Nittany Lion wrestlers send four to Big Ten finals; in second place after day one
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA –The Penn State Nittany Lions (6-0, 6-0 B1G), ranked No. 2 in the latest InterMat Tournament Power Index, have advanced four individuals to the Big Ten finals set for Sunday afternoon in the Bryce Jordan Center. The Lions have nine grapplers qualified for the NCAA Championships in two weeks.
Coach Cael Sanderson’s squad went a perfect 4-0 in Saturday semifinal action and 13-2 overall in the session. The Nittany Lions are in second place in the team standings with 111.5 points, with Iowa in first at 126.5. The two-day event is being hosted by Penn State in the Bryce Jordan Center.
Junior Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), ranked No. 2 nationally at 133, took on Nebraska’s Chris Cannon in Penn State’s first semifinal of the night. Bravo-Young scored quickly, taking Cannon down in the opening twenty seconds. The Lion junior added a second takedown, grabbing a fleeing Cannon’s feet for a 4-1 lead at the 2:03 mark. Bravo-Young worked his riding time up to over 1:30 before Cannon escaped. Cannon escaped to start the third period, cutting Bravo-Young’s lead to 4-3. Leading by one, Bravo-Young chose down to start the third period and escaped to a 5-3 lead with 1:05 in time at the 1:30 mark. He added a takedown and a riding time point to post the 8-3 win and move into the Big Ten title bout.
Senior Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 2 in the country at 141, met No. 3 Sebastian Rivera of Northwestern in the semis. Rivera took the bout’s first shot, gaining control of Lee’s leg and working for a takedown with 2:13 on the clock. Lee quickly escaped and then rolled into a low shot for a takedown of his own to lead 3-2 with 1:45 left. Rivera escaped with :45 left in the period and the bout moved to the second tied 3-3. Lee quickly escaped to a 4-3 lead to start the second period. Rivera took a quick low shot and took Lee down to lead 5-4 with 1:00 on the clock. Rivera got called for locked hands at the :30-mark, Lee then escaped on the reset and the Lion led 6-5 after two periods. Rivera chose down to start the third period and escaped to a 6-6 tie at the 1:07 mark. Lee forced a wild scramble at the :15 mark that appeared to lead to a takedown and then danger, but no points were awarded. Penn State called for a review but the call stood. The bout headed to sudden victory and Nick Lee pulled out the thrilling 8-6 (sv) win with a scrambling takedown with just :02 left on the clock. Lee’s win pushed him into the Big Ten title bout at 141.
Freshman Carter Starocci (Erie, Pa.), ranked No. 4 in the nation at 174, met No. 2 Mikey Labriola of Nebraska in the semifinals. Starocci took the bout’s first few shots but Labriola was able to back away from each Lion shot. The Lion continued to provide the offense, forcing the Nebraska wrestler back towards the outer circle. Tied 0-0 after the first, Starocci chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. The duo battled evenly over the remainder of the middle stanza and Starocci led 1-0 after one. Labriola chose down to start the third period and escaped to a 1-1 tie at the 1:41 mark. Starocci nearly connected on a shot with :45 left but Labriola once again defended the effort. Starocci forced a late scramble that looked to end with the Lion turning Labriola’s back to the mat, but after a review, no points were awarded and we went to extra time. Starocci, forcing all the action throughout the bout, had his offense pay dividends as a scrambling shot led to a takedown with under :05 left on the clock. Starocci’s 3-1 (sv) win moved the freshman into the Big Ten finals.
Sophomore Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md.), ranked No. 1 nationally at 184, battled No. 18 John Poznanski of Rutgers in Penn State’s fourth semifinal match-up. Brooks battled Poznanski evenly for the bulk of the first period but worked his offense to a takedown and a 2-0 lead at the :42 mark. He finished the period on top and led by two after one. The Lion sophomore chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 3-0 lead. He continued to press Poznanski and picked up a second takedown late in the period to lead 5-0 with :48 in riding time after two periods. The Scarlet Knight chose down to start the third period and escaped to a 5-1 score.
Brooks dominated the rest of the bout, notching two takedowns and building up 1:39 in riding time to roll to a 10-2 major decision. The win moved the Lion into another Big Ten title bout and gave Penn State a 4-0 record in the semifinals.
True freshman Robert Howard (Cranford, N.J.), coming off a 1-1 first session, took on Rutgers’ Dylan Shawver in Penn State’s first consolation bout off the evening. Howard scored the bout’s first points with a solid takedown just over :30 into the bout. He then controlled the action for the rest of the period and picked up a four-point near fall as the period ended to lead 6-0 after the first period. Howard used a takedown in the second period, an escape and riding time to roll to a 10-1 major decision, advance in consolation action, and become an NCAA qualifier as a true freshman. He took on No. 7 Dylan Ragusin of Michigan in the consolation quarterfinals. After a scoreless first period, Howard took a 1-0 lead to start the second period on a quick escape and then fought off a Ragusin shot in front of the Penn State corner. The Lion freshman withstood a strong late shot from the Wolverine and led by one after two. Ragusin tied the bout with his own escape to start the third period and the bout was deadlocked. The duo battled evenly for the rest of the third and the bout moved to extra time. After having one takedown taken away late in sudden victory, Howard locked up the Wolverine and threw him to his back for a takedown and a 3-1 (sv) win with 0:05 left. His second conso win of the day advanced him to the consolation semifinals.
