Penn State leads the field after day one of 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships

RecordStaffMarch 17, 2023Last Updated: March 17, 2023

10 minutes read

TULSA, Okla.– The Penn State Nittany wrestling team will end day one of the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships sitting in first place in the team race. Head coach Cael Sanderson’s crew won all but three of its bouts on day one and moved a tournament-best seven wrestlers into the quarterfinals. Action at the three-day event continues Friday in Tulsa, Okla.

Seven of Penn State’s nine qualifiers went 2-0 on day one to advance to the quarterfinals. One other Penn Stater is still alive in consolation action with third place still on the table. The Nittany Lions sit in first place in the team race with 26.0 points while Iowa is in second with 21.5.

Roman Bravo-Young, the No. 1 seed at 133, battled No. 17 Brayden Palmer of Chattanooga in Penn State’s first second-round match-up of session two. Bravo-Young scored quickly, taking Palmer down in the opening seconds then adding a second takedown at the midway point of the first period. He led 4-2 after one, then worked his riding time up over 1:00 to start the second period. Bravo-Young controlled Palmer for the entire middle stanza and led 4-2 with 2:36 in time after two. After a neutral start in the third, Bravo-Young finished the bout on his feet and rolled into the quarterfinals with a 5-2 win.

Beau Bartlett, the No. 6 seed at 141, battled No. 11 Clay Carlson of South Dakota State in round two. Bartlett had a chance early on a single leg but Carlson defended the move and the first period ended in a 0-0 tie. Bartlett escaped to a 1-0 lead quickly in the second period and then tacked on a takedown with :45 on the clock to move out to a 3-0 lead. Bartlett finished the period on top and led 3-0 with :31 in time after two periods. Carlson escaped to a 3-1 score to start the third stanza, picked up a stall point and Bartlett finished the match on his feet. He moved into the quarterfinals with a 3-2 victory.

Redshirt freshman Shayne Van Ness, the No. 13 seed at 149, met No. 5 Paniro Johnson of Iowa State in the second round. Van Ness worked the first two minutes in neutral and then attacked, working through a shot for a takedown and moving Johnson to his back for four nearfall points. With Van Ness up 6-0, Johnson began the second period with a reversal and a takedown, cutting Van Ness’ lead to 8-4. After Johnson got hit with a stall warning, Van Ness worked his way around the Cyclone for another takedown, picked up a stall point and led 11-4 with 1:44 in time after two. Van Ness began the third with a takedown and worked his way to a dominant 14-8 victory and a trip to the quarterfinals.

True freshman Levi Haines, the No. 2 seed at 157, faced No. 15 Jacob Wright of Wyoming in the second round. Haines notched a takedown a minute into the bout to lead 2-1 early and carried that lead into the second period. He quickly escaped to a 3-1 lead to start the period then moved through a low shot for another takedown and a 5-1 lead with 1:20 on the clock. He finished the period on top to carry 1:18 in riding time into the third period. Wright picked up an escape point in the third but Haines would add a final takedown and 1:40 in riding time to post the strong 8-2 win and advance to the quarterfinals.

Carter Starocci, the No. 1 seed at 174, battled No. 17 Donnell Washington of Indiana in round two. Starocci worked neutral for the bulk of the first period and broke through Washington’s defense for a late takedown and a 2-0 lead late in the period. He escaped quickly to start the third period, upping his lead to 3-0, and chased Washington to the outside circle for the rest of the period. Starocci led 3-0 after two periods and Washington chose down to begin the period. Starocci controlled Washington for the entire period and, with 2:13 in riding time, rolled into the quarters with a 4-0 win.

Aaron Brooks, the No. 3 seed at 184, met No. 14 Will Feldkamp of Clarion in round two. Brooks scored quickly, taking Feldkamp down to lead 2-1 in the opening minute. He carried that lead into the second period and escaped to begin the middle stanza, taking a 3-1 lead. Brooks scrambled to a second takedown at the 1:10 mark and opened up a 5-2 lead midway through the middle stanza. Brooks continued to work on offense and turned a last second takedown into a pinning opportunity. With just :01 left on the clock, Brooks got the fall at 4:59 to move into the quarterfinals.

