Penn State has 5 looking to claim Big Ten wrestling crowns, is in 2nd place of team race
When the first day of the Big Ten wrestling championships came to a close on Saturday, Penn State found itself right in the hunt for a team title.
The Nittany Lions sent five wrestlers to the conference finals as four others remain alive in the consolation brackets. In all, Penn State has seven wrestlers locked up for the NCAA Championships in Detroit in two weeks with the possibility of two others joining the ride.
When it comes to the team race, Penn State is second with 111.5 points. It trails Michigan, which has five finalists like the Nittany Lions. The Wolverines lead the team race with 116 points.
Iowa is third with 109 points and four finalists. Ohio State is fourth with 72 points, as Northwestern rounds out the top five with 70.5 points.
Here’s a look at where Penn State’s wrestler are after the first day:
125 pounds: Drew Hildebrandt
Record after day: 0-2
Current round: 9th Place Bracket
Recap: It remained a question of what would Hildebrandt look like in the Big Ten Championships after competing in the Mid American Championships for Central Michigan. Well, Hildebrandt’s Big Ten debut was one he’d probably like to forget.
Hildebrandt took on Northwestern’s Michael DeAugustino with neither wrestler scoring in the first period. DeAugustino started from the bottom position in the second, and Hildebrandt went to work with his strong top game. Late in the second period, Hildebrandt was called for a penalty point and DeAugustino escaped to hold a 2-0 lead.
Hildebrandt opened the third period down, and tallied a reversal 15 seconds in. DeAugustino escaped, but Hildebrandt had enough riding time built to force sudden victory at 3-3.
DeAugustino then recorded the winning takedown 18 seconds into sudden victory sending Hildebrandt to the consolation bracket.
In the consolation bracket, Hildebrandt took on Minnesota’s Patrick McKee. The pair squared off for third place in last year’s NCAA Championships with McKee winning. The result was the same on Saturday night. McKee had two takedowns on Hildebrandt to secure a 6-3 win.
Hildebrandt dropped into a true ninth-place bracket as is the top seed. If he wins Sunday morning, he’ll guarantee himself a spot to Detroit for the NCAA Championships.
133 pounds: Roman Bravo-Young
Record after day: 2-0
Current round: Finals
Recap: RBY’s semifinal was pretty uneventful. He and Michigan’s Dylan Ragusin battled for most the period until RBY found an opening.
The Tucson, Ariz., native was able to secure a takedown with nine seconds remaining to hold a 2-0 first period lead. In the second period, RBY showed a solid top game, by riding Ragusin out for the entire period.
RBY had an escape and added a riding time point to secure a 4-0 win. He makes his third straight trip to the finals, where he is 1-1. He’ll take on Iowa’s Austin DeSanto.
Bravo-Young started his day in the quarterfinals with Purdue’s Matt Ramos in an uncharacteristic position. Ramos secured only the second takedown ever on RBY this year, and it seemed to wake up the senior.
RBY quickly escaped and tallied a takedown late to hold a 3-2 lead after one period. In the second period, Bravo-Young recorded another escape and a takedown for a 6-2 lead.
RBY tacked on two takedowns and added a riding time to secure an 11-3 major decision.
141 pounds: Nick Lee
Record after day: 2-0
Current round: Finals
Recap: Lee looked like a man on a mission to work his way toward claiming his first Big Ten title.
In the semifinals against Minnesota’s Jakob Bergeland, Lee raced out to a 12-1 first period lead thanks to two takedowns and three sets of nearfall points. He tallied another takedown in the second period to lead 14-1 with choice.
Lee snapped of a reversal six seconds into the third period for a 16-1 technical fall in 5:06. He’ll take on Iowa’s Jaydin Eierman in the finals.
He had no problems with Wisconsin’s Joseph Zargo in the quarterfinals.
Lee recorded a takedown 42 seconds into the first period. He then worked on tilting Zargo for two sets of nearfall points, to claim an 8-0 first period lead.
In the second period, Lee took Zargo down and recorded four more nearfall points to have 14-0 lead to start the third period. Lee started from the bottom position recorded a reversal for the 16-0 technical fall in 5:06.
149 pounds: Beau Bartlett
Record after day: 1-2
Current round: 7th Place Match
Recap: Bartlett got his second Big Ten Championships off in a great, but scary way. He took on the No. 10 seed in Minnesota’s Michael Blockhus.
Neither wrestler scored in the first period, and Blockhus’ escape in the second period were the lone points heading to the third. Bartlett quickly escaped, and took Blockhus down.
Blockhus escaped with just under 1:30 left in the bout. Late in the period, Blockhus looked to have secured a winning takedown, but it was reviewed and confirmed, no takedown. Bartlett won 3-2.
In the quarterfinals, Bartlett ran into Wisconsin’s Austin Gomez, who was the No. 2 seed. Gomez controlled the match from start to finish in a 12-4 major decision win sending Bartlett to the consolation bracket.
