Penn State wrestling sets off for 2022 NCAA Championships with four No. 1 seeds
Penn State is set to send nine wrestlers to the 2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships, set to begin on Thursday, March 17, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
The Nittany Lions have a total of four No. 1 seeds who will compete for an NCAA title. All 33 wrestlers in each weight class have been seeded. Penn State’s four seniors, two juniors and three sophomores are a combined 70-15 against the field in their weight classes.
Here are the Penn State wrestlers who are set to compete in the NCAA Wrestling Championships with their weight classes listed in bold.
125
No. 16 seed Drew Hildebrandt will take on the 17th-seeded Anthony Noto of Lock Haven in the opening round. Hildebrandt holds a 9-3 record this season and is 2-3 against the field of wrestlers in the 125-pound weight class. The redshirt freshman Noto holds a 30-1 record on the season.
133
Roman Bravo-Young is the No. 1 seed and will take on the winner of No. 33 Domenic Zaccone (Campbell) vs No. 32 Dominic Lajoie (Cornell). Bravo-Young won his second consecutive Big Ten title on Sunday and is currently 17-0 overall and 10-0 against the field. Zaccone holds a 14-9 record on the year, while Lajoie has a 17-13 mark.
141
Nick Lee is the No. 1 seed and will face off against the winner of No. 33 Dylan Cedeno of Virginia vs No. 32 Josh Mason of Bloomsburg. Lee won his first Big Ten championship on Sunday in Nebraska, carrying a 17-0 record overall and a 9-0 record against the field. Cedeno is 5-6 on the season and Mason is 19-9 on the year.
149
Beau Bartlett is the No. 13 seed and will take on Northern Iowa’s Colin Realbuto, who is the No. 20 seed. This is Bartlett’s first NCAA tournament appearance, following his seventh-place finish at the Big Ten Championships. He holds a 14-8 record and is 5-7 against the field. Realbuto is 16-10 on the year.
157
Brady Berge is the No. 16 seed and will take on No. 17 Hunter Willits of Oregon State. Berge finished in third place at the Big Ten Championships, holding a 9-2 mark on the year and he’s 4-1 against the field. Willits is 13-6 on the year.
165
No Penn State wrestler will compete in the 165-pound class.
174
Carter Starocci is Penn State’s third No. 1 seed and he will take on the winner of No. 33 Connor O’Neill (Rutgers) vs No. 32 Dominic Solis (Maryland). Starocci won his first Big Ten title on Sunday in Lincoln, holding an 18-0 record on the year and is 9-0 against the field. O’Neil is 13-17 on the season and Solis holds a 15-15 record.
184
No. 2 Aaron Brooks is set to take on No. 31 AJ Burkhart of Lehigh in the first round. Brooks’ lone loss came in the Big Ten finals against Michigan’s Myles Amine, who is the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Championships. The Penn State sophomore is 16-1 on the year and holds an 11-1 mark against the field. Burkhart is 14-13 on the year.
197
Max Dean is the No. 1 seed and is set to take on the winner of No. 33 Matthew Waddell of Chattanooga vs No. 32 Will Feldkamp of Clarion. Dean is 18-1 overall and 11-1 against the field. Waddell is 17-10 on the season and Feldkamp sits with a 19-4 mark.
285
Greg Kerkvliet is the No. 4 seed and he will take on the 29th-seeded Brandon Metz of North Dakota State. Kerkvilet finished third in the Big Ten tourney on Sunday, holding an 18-2 record and is 9-2 against the field. Metz is 16-9 on the season.