Max Dean, the No. 9 seed at 197, battled No. 8 Silas Allred of Nebraska in the second round. Allred drew first blood with a takedown midway through the opening period and Dean nearly reversed him after the score. But Allred worked his way out of bounds and Dean settled for an escape and trailed 2-1 after one. Dean chose down to start the second period and worked his way to an escape and a 2-2 tie (keeping Allred’s riding time edge below 1:00). Allred managed a late takedown and led 4-2 after two periods. After a neutral Allred start, Dean nearly scrambled to takedowns twice but each time Allred was able to escape out of bounds. The Husker added a last second counter takedown and Dean fell into consolation action with the 7-2 loss.

Greg Kerkvliet, the No. 3 seed at 285, faced No. 14 A.J. Nevills of South Dakota State in the second round. Kerkvliet took Nevills down quickly and added four back points off the initial move to open up a 6-1 lead early. He added a second takedown at 1:00 and worked his riding time edge well over 1:00. Kerkvliet finished the period on top and led 8-1 after one. He added a stall point and another takedown to lead 11-2 with nearly 3:00 in riding time after two periods. He opted for down to start the third and quickly reversed Nevills to lead 13-2. He finished the period on top and, with 4:30 in riding time, posted the convincing 14-2 major decision to become Penn State’s seventh quarterfinalist.

Redshirt freshman Alex Facundo, the No. 13 seed at 165, met No. 4 Julian Ramirez of Cornell in the first round of consolation action. Ramirez took Facundo down early to take a 2-1 lead in the opening minute. Facundo looked to work in on a low single but Ramirez countered and eventually worked his way to a second takedown and a 4-1 lead after one. Facundo escaped quickly to start the second period, the only point of the middle stanza. Ramirez tacked on an escape to start the third and then added a takedown, four near fall and a riding time point to post the 12-2 win. Facundo’s loss ended his first NCAA tournament with an 0-2 mark. He finishes the season with a 19-6 record.

The Nittany Lions went 7-2 in session two and wrapped up day one with an outstanding 15-3 overall mark. Penn State has collected 11.0 bonus points off four pins and three majors. The Nittany Lions have seven quarterfinalists while second place Iowa has five.

Action continues with sessions three and four at 12:00 p.m. (ESPNU) and 8:00 p.m. (ESPN) on Friday March 17; and sessions five and six at 11:00 a.m. (ESPNU) and 7:00 p.m. (ESPN) on Saturday, March 18 (all times Eastern).

Penn State at 2023 NCAA Championships– Session 2
March 16, 2023 – BOK Center – Tulsa, Okla.

Team Standings (Top 3 after session 2 as of 10:45 p.m. Eastern)
1: PENN STATE – 26.0
2: Iowa – 21.5
3: Three-way tie for third (MINN, MIZZ, NCST with some conso action still ongoing)

Weight-by-weight agate (RANKINGS LISTED ARE OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT SEED):

133: #1 Roman Bravo-Young, Sr., Tucson, Ariz./Sunnyside
Rd. 1: #33 Ethan Oakley, Appalachian State – W, 12-3 maj. dec.
Rd. 2: #17 Brayden Palmer, Chattanooga – W, 5-2 dec.
Qtr: #8 Aaron Nagao, Minnesota – tomorrow

Bravo-Young took on No. 33 Ethan Oakley of Appalachian State in the opening round. Bravo-Young quickly took Oakley down to start the match, built up riding time and then added a second takedown to lead 4-1 after one. He added an escape and a takedown to lead 7-1 after two periods and rolled through the third period with two takedowns. He added over 4:00 in riding time to post the 12-3 major decision.