Penn State wrestling collects 6 Big Ten finalists as first day comes to close
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Big Ten Wrestling Championships
Penn State won its first team title since 2019 during the March 4-5 Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Read all of our coverage below.
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It’s become a customary thing for Penn State wrestlers to make the finals of big-time tournaments.
It continued on Saturday evening as the Nittany Lions went a combined 6-1 during the semifinals of the Big Ten Championships.
“It was a beast of a day. ... It’s a lot of great wrestling every round. Every round is tough,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said. “Every match is tough, but our guys are doing fine. I think our best wrestling is ahead of us still.”
The Nittany Lions have the most finalists of the schools, but Nebraska is close behind with five.
With so many finalists, Penn State holds the lead in the team race with 120 points. Iowa is 14.5 points behind with the Cornhuskers behind them with 98.5 points.
“This is a tough conference. The first match out is a competitive bout. I’m not disappointed in anybody,” Sanderson said. “Sometimes losing is the most powerful opportunity to learn something that can help us prepare as we move into the national tournament. The guys finished strong today, but tomorrow is a big day, so we want to make sure we wrestle the way we want to wrestle.”
Here’s a recap of Saturday’s action.
125 pounds: Gary Steen
Record after day: 0-2
Current round: 9th Place Bracket Semifinals
Recap: The day didn’t start off very well for the Nittany Lions as Steen took on Maryland’s Braxton Brown.
Brown fired off a takedown five seconds into the bout and put Steen to his back. Brown collected four nearfall points midway through the period to lead 6-0 after one.
In the second period, Steen had a third caution called against him as he tried to anticipate the official’s whistle. Brown got a point for that third caution, and added a reversal late to hold a 9-0 lead going to the final period.
Brown got a takedown, two more nearfall and added a riding time point for a 14-0 major decision.
Things didn’t get any better for Steen as he took on Michigan’s Jack Medley in the consolation second round.
Medley tallied two takedowns in the first period, an escape in the second period, and added one more takedown in the third period for a 7-2 win.
Steen was placed into another bracket to wrestle for ninth place. He’ll take on Michigan State’s Tristan Lujan in the semifinals of that bracket.
133 pounds: Roman Bravo-Young
Record after day: 2-0
Current round: Finals
Recap: RBY entered the evening looking to make his fourth straight Big Ten final. He took on Michigan’s Dylan Ragusin, and make it look easy.
RBY tallied two first period takedowns, two minutes apart. He had an escape in the second period to make it 5-1, but nearly was up 7-1 but a takedown was waived off after an official review.
In the third period, the senior tacked on one more takedown and had a riding time point for an 8-2 win. He’ll take on Minnesota’s Aaron Nagao, who was the No. 6 seed of the weight, in the finals Sunday afternoon.
RBY had no problems in his quarterfinals match with Iowa’s Brody Teske.
The two-time Big Ten champ had an early takedown in the first period, and rode Teske out for the remainder. After giving Teske an escape to open the second period, RBY took him down again locked up a cradle and collected two sets of nearfall points.
He led 8-1 after two. In the third period, RBY had two takedowns and collected a riding time point thanks to 5:06 in riding time for a 13-2 major decision.
141 pounds: Beau Bartlett
Record after day: 1-1
Current round: Consolation Semifinals
Recap: Bartlett’s evening session looked like it was going to start out well against Nebraska’s Brock Hardy.
He took Hardy down in a scramble that looked as though Hardy was going to score. Bartlett hit a granby roll to go behind Hardy for the score.
Hardy escaped before the period ended. In the second period, Hardy tied the bout with another escape and added a takedown of his own to hold a 4-2 advantage going to the third period.
Bartlett never escaped until there were 46 seconds remaining. He went in for a shot, but was sloppy and Hardy scored. The Cornhusker added a riding time point to send Bartlett to the consolation semifinals with a 7-3 loss.
Bartlett takes on Purdue’s Parker Filius for a spot in the consolation finals.
