Here’s where Penn State wrestling stands after Session 3 of the NCAA Championships
Penn State’s third sessions of the NCAA wrestling championships started out well, but ended in duds.
The Nittany Lions sent four wrestlers into the semifinals. Three other wrestlers remain alive in the consolation brackets as another wrestler was eliminated.
Penn State still sits second in the team race with 57.5 points. It trails Iowa by 16 points.
Oklahoma State rounds out the top three with 51 points. North Carolina State and Missouri round out the top five in that order.
Here’s where each wrestler stands after the first day is complete:
125 Pounds: No. 23 Robbie Howard
Record after session: 2-2
Current round: Eliminated
Recap: The true freshman was doing well in his first NCAA Championships. He opened with a revenge win over Ohio State’s Malik Heinselman.
He came up a little short in the second round against Utah Valley’s Taylor LaMont. Howard rebounded nicely with a gutsy 9-7 win over Chattanooga’s Fabian Gutierrez.
Howard raced out to a 3-1 lead to start the match. In the second period, Howard needed a late reversal to turn a 7-6 lead into a three-point lead. Gutierrez’s riding time point was the lone point in the third period to give Howard the 9-7 win.
The New Jersey native was then eliminated when Minnesota’s Patrick McKee took him down and then pinned him in 2:04.
133 Pounds: No. 2 Roman Bravo-Young
Record after session: 3-0
Current round: Semifinals
Recap: RBY was unable to get his offense going against Virginia’s No. 10 seed Louie Hayes. However, he did what he had to do to become the first semifinalists and All-American for the Nittany Lions on Friday.
RBY scored the first points of the bout with a takedown with 1:41 left on the clock in the first period. A quick escape in the second period for Bravo-Young were the lone points to give him a 3-0 lead.
In the third period, Hayes was unable to get a takedown, but earned a point from a second stall call on RBY. The Penn State wrestler had a riding time point to secure the 4-1 win.
Bravo-Young takes on Virginia Tech’s No. 3 seed in Korbin Myers in Friday evening’s semifinals.
141 Pounds: No. 2 Nick Lee
Record after session: 3-0
Current round: Semifinals
Recap: Lee continued his offensive outburst in his quarterfinals match with North Carolina’s Zachary Sherman. Leading up to Friday morning’s match, Lee had outscored his opponents 32-3.
Against Sherman, Lee recorded his first points of the match 45 seconds in. He’d add another takedown and two near-fall points for a 6-1 lead after one period.
The now four-time All-American in Lee added a takedown in the second and third periods and amassed over four minutes of riding time for an 11-3 major decision win.
Lee gets a Big Ten semifinals rematch with Rutgers’ No. 3 Sebastian Rivera in tonight’s NCAA semifinals.
157 Pounds: No. 12 Brady Berge
Record after session: 2-1
Current round: Consolation Fourth Round
Recap: It was unknown if Berge was going to be able to wrestle again after dealing with concussion problems last season, but he had put together a nice season so far and was one win away from reaching the NCAA semifinals.
Berge took on Rider’s Jesse Dellavecchia in the quarterfinals, which was a nice draw to make that semifinal spot. The pair were scoreless late in the first period.
Dellavecchia went for a shot on Berge near the edge of the mat. Berge went to twist out of the takedown on the way down, and suffered an injury.
Dellavecchia was awarded the points as Berge laid on the mat as coach Cael Sanderson and trainer Dan Monthly came to look at their wrestler’s right knee. Berge was unable to complete the match and injury defaulted to Dellavecchia in 2:39.
It is unknown if Berge will be able to continue, but if he does, he’ll take on Oklahoma State’s Wyatt Sheets tonight. Berge wins that match, he’ll be an All-American.
174 Pounds: No. 3 Carter Starocci
Record after session: 3-0
Current round: Semifinals
Recap: Starocci kept his hot postseason streak going when he took on Kent State’s Andrew McNally.
The redshirt freshman held a 5-0 lead after two periods of wrestling. He had a takedown in the first period, and an escape and takedown in the second period.
McNally scored some points late in the third period, but it wasn’t enough as Starocci won 6-3 and earned his first All-American honor and a spot in the semifinals.
The Erie native will take on Utah Valley’s No. 2 seed in Demetrius Romero Friday night for a spot in the finals.
184 Pounds: No. 1 Aaron Brooks
Record after session: 3-0
Current round: Semifinals
Recap: Brooks took on a familiar foe in Nebraska’s Taylor Venz in the quarterfinals. Brooks beat Venz in the Big Ten finals this season and in last year’s Big Ten semifinals.
The result was the same on Friday, with Brooks having his hand raised.
Brooks opened the bout by scoring the first points with a takedown, unlike the last time when Venz scored first. Venz escaped to make it 2-1 after one period.
