Hall and Brooks Claim Big Ten Titles as 2020 B1G Championship Concludes

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (12-2, 8-1 B1G) added two more Big Ten individual champions to its ledger as the 2020 Big Ten Championship concluded at Rutgers University on Sunday. Senior Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.) and true freshman Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md.) brought home titles at 174 and 184 respectively. The Nittany Lions qualified seven total wrestlers for the 2020 NCAA Championships. Iowa ran away with the team title and Penn State had to settle for fourth place.

Penn State now heads to the 2020 NCAA Championship with seven qualifiers with at-large bids being announced on Tuesday. The Nittany Lions have won eight of the last nine NCAA titles. Brooks was named 2020 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, becoming Penn State’s first freshman of the year since Jason Nolf in 2016 and the sixth overall.

Sophomore Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), ranked No. 2 nationally at 133 in the NCAA coaches poll, met No. 10 Sebastian Rivera of Northwestern in the first of Penn State’s five Big Ten title bouts. Bravo-Young notched a takedown quickly to open up a 2-0 lead just :15 into the bout. He maintained control for over :30 before Rivera escaped to a 2-1 score. Bravo-Young controlled the center of the mat, keeping Rivera at arm’s length while working his offense. He forced another scramble with a low shot on the middle of the mat, looking to notch a takedown in front of the Northwestern bench. But Rivera was able to fight off the move and keep the bout close at :20. Trailing 2-1, Rivera chose down to start the second period. Bravo-Young maintained control long enough to build up :51 in riding time before Rivera escaped to a 2-2 tie. The duo battled in the middle of the mat as the clock hit :40. Rivera notched a late takedown to lead 4-2 after two periods. Bravo-Young chose down to start the final period. Rivera controlled the action from the top position and worked the clock down to :30. Bravo-Young was unable to break free of the Wildcat’s control, gave up two back points and riding time, and dropped a 7-2 decision. Bravo-Young will head to the 2020 NCAA Championships with a 19-2 record as the Big Ten runner-up.

Junior Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 1 at 141, took on No. 2 Luke Pletcher of Ohio State in the finals. Lee immediately got in on a low single but Pletcher was able to work his way out of bounds to keep the bout scoreless early. The Buckeye then connected on a shot of his own and took a 2-0 lead with a takedown of his own. Lee escaped to a 2-1 score and the bout continued with the Buckeye leading 2-1 at the 1:35 mark. Lee worked his way in on another single and this time finished off the shot to take a 3-2 lead at the 1:06 mark. The Lion junior was able to control the action on top until the :42 mark when Pletcher escaped to a 3-3 tie. With the score tied 3-3, Pletcher chose down to start the second stanza and quickly escaped to a 4-3 lead. Lee continued to work on offense, forcing Pletcher to skip away from a flurry of shots in the middle of the mat. As the clock moved to 1:00, Lee took a third and fourth shot but was hit for stalling as he was pushed out of bounds. Lee forced Pletcher into a stall warning and the bout moved to the third period with Pletcher up by one. Lee chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 4-4 tie. Lee countered a Pletcher shot and nearly connected with 1:00 left, but Pletcher was able to avoid the shot. Pletcher connected on a high shot and took a 6-5 lead with :30 left after a quick Lee escape. Lee could not break through Pletcher’s defense and Lee dropped a 6-5 decision. He heads to NCAAs with a 20-1 record, suffering his first loss of the year in the Big Ten finals.

Senior Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 165, faced off against No. 2 Alex Marinelli in the title bout. Joseph and Marinelli battled evenly for the first minute before Joseph nearly scored ono a high double. Marinelli backed out of the contact and the bout continued neutral to the 1:45 mark. Joseph stepped back from a slight Marinelli shot at 1:00, keeping the bout scoreless. Joseph continued to set the tempo, trying to open things up in the middle of the mat. The bout moved to the second period tied 0-0 and Marinelli chose down to start it. Joseph controlled the action for :20 before the Hawkeye escaped to a 1-0 lead. Joseph took another solid double at the :10 mark but once again Marinelli fought off the move. Trailing 1-0, Joseph took down to start the third period. The duo battled on their feet, locking each other up once at the 1:40 mark to no avail. Another tussle for a throw led to no scoring and the clock moved below the 1:00 mark. The duo battled through an even :50 before Marinelli worked a shot into a last second takedown. Joseph escaped but time ran out on his title hopes and the Lion senior dropped a 3-2 decision. Joseph, suffering his first loss of the year, will head to the NCAA Championships with a 15-1 record.

Senior Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), ranked No. 2 at 174, met No. 1 Michael Kemerer of Iowa in the Big Ten finals. Hall worked his way in on a solid shot at the 2:30 mark and finished off the takedown at 2:00 to take an early 2-1 lead. The duo battled evenly for the final minute-plus of the first period and Hall carried the one-point lead into the second stanza. Hall chose down to start the middle period and quickly escaped to a 3-1 lead. He worked his way underneath Kemerer with 1:20 left. He steadily worked his way into a takedown, using his back to force Kemerer’s back to the mat, picking up two nearfall points as well. Leading 7-1, he kept control of the Hawkeye until he had over 1:00 in riding time before Kemerer escaped to a 7-2 score. Trailing by five, Kemerer chose down to start the third period. Kemerer picked up a takedown with 1:20 on the clock and Hall led 8-5 after a quick escape. Hall fought off a late Kemerer shot and rolled to the 8-5 win, picking up his third Big Ten title. Hall heads to NCAAs with a 23-1 record as Big Ten Champion.