He faced Michigan’s Cole Mattin in the quarterfinals, and not a whole lot went on in the first period.
Bartlett’s escape and a stall point from Mattin gave him a 2-0 to start the third period. In the third period, Mattin collected an escape, but Bartlett tacked on a takedown. The Nittany Lion added riding time for a 4-2 win.
149 pounds: Shayne Van Ness
Record after day: 3-1
Current round: Consolation Semifinals
Recap: Van Ness opened his day by breezing past Illinois’ Jake Harrier to the tune of a 16-4 major decision.
He took on Iowa’s Max Murin in the quarterfinals, and Murin scored first with a late takedown in the first period. Van Ness escaped to trail 2-1 after one period.
Van Ness’ escape in the second period was the lone point, making it 2-2 to start the third. Murin had an escape in the third period, and got defensive from there. He added a riding time point to edge Van Ness, 4-2.
Van Ness stayed alive by racking up a 19-7 major decision. The Nittany Lion had one takedown in the first period, but had seven over the final two periods. Van Ness racked up four alone in the third period.
The redshirt freshman kept things rolling in the consolation bracket. He was leading Michigan’s Chance Lamer, 13-4, when an injury time got called. Lamer was unable to continue and Van Ness moved into the consolation semifinals with an injury default win in 5:49.
He takes on Indiana’s Graham Rooks, who upset the No. 2 seed in Wisconsin’s Austin Gomez in the quarterfinals.
“Shayne wrestled great. He scored a lot of points today, and putting a lot of pressure on guys,” Sanderson said. “He’s a guy where I feel like he’s getting better every match. He’s gaining more confidence as he goes.”
157 pounds: Levi Haines
Record after day: 2-0
Current round: Finals
Recap: The true freshman made quite the impression in his first Big Ten tournament by reaching the finals.
Haines faced an unfamiliar foe in Purdue’s Kendall Coleman in the semifinals. The pair not knowing one another looked for an opening in the first period, but nothing opened up.
In the second period, Haines collected an escape five seconds in. He then put Coleman in danger with 1:25 left to secure a takedown.
The third period opened with Haines holding a 3-1 lead. Coleman escaped right away. Haines was deep on a single-leg shot that Coleman fought off, and Haines’ defense was too much for the 3-2 victory.
He’ll have what is going to be the toughest test of his season when he takes on Nebraska’s Peyton Robb, who is the No. 1 wrestler in the country at the weight.
“Levi has great poise. He had a tough match and competitors. He’s done a great job,” Sanderson said. “This is a sport, right? I mean it’s important, but it’s not so important that we can’t just go have fun and be ourselves. He’s a good example of that. It’s still just a game, so we just want to play hard.”
Haines opened his day by recording a takedown with just over one minute remaining in the first period against Indiana’s Derek Gilcher in the quarterfinals. Haines hit a duck under into a single-leg takedown that Gilcher attempted to fight off, but to no avail.
Haines’ escape was the lone point in the second period, which gave him a 3-0 lead to start the third period. Gilcher started from the bottom, but Haines made him pay by putting him on his back for two nearfall points. Haines had 2:57 in riding time for a 6-0 shutout of Gilcher.
165 pounds: Alex Facundo
Record after day: 2-2
Current round: 7th place match
Recap: Facundo began the second session in the consolation bracket. He took on Indiana’s Nick South looking to punch his ticket to Tulsa with a win.
The redshirt freshman used a late first period takedown standup in a 3-1 win that saw the pair trade escapes the rest of the match.
Facundo’s night came to an end when he suffered a 3-2 loss to Nebraska’s Bubba Wilson. He was in deep on several shot attempts, but just couldn’t finish.
Facundo takes on Illinois’ Dan Braungel for seventh place Sunday afternoon.
“Alex is disappointed in himself, but great experience. He lost to a couple of tough guys,” Sanderson said. “He’ll be stronger because of the day he had. He just has to rebound and finish strong tomorrow.”
