Here’s where Penn State wrestling stands after Session 3 of the Big Ten Championships
Penn State already secured nine automatic qualifiers to the NCAA Championships on Saturday night.
On Sunday, it was a matter of figuring out where the Nittany Lions’ remaining wrestlers would place. Penn State went 1-3 in the consolation semifinals, and lost a seventh-place bout.
The Nittany Lions have Roman Bravo-Young (133 pounds), Nick Lee (141), Carter Starocci (174) and Aaron Brooks (184) going for Big Ten titles later Sunday afternoon, when action kicks off at 4 p.m.
Penn State sits in second place in the team race. Its 116 team points trails Iowa by 23 points. Nebraska rounds out the top three with 102.5 points.
Here’s a look at where each Nittany Lions’ wrestler stands after the session was completed:
125 Pounds: Robert Howard
Record after session: 3-2
Current round: 5th-Place match
Recap: Howard took on Ohio State’s Malik Heinselman to start the day off in the consolation semifinals.
Heinselman handed Howard his lone regular season loss.
Heinselman tallied a takedown in both the first and third periods to hand Howard his third collegiate loss, 5-2.
157 Pounds: Brady Berge
Record after session: 3-2
Current round: 5th-Place match
Recap: Berge found himself in a dogfight to start the day. The redshirt junior took on Minnesota’s Brayton Lee.
The pair traded escapes in regulation to force a sudden victory period. In that period, Lee pulled off a slick single leg takedown of Berge for the 3-1 win, sending Berge to the fifth-place match.
165 Pounds: Joe Lee
Record: 2-3
Place: 8th
Recap: Lee took on Northwestern’s David Ferrante in the seventh-place bout.
Ferrante led 2-0 after a first period takedown was the lone points. In the second period, Lee threw Ferrante to his back, but was unable to finish it off. Ferrante reversed Lee and put him on his back, but ran out of time trying to secure a fall.
Lee was unable to tally any takedowns in the third period as he fell to Ferrante, 10-6, to end his Big Ten Championships debut.
197 Pounds: Michael Beard
Record after session: 3-2
Current round: 5th-Place match
Recap: Beard had his work cut out for him in the consolation semifinals as he took on Michigan State’s Cameron Caffey, who fell to Aaron Brooks in the 184-pound Big Ten finals last season.
Beard was unable to stop several Caffey takedown attempts as the Spartans’ wrestler had four total in the bout. Beard was able to secure a takedown of his own late, but he was too far behind in the 12-6 loss.
285 Pounds: Greg Kerkvliet
Record after session: 4-1
Current round: 3rd-Place match
Recap: Kerkvliet began his day taking on Nebraska’s Christian Lance, who medical forfeited Saturday night to Minnesota’s Gable Steveson.
It was a surprise to see Lance take on Kerkvliet, but the redshirt freshman had no problems with the senior in Lance.
Kerkvliet snapped off four takedowns and used a riding time point to help secure a 10-2 major decision to advance to the consolation finals.
Big Ten Championships
Sunday 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 139, 2. Penn State 116, 3. Nebraska 102.5, 4. Michigan 86, 5. Michigan State 72.5, 6. Purdue 71, 7. Minnesota 69.5, 8. Northwestern 68, 9. Ohio State 64.5, 10. Rutgers 49
Seventh-Place match
165: David Ferrante, NW, dec. Joe Lee, PSU, 10-6
Consolation semifinals
125: Malik Heinselman, OSU, dec. Howard, PSU, 5-2; 157: Brayton Lee, Minn., dec. Berge, PSU, 3-1 (SV); 197: Cameron Caffey, MSU, dec. Beard, PSU, 12-6; 285: Kerkvliet, PSU, major dec. Christian Lance, N, 10-2
This story was originally published March 7, 2021 at 2:16 PM.
