Penn State perfect in semis; advance four to NCAA finals
ST. LOUIS, Mo. –The Penn State Nittany Lions will have four wrestlers competing for individual glory in the championship finals at the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships Saturday night. Penn State went a perfect 4-0 in the national semifinals Friday night and had two others earn All-America honors. Pre-tourney favorite Iowa continues to lead in the team race with 109 points, Penn State second with 94.5.
Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), Carter Starocci (Erie, Pa.) and Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md.) will all compete for NCAA titles after winning their semifinal match-ups during session four. Two other Lions, freshmen Michael Beard (Pottstown, Pa.) and Greg Kerkvliet (Grove Heights, Minn.), became All-Americans.
Bravo-Young, the No. 2 seed at 133, took on No. 3 Korbin Myers of Virginia Tech in the first of Penn State’s four national semifinal bouts. Bravo-Young took a quick lead with a takedown just :40 into the bout. Myers escaped to a 2-1 score and action returned to neutral. The Lion junior carried that one-point lead into the second stanza.
Myers chose down to start the second period and Bravo-Young was able to keep control for :25 before the Hokie escaped to a 2-2 tie. The tie score held for the remainder of the period and the bout moved to the final stanza deadlocked. Bravo-Young chose neutral to start the third period. Bravo-Young darted in on a fast low shot, snagged Myers’ ankle, and pulled both feet into control for a takedown at the 1:05 mark. The swift move put the Lion up 4-2. Bravo-Young kept control of Myers and built his riding time edge up over 1:00. Young managed a late escape but Bravo-Young, with riding time, notched the 5-3 win and advanced to the national finals.
Nick Lee, the No. 2 seed at 141, met No. 3 Sebastian Rivera of Rutgers in the semifinals. Lee looked to set a fast pace early. The Lion senior forced Rivera into defense for the first minute-plus, with a number of fast shots that the Knight had to step away from. Rivera countered a Lee shot late and took a 2-0 lead with a takedown in front of the Rutgers bench. Trailing by two, Lee chose down to start the second period. Lee escaped to a 2-1 score and then picked up a stall point on a second Rivera stall to tie the bout at 2-2 with :50 on the clock. Lee rolled through a low double to take a 4-2 lead at the :45 mark. Lee maintained offensive control for the rest of the period and led 4-2 after two. Rivera escaped to start the third period and cut Lee’s lead to 4-3. Lee scrambled away from a Rivera shot to force a reset with :40. Lee finished off the bout with a strong takedown and rolled Rivera to his back for two near fall points. He finished the match on top and, with riding time, moved into the national finals with a 9-3 victory.
Starocci, the No. 3 seed at 174, faced off against No. 2 Demetrius Romero of Utah Valley in the semis. Starocci battled Romero in the center circle for the opening minute-plus. The Lion freshman shot Romero to the edge of the mat but Romero defended the effort. The first period ended in a scoreless tie. Starocci chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. The duo then worked the middle of the mat on their feet for the rest of the second period and the Lion freshman led by one after two. Romero chose down to start the third period and Starocci made the decision work his way. The Nittany Lion freshman was dominant in the offensive position, controlling Romero for the entire third period. The ride-out gave Starocci 1:47 in riding time and the Lion freshman moved to the national finals with a 2-0 victory.
Brooks, the No. 1 seed at 184, met No. 4 Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa in Penn State’s final semifinal match of the night. Brooks took an early lead, using a fast low single to take Keckeisen down and lead 2-1 at the 1:49 mark. The early takedown was the lone score of the opening period and Brooks carried that one-point lead into the second stanza. The Lion sophomore escaped to a 3-1 lead to start the second period. Brooks’ relentless offensive effort led to another scramble in the middle of the mat. He worked his way through the action and took a 5-1 lead with another takedown. A short rideout and Brooks entered the third period with a 5-1 lead. Keckeisen escaped to a 5-2 score but Brooks’ riding time eclipsed 1:00. Brooks gave up a late takedown and, with riding time, moved into the NCAA finals with a 6-4 victory.
Beard, the No. 15 seed at 197, met No. 13 Tanner Sloan of South Dakota State in his first consolation match-up. Beard turned a high single into a takedown and a 2-0 lead just over a minute into the bout. The Lion freshman then took control on offense, turning Sloan for back points and a 6-0 lead at the 1:05 mark. Beard finished the period on top and led 6-0 with 2:00 in riding time after one. Sloan chose down to start the second period but Beard controlled the action, riding Sloan out to lead 6-0 with 4:00 of riding time after two periods. Beard chose top to start the final period. With the riding time point clinched, he went to work in neutral. Beard picked up a final late takedown and, with 5:03 in riding time became an All-American with a 9-1 major decision. Beard took on No. 7 Rocky Elam of Missouri in the consi quarters. Elam notched a takedown in the first late in the period to lead 2-0 after the opening stanza. The Tiger escaped to start the second stanza and added a second takedown to carry a 3-0 lead into the final period. Elam added a final score and Beard dropped into Saturday’s seventh-place bout with a 5-0 decision.
Kerkvliet, the No. 9 seed at 285, battled No. #29 Austin Harris of Oklahoma State in his first consolation bout. The Lion big man dominated the opening period. Kerkvliet notched two textbook takedowns to lead 4-2 with over 1:00 in riding time after the opening three minutes. He added a third takedown in the second stanza and upped his lead to 6-3 with two minutes left. The third period was all Kerkvliet. Kerkvliet put on an offensive show in the third. He tallied three takedowns to up his lead to 12-5 and added a riding time point to post the 13-5 major decision. The win earned him All-American honors. He then took on No. 4 Cohlton Schultz of Arizona State in the consi quarters. Kerkvliet opened up the scoring with a quick takedown and led 2-1 out of the gates. But the Sun Devil countered that early burst with two takedowns of his own and led 7-4 after the opening period. Schultz extended his lead to 10-4 after two periods with an escape and a takedown. Kerkvliet cut into the lead early in the third with an escape and a takedown but Schultz answered with a final takedown down the stretch to post the 14-8 victory. The loss dropped Kerkvliet into Saturday’s seventh-place bout.
Junior Brady Berge (Mantorville, Minn.), the No. 12 seed at 157, was unable compete after being injured in his prior match and ended his NCAA tournament run with a 2-1 record, including a major. Berge went 10-3 this year.
True freshman Robert Howard (Cranford, N.J.), the No. 23 seed at 125, went 2-2 at 125 and had his tournament end during session three. Freshman Joe Lee (Evansville, Ind.), the No. 23 seed at 165, went 0-2 in his first tournament appearance.
The Nittany Lions went 6-2 during session four and picked up two more majors. Penn State is 25-9 overall after two full days of action and has amassed 16.0 bonus points off ten majors and four technical falls.
Nick Lee is the 15th four-time All-American in Penn State wrestling history. Bravo-Young is the 32nd three-time All-American in Lion history.
Penn State at 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships – Session 4
*-March 19, 2021 – Enterprise Center – St. Louis, Mo.
TEAM STANDINGS (top five)
1: Iowa – 109.0
2: PENN STATE – 94.5
3: Oklahoma State – 86.5
4: Arizona State – 67.0
5: Michigan – 58.5