Bartlett took on Rutgers’ Michael Van Brill in the consolations and the pair went to sudden victory at 1-1. Neither wrestler scored in the sudden victory period, so rideout periods ensued.
Van Brill took care of business and didn’t allow Bartlett to escape, so in the second rideout period, Van Brill choose neutral. He kept Bartlett from scoring and won 2-1.
Bartlett will wrestle for seventh against Michigan’s Kanen Storr. Bartlett wins that match, he secures a spot in the NCAA Championships.
157 pounds: Brady Berge
Record after day: 2-1
Current round: Consolation Semifinals
Recap: When the Big Ten looks back at the seedings here, they may want to reconsider. Berge was the No. 10 seed, and it’s probably because he didn’t wrestle any matches in the weight during the conference slate of the season.
However, Berge went to work and showed he wasn’t seeded properly.
He opened with a 10-2 major decision over the No. 7 seed in Wisconsin’s Garrett Model. In the quarterfinals, Berge took on the No. 2 seed in Iowa’s Kaleb Young.
Neither wrestler scored any point in the first period, but Berge had an escape and a takedown to hold a 3-1 lead to start the third period. Young quickly escaped to get within 3-2, but with 42 seconds remaining Berge tallied a takedown.
Young escaped, but was unable to get the tying score, as Berge hung on for a 5-3 upset win.
In the semifinals, Berge took on Michigan’s Will Lewan, who he’s beaten before. However, this time it didn’t occur.
The pair stayed defensive allowing the other to only score an escape. They went into sudden victory, and Lewan tallied a winning takedown 11 seconds into the period for the 3-1 win.
Berge faces Purdue’s Kendall Coleman for a spot in the consolation finals Sunday afternoon.
165 pounds: Creighton Edsell
Record after day: 1-2
Current round: Eliminated
Recap: Edsell was getting a taste of his first postseason action for the Nittany Lions. He opened up a win, but his reward was the No. 2 seed.
Edsell took on Purdue’s Hayden Lohrey and led 1-0 after two periods of wrestling. Lohrey was awarded a penalty point in the third period, which forced sudden victory. Edsell took just 19 seconds to secure a takedown for the 3-1 win to advance.
In the quarterfinals, Edsell took on Iowa’s Alex Marinelli. Marinelli had two first period takedowns to have a 4-2 lead at the period’s end.
Edsell started from the bottom position in the second period, but was unable to get out from under Marinelli. In the third period, Marinelli added an escape, another takedown and added riding time for an 8-2 win sending Edsell to the consolation bracket.
Edsell took on Minnesota’s Cael Carlson in the second round of consolations. Edsell was in on deep shots several times, but was never able to finish them off. Carlson finished off with a counter takedown on one of Edsell’s shots and that was enough in a 3-2 win to end Edsell’s Big Ten title.
174 pounds: Carter Starocci
Record after day: 2-0
Current round: Finals
Recap: Starocci was set to take on Iowa’s Michael Kemerer in the semifinals.
However, Kemerer medical forfeited to Starocci, sending the Nittany Lion into his second straight Big Ten final. He’ll take on Michigan’s Logan Massa.
“It feels good. It feels like another day in the office,” Starocci said of making the finals. “It’s just line them up. I’ll take them out, so that’s kind of the mindset.”
Starocci had no problems in his Big Ten opener against Maryland’s Dominic Solis. The pair squared off in the quarterfinals with Starocci collecting three takedowns.
On the third takedown, the regining NCAA champ took Solis to his back and pinned the Terrapins wrestler in 2:17.
184 pounds: Aaron Brooks
Record after day: 2-0
Current round: Finals
Recap: Brooks took on a familiar foe in the semifinals with Nebraska’s Taylor Venz. Venz was the last wrestler to beat Brooks collegiately.
Saturday night, Brooks was dominant using two takedowns and a reversal of Venz to hold a 6-1 lead after two periods of wrestling. Brooks had 3:06 in riding time for another point in a 7-2 win.
“Watching Aaron grow is pretty cool because he loves wrestling. He’s watching film 24/7,” Starocci said of his teammate. “When wrestling at practice on Monday, it’s one Aaron Brooks. On Tuesday, it’s a whole different Aaron Brooks. It’s not like he’s trying it, he’s already really good at it. You have to keep leveling up as well if you want to stay with him.”
He’ll take on Michigan’s Myles Amine, in what will be one of the highly anticipated finals matchups on Sunday.
Remember what Starocci did at 174 pounds in his opening match? Well, Brooks followed suit, but quicker.
Brooks took down Maryland’s Kyle Cochran just over midway through the first period. He cranked Cochran to his back for a fall in 1:41.