True freshman Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md.), ranked No. 5 at 184, took on No. 7 Cameron Caffey of Michigan State in Penn State’s fifth and final Big Ten Championship match. Brooks worked the center of the mat, stepping back from an early Caffey shot and countering with his own. Caffey’s defense was enough and the bout continued on tied 0-0 at the 1:30 mark. Neither wrestler connected for the rest of the period and the bout moved to the middle stanza tied 0-0. Caffey chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead.

Senior Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.), ranked No. 24 at 197 and already an NCAA qualifier, was set to meet No. 4 Christian Brunner of Purdue in the consolation semifinals but Brunner did not wrestle and Rasheed received a medical forfeit victory. The win advanced him to the 3rd-place bout where he took on No. 3 Jacob Warner of Iowa. Rasheed gave up an early takedown to fall behind and then another two points to find himself down 4-1 at the 2:00 mark. The Lion senior was unable to work free of Warner’s control for the remainder of the period and trailed 4-1 after one, with Brooks having 2:13 in riding time. Rasheed, who was dinged in the opening period, was unable to continue at the start of the second period and injury defaulted at the 3:00 mark. He ends the tournament with a 3-2 mark, the Big Ten’s 4th-place finisher, and heads to nationals with an 8-6 record.

Sophomore Jarod Verkleeren (Greensburg, Pa.), ranked No. 20 nationally at 149, once again met No. 19 Yahya Thomas of Northwestern in the ninth-place bracket semifinals, with a win earning an automatic qualifier spot to the NCAA Championships. Verkleeren fought off a solid early Thomas shot, sliding out of bounds and forcing a reset with 2:00 on the clock. Verkleeren gave up a first stall at the 1:10 mark and the bout moved to the second period tied 0-0. Verkleeren chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. He gave up a stall point with :40 on the clock but got in on a single leg right away. The Lion worked his offensive position into a takedown and led 3-1 with :25 left in the period. Thomas escaped as the period ended and Verkleeren led 3-2 after two. Thomas chose down to start the third period, Verkleeren made the Wildcat pay. Verkleeren maintained control of Thomas for the entire period, not allowing him any room to maneuver for the full two minutes. Verkleeren racked up 1:57 in riding time with the rideout and posted the 4-2 victory. The win earned Verkleeren a trip to NCAAs and moved him into the 9th-place bout. He took on No. 18 Graham Rooks of Indiana in the 9th-place bout. Verkleeren got in on an early single, worked his way into control of the Hoosier’s waist and took him down for an early 2-0 lead. He maintained control of Rooks for nearly a minute before Rooks escaped to a 2-1 score. Verkleeren muscled Rooks to the mat for a late takedown and led 4-1 after one.

Verkleeren chose down to start the second period. He escaped to a 5-1 lead at the 1:00 mark and carried that lead into the third period. Rooks chose down to start the third period and Verkleeren maintained control until only :20 remained in the bout. Verkleeren gave up a late takedown but still rolled to the 6-4 win. He heads to his first NCAA tournament as the 9th-place finisher at Big Tens with a 17-8 record.

True freshman Brandon Meredith (Limerick, Pa.) went 1-3 at 125 on day one and bowed out of the tournament. Junior Bo Pipher (Paonia, Colo.), the 13th-seed at 157, went 0-2 in the morning session and bowed out of the tournament. True freshman Seth Nevills (Clovis, Calif.), ranked No. 16 at 285, suffered an injury default loss in his first match during session one and ended the tournament at 0-1.
The Nittany Lions placed fourth with 107.0 points while Iowa won the team title with 157.5 points. Penn State posted a 16-9 overall record and left the tournament with two champions (Hall, Brooks). The Lions added three runner-ups (Bravo-Young, Lee, Joseph), one 4th-place finisher (Rasheed) and one ninth place finisher (Verkleeren).

The Big Ten received 79 automatic qualifiers: eight at 125, seven at 133, eight at 141, ten at 149, six at 157, eight at 165, nine at 174, ten at 184, six at 197 and seven at 285. In all, the NCAA allocated 283 automatic bids for 330 slots (33 per 10 weight classes). The remaining spots will be announced as at-large bids on NCAA.com on Wednesday, March 11. Penn State’s NCAA qualifiers will head to the 2020 NCAA Wrestling Championship on Thursday through Saturday, March 19-21, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minn. The event will be held at US Bank Stadium, home of the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings.

Penn State at 2020 Big Ten Championship – Session 3/4

March 8, 2020 – Piscataway, N.J. – Rutgers University
TEAM STANDINGS — FINAL
1: Iowa – 157.5
2: Nebraska – 132.0
3: Ohio State – 112.0
4: Penn State – 107.0
5: Purdue – 83.0
6: Northwestern – 79.5
7: Michigan – 73.0
8: Minnesota – 63.5
9: Wisconsin – 62.5
10: Michigan State – 57.0
11: Illinois – 53.0
12: Rutgers – 25.5
13: Indiana – 14.5
14: Maryland – 0.0