Junior Brady Berge (Mantorville, Minn.), ranked No. 8 at 157, met Maryland’s Michael Doetsch of Maryland in his opening consolation bout. Berge dominated Doetsch in each period. He used two takedowns to lead 4-1 after one, added a takedown and two near fall in the second period and rolled to an 11-2 major decision. The win moved him into consolation quarters and earned him a trip to the NCAA tournament as well. Berge took on Nebraska’s Caleb Licking in the consolation quarterfinals. Berge scored quickly, taking Licking down off the opening whistle. He picked up a quick second takedown and finished off the opening period with a third to lead 6-2 after one. The Lion junior added a fourth takedown in the second and led 8-2 after two. He would go on to post the 12-2 major to advance to the consolation semifinals.
Freshman Joe Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 15 at 165, took on No. 14 Andrew Sparks of Minnesota in the consolations. The bout began with Sparks taking an injury timeout and Lee choosing down on the reset. The Lion freshman quickly reversed the Gopher, then turned him to his back and quickly got the first period pin. Lee’s fast fall at the 0:44 mark moved him into the next round of consolations and punched his ticket to the NCAA Championships. Lee met Purdue’s Gerrit Nijenhuis in the consolation quarterfinals. After an even minute, Lee took the Boilermaker down midway through the period and finished on top to lead 2-0 with 1:35 in time after one. Lee chose down to start the second period and after a scramble midway through it, was pinned by the Boilermaker at the 4:29 mark. Already an NCAA qualifier, he dropped to the seventh-place bout.
Freshman Michael Beard (Pottstown, Pa.), ranked No. 15 in the country at 197, met Matt Wroblewski of Illinois in his first consolation bout of the evening. The first period was scoreless with Beard nearly notching a takedown as the first ended, but to no avail. Wroblewski chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. Beard continued to battle for the entire period, forcing Wroblewski back to the outside circle. His efforts paid off and he notched a takedown in the period’s final seconds to lead 2-1 after one. He chose down to start the third and quickly reversed Wroblewski to lead 4-1, then 4-2 after his opponent escaped. Beard fought off two late Illinois shots and notched a final counter takedown with :11 and posted the 6-2 win. Beard took on No. 17 Thomas Penola in the consolation quarterfinals. The duo traded solid shot in the opening period and Beard finally got the first takedown with just under a minute left in the first. He quickly added a second after a Penola escape and led 4-2 after one. Penola picked up an early escape in the second and that was the middle period’s only scoring. Beard escaped to a 5-3 lead to start the third period. But Penola tied the bout with a takedown at the :48 mark. Beard escaped to a 6-5 lead and made that point count, securing the 6-5 victory to move into the conso semifinals and earn a bid to the NCAA Championships.
Freshman Greg Kerkvliet (Grove Heights, Minn.), ranked No. 6 nationally at 285, met Michigan State’s Christian Rebottaro in his opening consolation bout of the session. The Lion big man notched the first takedown of the bout quickly and led 2-1 early. He took Rebottaro down a second time to up his lead to 4-1 at the 1:15mark and then went to work on top, looking for a turn. The Spartan was able to work his way to his feet and escape with :22 left but Kerkvliet quickly took him down again to lead 6-2 after the opening period. Kerkvliet chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 7-2 lead. He added another takedown and led 9-2 after two periods. Kerkvliet tacked on two more takedowns in the third period and, with 3:47 in riding time, posted the 16-5 major decision. Kerkvliet battled No. 13 Trent Hillger of Wisconsin in the consolation quarters. Kerkvliet scored midway through the opening period and led 2-1 after one period. Hillger chose down to start the second period, reversed Kerkvliet, but was quickly reversed by the Lion seconds later and Kerkvliet led 4-3 with 1:45 in riding time after two. The Lion freshmen would add one more takedown and clinch the riding time point with a rideout out. Kerkvliet rolled to a 7-3 win with 3:24 in riding time, advancing to the conso semis, and becoming Penn State’s ninth NCAA qualifier.
True freshman Beau Bartlett (Tempe, Ariz.), ranked No. 10 in the country, met No. 17 Yahya Thomas of Northwestern in his first consolation match-up. The Lion freshman countered a Thomas shot midway through the opening stanza to take an early 2-1 lead. Bartlett battled thomas evenly for the rest of the opening period and led by one after one. Thomas chose down to start the second stanza and quickly escaped to a 2-2 tie. Thomas picked up his first takedown and led 4-2 at the :55 mark. He escaped quickly after the takedown and trailed 4-3 after two periods. Bartlett chose down to start the third period and quickly reversed the Wildcat. Thomas escaped the bout was tied 5-5 with 1:30 left to wrestle. The rest of regulation was scoreless and the bout moved to sudden victory. Bartlett fought off a quick Thomas shot, forcing a reset. Thomas scrambled his way to a late takedown and posted the 7-5 (sv) win and Bartlett, who moved up a weight to 149, ended his first Big Ten tournament with a 1-2 mark as a true freshman.
The Nittany Lions went 13-2 in session two and collected eight more bonus points off four majors and two pins. Sanderson’s squad was 3-1 in its four sudden victory battles in session two. Penn State went 24-8 over Saturday’s two sessions and tallied 16.5 bonus points off seven majors, a tech and four pins.
The Big Ten received a total of 76 qualifying spots for the 2021 NCAA Championships, set for St. Louis on March 18-20. The Big Ten will qualify eight wrestlers (seven pre-allocations and one automatic spot for the weight class champion) at seven different weights (125, 133, 141, 157, 165, 174, 184), seven at 149 and 285 and six at 197
Sunday afternoon’s Big Ten Championship finals will air live on the Big Ten Network at 4 p.m.
Penn State at 2021 Big Ten Championship – Session 2
March 6, 2021 – University Park, Pa. – Bryce Jordan Center
TEAM STANDINGS– Top 5
1: Iowa – 126.5
2: PENN STATE – 111.5
3: Nebraska – 88.0
4: Michigan – 76.0
5: Purdue – 67.0