He had an up and down first session earlier Saturday.
He opened his first conference tournament by breezing past Purdue’s Stoney Buell, 7-2. In the quarterfinals, Facundo took on Ohio State’s Carson Kharchla, who he beat earlier this year, 4-1.
But Kharchla got some revenge on Saturday afternoon.
The Buckeyes wrestler used a first period takedown with 45 seconds remaining hold up in a 3-1 win. The pair traded escapes in the second and third periods, and Facundo had several shot attempts late, but couldn’t convert.
174 pounds: Carter Starocci
Record after day: 2-0
Current round: Finals
Recap: Starocci looked to keep his perfect streak alive of making the Big Ten finals at all of the championships he has competed in since coming to Penn State.
He took on Minnesota’s Bailee O’Reilly trying to make his third consecutive finals appearance. The two-time NCAA champion snapped off two first period takedowns to gain control early.
O’Reilly had two escapes over the first two periods to be within 4-2. Starocci poured it on in the third with an escape, a takedown that saw him drag his toes to stay in bounds and added a riding time point for an 8-2 victory.
He’ll get Nebraska’s Mikey Labriola.
The reigning Big Ten champion showed no signs of giving up his crown against Northwestern’s Troy Fisher in the quarterfinals.
Starocci used four takedowns and added riding time to collect a 10-2 major decision. The champ had two takedowns in the first period with ease. He added a takedown a piece in the second and third period, and 2:03 of riding time gave him another point.
184 pounds: Aaron Brooks
Record after day: 2-0
Current round: Finals
Recap: Brooks hasn’t seen the mat competitively since Feb. 10 — nearly a whole month — but that didn’t seem to bother him.
In his semifinals match with Michigan’s Matt Finesilver, the two-time Big Ten champ collected eight takedowns to cruise to his fourth straight finals appearance. Brooks recorded three takedowns a piece in the first and second period to hold a 13-5 lead as he picked up a stall point from Finesilver too.
In the third period, Brooks started on his feet and had two more takedowns to secure an 18-6 major decision. He’ll get Ohio State’s Kaleb Romero in the finals.
Brooks rattled off three first period takedowns to race out to a 6-2 lead on Rutgers’ Brian Soldano in their quarterfinals match. His reversal in the second period captured the lone points.
In the third period, he poured it on Soldano. Brooks secured a takedown right away, and tilted Soldano to his back for two sets of nearfall points. The champ racked up an 18-2 technical fall in 5:57.
197 pounds: Max Dean
Record after day: 2-0
Current round: Finals
Recap: Dean took on a familiar opponent in the semifinals on Saturday night in Iowa’s Jacob Warner. The pair squared off in last year’s NCAA final with Dean coming away with a win. Dean also beat Warner in the dual at the end of January.
In those previous bouts, Dean used his strong top game to control Warner. It was the same result Saturday night, except in a different fashion.
The pair went to a scoreless first period, and then Dean had his moment in the second period. He collected an escape 35 seconds into the period.
About a minute later, Dean hit a low sweeping single leg takedown on Warner to hold a 3-0 lead after two periods. Warner, who usually struggled to get from under Dean, escaped quickly to start the third period, but couldn’t get any offense.
Dean came away with the 3-1 victory for his second consecutive Big Ten finals appearance, where he’ll take on the Cornhuskers’ Silas Allred.
“Dean has some great shots. He can score points. When he wants to, he can attack both sides,” Sanderson said. “His counter offense and tie ups are great. That’s rematch of the national finals, so it’s a big time match against big time opponent. He did a great job.”
There wasn’t a ton of action in Dean’s quarterfinals match with Minnesota’s Michial Foy.
Neither wrestler scored in the first period, and Dean rode Foy for the entire second period.
In the third period, Dean earned an escape with 1:05 left, and he had riding time built up to collect a 2-0 win.
285 pounds: Greg Kerkvliet
Record after day: 2-0
Current round: Finals
Recap: Kerkvliet like Dean took on a familiar opponent in another Hawkeyes wrestler in Tony Cassioppi for a spot in the Big Ten finals.