197 pounds: Max Dean
Record after day: 2-0
Current round: Finals
Recap: Dean was making his first appearance in the Big Ten Championships, and seemed like he was right at home.
He made the semifinals and took on Michigan State’s Cam Caffey, who was the only wrestler to beat Dean this year. Dean made sure that wasn’t going to happen again.
He recorded the match’s first takedown 45 seconds into the period to lead 2-0. With an escape in the second period, Dean led 3-0 to start the third period.
Caffey secured a takedown early in the third period to get within 3-2, but Dean escaped and had enough riding time for another point in a 5-2 win. He’ll take on Nebraska’s Eric Schultz Sunday.
He took on Rutgers’ Greg Bulsak, who nearly gave Dean his first loss as a Nittany Lion earlier this year. This time around, Dean made sure it wasn’t going to come into question.
Dean had a takedown in the first and second periods, and added an escape to hold a 5-2 lead after two periods. He rode Bulsak out for the entire third period to secure a 6-2 win.
285 pounds: Greg Kerkvliet
Record after day: 2-1
Current round: Consolation Semifinals
Recap: Kerkvliet made the semifinals, where he had to take on Iowa’s Tony Cassioppi, who has been a thorn in Kerkvliet’s side. However, he looked poised to crack the code on Cassioppi.
Neither wrestler scored in the first period, but Kerkvliet opened the second with a reversal, but was unable to keep Cassioppi from escaping. Kerkvliet led 2-1 to start the third.
Cassioppi escaped early in the third period, which left one of the guys needing to take one good shot for the win. Kerkvliet got that shot with a blast double with 42 seconds remaining. With only four seconds remaining, Cassioppi picked up a reversal on the edge of the mat to force sudden victory.
In the sudden victory period, Cassioppi took his one good shot, finished it off for the 6-4 win. Kerkvliet will look to rebound in the consolation semifinals with a matchup against Northwestern’s Lucas Davison.
Kerkvliet didn’t waste time in his Big Ten opener. He built up a 14-0 lead on Maryland’s Zach Schrader before pinning him in 1:13.
In the quarterfinals, Kerkvliet had a takedown in the first and second period. He picked up a stalling point, added an escape and riding time for a 7-1 win.
Big Ten Championships
Saturday at Lincoln, Neb.
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. Michigan 116, 2. Penn State 111.5, 3. Iowa 109, 4. Ohio State 72, 5. Northwestern 70.5, 6. Nebraska 65, 7. Wisconsin 58.5, 8. Minnesota 55.5, 9. Rutgers 37, 10. Purdue 34.5.
Semifinals
133: Roman Bravo-Young, PSU, dec Dylan Ragusin, Mich., 4-0; 141: Nick Lee, PSU, tech. fall Jakob Bergeland, Minn., 16-1 (5:06); 157: Will Lewan, Mich., dec. Brady Berge, PSU, 3-1 (SV); 174: Carter Starocci, PSU, med. forfeit Michael Kemerer, I; 184: Aaron Brooks, PSU, dec. Taylor Venz, N, 7-2; 197: Max Dean, PSU, dec. Cam Caffey, MSU, 5-2; 285: Tony Cassioppi, I, dec. Greg Kerkvliet, PSU, 6-4 (SV)
Consolation Quarterfinals
149: Michael Van Brill, R, dec. Beau Bartlett, PSU, 2-1 (UTB2)
Consolation Second Round
125: Patrick McKee, Minn., dec. Hildebrandt, PSU, 6-3; 149: Bartlett, PSU, pinned Christian Kinzler, Ill., 3:40; 165: Cael Carlson, Minn., dec. Creighton Edsell, PSU, 3-2
Quarterfinals
125: Michael DeAugustino, NW, dec. Hildebrandt, PSU, 5-3 (SV); 133: Bravo-Young, PSU, major dec Matt Ramos, P, 11-3; 141: Lee, PSU, tech. fall Joseph Zargo, W, 16-0 (5:06); 149: Austin Gomez, W, dec. Bartlett, PSU, 11-4; 157: Berge, PSU, dec. Kaleb Young, I, 5-3; 165: Alex Marinelli, I, dec. Edsell, PSU, 8-2; 174: Starocci, PSU, pinned Dominic Solis, M, 2:17; 184: Brooks, PSU, pinned Kyle Cochran, M, 1:41; 197: Dean, PSU, dec. Greg Bulsak, R, 6-2; 285: Kerkvliet, PSU, dec. Christian Lance, N, 7-1
First Round
149: Bartlett, PSU, dec. Michael Blockhus, Minn., 3-2; 157: Berge, PSU, major dec. Garrett Model, W, 10-2; 165: Edsell, PSU, dec. Hayden Lohrey, P, 3-1 (SV); 285: Kerkvliet, PSU, pinned Zach Schrader, M, 2:13
This story was originally published March 6, 2022 at 12:07 AM.
