounds) are both the top seed at their weight classes. They’re joined by two teammates in the top three with Nick Lee seeded No. 2 at 141 pounds and Carter Starocci at No. 3 at 174 pounds.

Three wrestlers will need to wrestle to their seed to make NCAAs, while three more will need to over-perform their seed. Brady Berge (No. 5, 157 pounds), Joe Lee (No. 6, 165 pounds) and Greg Kerkvliet (No. 7, heavyweight) will qualify if they perform up to their seed at the Big Ten Wrestling Championships.

Robert Howard (No. 11, 125 pounds), Beau Bartlett (No. 11, 149 pounds) and Michael Beard (No. 7, 197 pounds) will need to outperform their seeds in order to lock up a spot at NCAAs.

Scroll below for updates from Saturday’s action.

Joe Lee the 4-3 win! Lee alive in tonight's consolation action! #PSUwr
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 6, 2021

Howard stays alive with a 16-4 major decision
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 6, 2021

Bartlett earns a fall in 55 seconds
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 6, 2021

Parris tops Kerkvliet 11-3
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 6, 2021

Parris leads 2-0 after 1
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 6, 2021

Kerkvliet and No. 2 Parris now on mat 3! #PSUwr
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 6, 2021

Amine a TD in SV, Beard drops tough 8-6 (sv) dec.... #PSUwr
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 6, 2021

Ok, @Captain_M_Beard is up now taking on @umichwrestling's Myles Amine in 197 QFs
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 6, 2021

Brooks is a beast
— David Taylor (@magicman_psu) March 6, 2021

Brooks closes the bout out in style in a 14-8 decision over Iowa's Brands
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 6, 2021

Brooks down 7-5 after two #PSUwr
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 6, 2021

Brooks was down and being looked at by trainers, he trails 4-3 1:30 left in 2nd
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 6, 2021

Starocci with the rideout! Carter with the 2-0 win, on to the semis! #PSUwr
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 6, 2021

Brooks-Brands 3-3 after 1
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 6, 2021

Brooks and Brands now on mat 4 #PSUwr
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 6, 2021

Starocci-Romero 0-0 after 1
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 6, 2021

Carter now on mat 2! #PSUwr
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 6, 2021

Berge falls 3-2, day just keeps getting worse for the hosts
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 6, 2021

Berge up 1-0 after two #PSUwr
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 6, 2021

Ok, @bradyberge back out here for PSU in 157 QFs
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 6, 2021

Old lion teaching new lion tricks. #theWrightboys #b1gquadbox @B1GWrestling @pennstateWREST pic.twitter.com/cGxD0dSyfs
— lauren wright (@eLdubbYa4) March 6, 2021

Lee a 16-1 tech fall in 3:12
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 6, 2021

Lee with a two-point turn and a four-point turn, up 14-1 after one! #PSUwr
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 6, 2021

RBY into the semis with a 9-3 win
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 6, 2021

RBY up 6-2 w/ 2:14 in RT after two #PSUwr
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 6, 2021

RBY leads 4-1 after 1, 1:35 in RT
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 6, 2021

RBY up 2-0 early in first #PSUwr
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 6, 2021

Kerkvliet the 16-5 major with 4:34 in riding time! On to quarters! #PSUwr
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 6, 2021

Greg up 9-2 at 1:03 of the second #PSUwr
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 6, 2021

Kerkvliet and Heyob now mat 1! #PSUwr
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 6, 2021

Beard wins 7-3
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 6, 2021

Beard up 4-2 w/ 1:17 RT after two #PSUwr
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 6, 2021

Beard with the rideout, up 2-0 w/ 1:37 RT after one #PSUwr
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 6, 2021

Time for @Captain_M_Beard to make his Big Ten debut against @RUWrestling's Billy Janzer in 197 1st Rnd
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 6, 2021

Only 2 wrestlers left in this round of wrestling for PSU in @Captain_M_Beard and @kerkvlietpsu at 197 and 285 pounds, respectively; Nittany Lions just 2-3 through 5 matches wrestled
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 6, 2021

Carter = pin #PSUwr pic.twitter.com/iyZFVBXqYw
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 6, 2021

.@carterstarocci earns first freshman win for @pennstateWREST with a fall in 4:47
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 6, 2021

Lee had riding time and we're in overtime. But Spadafora connects on the takedown and upsets sixth-seeded Lee at 165. Many disappointing losses for Penn State this morning but this one tops them all.
— James R. Carlson (@JamesRCarlson) March 6, 2021

Spadafora takes Joe Lee down in SV for 7-5 win, making freshman 0-3 so far for Nittany Lions
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 6, 2021

Lee down 5-4 w/ clinched RT early in third, Starocci up 2-1 midway thru first #PSUwr
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 6, 2021