Kerkvliet seems like he has begun to put some distance between himself and Cassioppi when it comes to matchups on the mat. He hit a nice low double-leg takedown to score the opening points with just under one minute left in the first period.
In the second period, Kerkvliet started from the bottom and struggled a little bit to escape, but he got a reversal on Cassioppi to lead 4-0 after two periods.
In the third period, Kerkvliet rode Cassioppi out for the entire period and secured a 5-0 shutout to make his first finals. He’ll take on Michigan’s Mason Parris in the expected last final of the night.
“He’s worked really hard and really committed to getting bigger. He’s a size bigger and stronger. He’s had great composure,” Sanderson said. “He’s made the decision to go score those points when he needed to, and he has. He’s got a big match Sunday with Parris from Michigan. He’s still kind of figuring out what he is and what he’s capable of, which is exciting.”
Kerkvliet has a recurring theme when he faces Ohio State’s Tate Orndorff. The Nittany Lion tallied a 9-0 major decision in the dual earlier this year.
On Saturday, Kerkvliet recorded nine points again, but Orndorff was able to get one in their quarterfinals bout.
Kerkvliet had a takedown in each period. He had a reversal in the second period, that Orndorff escaped from. In the end, Kerkvliet had 5:55 in riding time to secure the 9-1 win.
Big Ten Championships
Saturday at Ann Arbor, Mich.
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. Penn State 120, 2. Iowa 105.5, 3. Nebraska 98.5, 4. Ohio State 77, 5. Minnesota 73, T6. Michigan 64, T6. Northwestern 64, 8. Wisconsin 46.5, T9. Illinois 36.5, T9. Purdue 36.5
Semifinals
133: Roman Bravo-Young, PSU, dec. Dylan Ragusin, Mich., 8-2; 141: Brock Hardy, N, dec. Beau Bartlett, PSU, 7-3; 157: Levi Haines, PSU, dec. Kendall Coleman, P, 3-2; 174: Carter Starocci, PSU, dec. Bailee O’Reilly, Minn., 8-2; 184: Aaron Brooks, PSU, major dec. Matt Finesilver, Mich., 18-6; 197: Max Dean, PSU, dec. Jacob Warner, I, 3-1; 285: Greg Kerkvliet, PSU, dec. Tony Cassioppi, I, 5-0
Consolation Quarterfinals
149: Shayne Van Ness, PSU, injury def. Chance Lamer, Mich., 5:49; 165: Bubba Wilson, N, dec. Alex Facundo, PSU, 3-2
Consolation Second Round
125: Jack Medley, Mich., dec. Gary Steen, PSU, 7-2; 149: Van Ness, PSU, major dec. Jaden Reynolds, P, 19-7; 165: Facundo, PSU, dec. Nick South, Ind., 3-1
Quarterfinals
133: Bravo-Young, PSU, major dec. Brody Teske, I, 13-2; 141: Bartlett, PSU, dec. Cole Mattin, Mich., 4-2; 149: Max Murin, I, dec. Van Ness, PSU, 4-2; 157: Haines, PSU, dec. Derek Gilcher, Ind., 6-0; 165: Carson Kharchla, OSU, dec. Facundo, PSU, 3-1; 174: Starocci, PSU, major dec. Troy Fisher, NW, 10-2; 184: Brooks, PSU, tech. fall Brian Soldano, R, 18-2 (5:57); 197: Dean, PSU, dec. Michial Foy, Minn., 2-0; 285: Kerkvliet, PSU, major dec. Tate Orndorff, OSU, 9-1
First Round
125: Braxton Brown, M, major dec. Steen, PSU, 14-0; 149: Van Ness, PSU, major dec. Jake Harrier, Ill., 16-4; 165: Facundo, PSU, dec. Stoney Buell, P, 7-2
This story was originally published March 4, 2023 at 11:04 PM.
