Five Penn State wrestlers win individual crowns as Nittany Lions win NCAA team title
Penn State wrestling crowned five national champions Saturday night after having five finalists at the 2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Detroit.
Roman Bravo-Young started the night for the Nittany Lions at 133 pounds, defeating previously undefeated Daton Fix of Oklahoma State to win the title by decision, 3-2. Bravo-Young’s title is the second of his career, with the first coming last season — which also came against Fix. He won this time thanks to a takedown in the first period that ultimately proved to be enough in the end.
Nick Lee won the second, taking the 141-pound title by decision over North Carolina’s Kizhan Clarke, 10-2. Lee was taken down early but responded by scoring the next 10 points in the match to earn the victory. as was the case for Bravo-Young, it’s Lee’s second straight national title in the weight class.
Carter Starocci kept the momentum rolling at 174 pounds, winning the title over Virginia Tech’s Mekhi Lewis in overtime, 6-5. He, like Lee, surrendered the first points of the match but battled back to keep himself in it and ultimately earn the victory. Starocci’s title is also his second of his career and his second consecutive.
Aaron Brooks also wrestled his way to a championship for Penn State, winning the title at 184 pounds by defeating Michigan’s Myles Amine by decision, 5-3. The victory was a dominant one for Brooks, who scored the first takedown of the bout and accumulating over four minutes of riding time. Brooks’ title was the team’s fourth back-to-back champ of the night as Brooks won at 184 pounds in 2021 as well.
Max Dean rounded out the five champions for the Nittany Lions in his first year with the program after transferring in from Cornell. Dean defeated Iowa’s Jacob Warner 3-2 in the final to earn the first NCAA championship of his career and to close out the undefeated night for Penn State.
The Nittany Lions earned those titles after securing the team title earlier in the day over second-place Michigan.
This story was originally published March 19, 2022 at 10:09 PM.