Lee tied 4-4 after 2
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 6, 2021

Lee up 4-2 in second, Starocci now on mat 2! #PSUwr
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 6, 2021

Here comes @joelee_psu making his Big Ten championships debut against @TerpsWrestling's Jonathan Spadafora
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 6, 2021

Berge earns @pennstateWREST's first win of the day with a 13-4 major decision
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 6, 2021

Berge leads 10-4 after 2 with 2:57 in RT
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 6, 2021

Bartlett falls 5-3
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 6, 2021

Berge up 4-1 in first #PSUwr
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 6, 2021

Beau down 4-3 at :55 #PSUwr
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 6, 2021

Bartlett trails 2-1 after 1
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 6, 2021

Beau Bartlett prepares for his bout at 149 on mat 1.

Coming up #PSUwr pic.twitter.com/mL8bdwsFYI
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 6, 2021

Robbie Howard 2-2 on the year right now with no quality wins. Probably gonna need to auto qualify because a wildcard will be highly dicey
— The Wrestling Nomad (@wrestlingnomad) March 6, 2021

Slight break here until 149 gets here with @BeauBartlett_ as @RomanBravoYoung and Nick Lee earned 1st Rnd byes at 133 and 141
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 6, 2021

Howard will face Zach Spence of Maryland later this session...we have no mat assignments atm... #PSUwr
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 6, 2021

Howard falls 3-2
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 6, 2021

Howard trails 3-2 after two, Barnett :51 RT #PSUwr
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 6, 2021

Howard tied 2-2 after 1, Barnett holds 1:32 in RT
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 6, 2021

Robbie Howard underway at 125 on mat 1! #PSUwr pic.twitter.com/1o8lx8s9HZ
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 6, 2021

Here comes @Robbie__Howard for Penn State taking on Eric Barnett from @BadgerWrestling in 125 1st Rnd
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 6, 2021

Former Penns Valley standout and current Penn State wrestler Baylor Shunk warms up teammate Robbie Howard before session 2 at Big Tens. pic.twitter.com/xQGjk2i3W3
— Abby Drey (@ADreyPhotos) March 7, 2021

2nd Session of @B1GWrestling Championships get started at 7:30. Feel free to follow along here if you aren’t in front of a TV pic.twitter.com/uDcCMD7pZm
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 7, 2021

23 second fall, tying the program record Tony Cassioppi matched seven hours earlier (set 29 years ago by Bart Chelesvig).

T-3rd fastest fall in history of Big Ten Championships. pic.twitter.com/gOJUML6fUT
— Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling (@Hawks_Wrestling) March 7, 2021

Robbie Howard underway in his consolation bout on mat 1.#PSUwr pic.twitter.com/dJ91qXS20k
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 7, 2021

Nick Lee = Beast https://t.co/fWnyDBnWCn
— JarodVerkleeren (@verkleeren_j) March 7, 2021

That was bananas
— David Taylor (@magicman_psu) March 7, 2021

Two Dogs, I love it
— Anthony Cassar (@antthechamp2020) March 7, 2021

After much conversation, some math and some bracket digging, good news for Penn State fans. The Nittany Lions will have a representative at 125 pounds at the NCAA championships for the first time since 2017 as Robbie Howard punched his ticket with his last win.
— Jake Aferiat (@Jake_Aferiat) March 7, 2021

Ok, @carterstarocci steps to the mat next for PSU, looking to make it 3-for-3 for the Nittany Lions in the SFs. He takes on Nebraska's Mikey Labriola
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 7, 2021

Starocci comes out on top of a scramble with a TD 5 secs left in clock, tops Labriola 3-1 in SV
— Nate Cobler (@byncobler) March 7, 2021

True freshman Beau Bartlett moved up a weight to 149 for his first B1G Championship and went 1-2 in his conference tourney debut #PSUwr pic.twitter.com/Y8EgNNDHjt
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 7, 2021

Berge the 11-2 major over Doetsch! #PSUwr
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 7, 2021

WHOSE HOUSE?! @carterstarocci's house. @carterstarocci is headed to the finals after defeating Mikey Labriola in sudden victory. @pennstateWREST @trackwrestling

@AutoOwnersIns pic.twitter.com/snxzp4N7JM
— Penn State On BTN (@PennStateOnBTN) March 7, 2021

Joe Lee = NCAA Qualifier! #PSUwr pic.twitter.com/PtvcgIuU4s
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 7, 2021

This story was originally published March 6, 2021 at 10:12 AM.

Jon Sauber

Centre Daily Times

(814) 231-6461

Jon Sauber covers Penn State football and men’s basketball for the Centre Daily Times. He earned his B.A. in digital and print journalism from Penn State and his M.A. in sports journalism from IUPUI. His previous stops include jobs at The Indianapolis Star, the NCAA, and Rivals.

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