Venz reversed Brooks to start the second period, and it seemed to fuel a fire under Brooks. The Penn State wrestler scored six unanswered points — an escape and a takedown to close out second period, and an escape and a takedown to open the third period.
Brooks added a riding time point for a 9-4 win. He’ll take on Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen next for a spot in the finals.
197 Pounds: No. 15 Michael Beard
Record after session: 2-1
Current round: Consolation Fourth Round
Recap: Beard had a great opportunity to make the semifinals as he took on the No. 26 seed in Oklahoma’s Jake Woodley.
Woodley had other ideas, though. As the pair scrambled in the first period, Woodley was deep on a shot and Beard had a deep whizzer. Woodley showed off some super strength and took Beard down.
Beard escaped before the first period was over to trail 2-1. Beard escaped 40 seconds into the second period to tie the bout, but Woodley snapped off another takedown for a 4-2 lead.
In the third period, Woodley kept pushing the pace as Beard looked like he was out of gas. The Sooners’ wrestler won 8-3 sending Beard to the consolation bracket.
Beard will take on South Dakota State’s Tanner Sloan tonight. He wins, he’s an All-American.
285 Pounds: No. 9 Greg Kerkvliet
Record after session: 2-1
Current round: Consolation Fourth Round
Recap: Kerkvliet had his hands full with his quarterfinals’ opponent in the No. 1 seed Gable Steveson of Minnesota.
Steveson took just 24 seconds to recorded the first points of the bout with a takedown of Kerkvliet. Steveson rode Kerkvliet out the remainder of the period.
A Steveson escape was the lone points of the second period. Steveson built up a 7-1 lead in the third period before Kerkvliet earned his second escape of the bout. Kerkvliet did pick up a takedown of Steveson late, but the Golden Gophers’ wrestler earned a 9-4 win.
Kerkvliet takes on Oklahoma State’s Austin Harris for a spot in the consolation quarterfinals and an All-American honor.
NCAA Championships
Friday at St. Louis
Team key: Air Force (AF), American (A), Appalachian State (APP), Arizona State (ASU), Army West Point (AWP), Binghamton (B), Bloomsburg (BB), Bucknell (BK), Buffalo (BF), Cal Poly (CP), Campbell (CB), Central Michigan (CM), Chattanooga (CT), Clarion (C), Cleveland State (CS), Cal State Bakersfield (CSB), Drexel (DX), Duke (D), Edinboro (E), Fresno State (FS), Gardner-Webb (G), Hofstra (H), Illinois (Ill.), Indiana (Ind.), Iowa (I), Iowa State (ISU), Kent State (K), Lehigh (L), Little Rock (LR), Michigan (M), Michigan State (MSU), Minnesota (Minn.), Missouri (Miss.), Navy (N), Nebraska (Neb.), North Carolina (NC), North Carolina State (NCSU), North Dakota State (NDSU), Northern Colorado (NCO), Northern Illinois (NIU), Northern Iowa (NI), Northwestern (NW), Ohio (O), Ohio State (OSU), Oklahoma (OK), Oklahoma State (OKSU), Oregon State (OSU), Penn State (PSU), Pittsburgh (PB), Purdue (P), Rider (RD), Rutgers (R), Sacred Heart (SH), SIU Edwardsville (SIUE), South Dakota State (SDSU), Stanford (S), The Citadel (TC), Utah Valley (UV), Virginia (V), Virginia Tech (VT), West Virginia (WV), Wisconsin (W), Wyoming (WY)
Team scores: 1. Iowa 73.5, 2. Penn State 57.5, 3. Oklahoma State 51, 4. North Carolina State 46, 5. Missouri 40, 6. Michigan 35, 7. Ohio State 33, T8. Arizona State 31.5, T8. Minnesota 31.5, 10. Rutgers 27
Quarterfinals
133: Roman Bravo-Young, PSU, dec. Louie Hayes, V, 4-1; 141: Nick Lee, PSU, major dec. Zachary Sherman, NC, 11-3; 157: Jesse Dellavecchia, RD, inj. def. Brady Berge, PSU, 2:39; 174: Carter Starocci, PSU, dec. Andrew McNally, K, 6-3; 184: Aaron Brooks, PSU, dec. Taylor Venz, Neb., 9-4; 197: Jake Woodley, OK, dec. Michael Beard, PSU, 8-3; 285: Gable Steveson, Minn., dec. Greg Kerkvliet, PSU, 9-4
Consolation Third Round
125: Patrick McKee, Minn., pinned Robbie Howard, PSU, 2:04
Consolation Second Round
125: Howard, PSU, dec. Fabian Gutierrez, CT, 9-7
This story was originally published March 19, 2021 at 5:34 PM.
