Penn State wrestling notebook: No Robert Howard but Aaron Brooks could be back, plus rankings
Last week, Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said that the upcoming US Senior Nationals could affect his squad’s lineup against Hofstra.
The event is one of the last chances for wrestlers from around the country to have a shot of qualifying for the Olympic Team Trials, which will be held at the Bryce Jordan Center in April.
“With the trials being here in State College, we got a lot of kids that want to participate and wrestle in that,” Sanderson said. “It’s probably the easiest way, maybe the last chance qualifier, to qualify for the Olympic Trials.”
On Tuesday, Sanderson gave a glimpse into who may be in the Nittany Lions starting lineup against the Pride on Sunday at 1 p.m. inside Rec Hall.
Both Aaron Brooks and Robert Howard were missing from the Nittany Lions’ lineup in the dual against Lehigh last Sunday, which was a surprise to everyone in attendance.
Everyone knows that Brooks is the starter at 197 pounds. However, Howard is entangled in a lineup battle with Gary Steen and Braeden Davis at 125 pounds.
Brooks may make an appearance on Sunday because he has no reason to head to the US Senior Nationals. That’s because he won a U23 World Championship in October, which secured him a spot in the Olympic Trials.
“I think there’s a good chance we see him this weekend. He’s got a spot in the trials, so he’s good to go,” Sanderson said. “We think we’ll see him this weekend.”
When it comes to Howard, he won’t be in the lineup.
“I don’t think so. I don’t think we’ll see Robert this weekend,” Sanderson said immediately when asked about Howard’s availability.
Nittany Lions in the ranks
When it came to the team rankings that came out on Tuesday, nothing changed in the top five.
Penn State is still No. 1 over North Carolina State, Missouri, Iowa and Ohio State, in that order.
Iowa State and Michigan switched spots at No. 7 and No. 8. Indiana entered the top 25 at No. 25.
Lehigh, who the Nittany Lions just beat, stayed at No. 20. The Mountain Hawks are the lone team in the top 25 with a losing record at 0-2.
Individually, Penn State’s nine ranked wrestlers were still in the top 33 of their respective weight classes.
Aaron Nagao and Mitchell Mesenbrink saw their spots change this week.
Nagao, who suffered a loss to Lehigh’s Ryan Crookham, dropped to No. 4 after being No. 3. Crookham became the new No. 1 at 133 pounds with the victory.
Mesenbrink, who opened with a 17-2 technical fall in his Rec Hall debut, jumped up two spots to No. 14.
NWCA Coaches Poll
Released Tuesday, Dec. 5
| Rank | Team (Record) | Points |
| 1 | Penn State (1-0) | 350 |
| 2 | N.C. State (7-0) | 324 |
| 3 | Missouri (2-0) | 317 |
| 4 | Iowa (4-0) | 300 |
| 5 | Ohio State (4-0) | 292 |
| 6 | Cornell (1-0) | 275 |
| 7 | Iowa State (3-1) | 266 |
| 8 | Michigan (2-0) | 257 |
| 9 | Nebraska (2-0) | 254 |
| 10 | Virginia Tech (2-1) | 233 |
| 11 | Oklahoma State (1-0) | 208 |
| 12 | Minnesota (4-0) | 190 |
| 13 | Rutgers (3-1) | 175 |
| 14 | S. Dakota State (3-1) | 167 |
| 15 | Oregon State (3-1) | 151 |
| 16 | Northern Iowa (0-0) | 127 |
| 17 | Navy (4-0) | 113 |
| 18 | Oklahoma (4-1) | 103 |
| 19 | Pittsburgh (5-1) | 88 |
| 20 | Lehigh (0-2) | 66 |
| 21 | West Virginia (4-1) | 61 |
| 22 | Arizona State (1-2) | 46 |
| 23 | North Carolina (5-2) | 42 |
| 24 | Stanford (2-0) | 40 |
| 25 | Indiana (2-0) | 17 |
Others receiving votes: Campbell 16, Maryland 13, Penn 13, Purdue 11, Northwestern 8, Northern Colorado 6, Cal Poly 4, Wisconsin 4
