Penn State hosts Big Ten wrestling championships this weekend
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – The Penn State Nittany Lions (6-0, 6-0 B1G), ranked No. 2 in the latest InterMat Tournament Power Index (TPI), will serve as the host for the 2021 Big Ten Wrestling Championships. The Nittany Lions and the rest of the conference’s 14 teams will take part in the event, which serves as the NCAA qualifier for the Big Ten. Action is set for Saturday and Sunday, March 6-7, in the Bryce Jordan Center.
Under current state guidance, spectators will not be permitted to attend the 2021 Big Ten Wrestling Championships at Penn State set for Saturday and Sunday, March 6-7. The Big Ten Network recently announced an increase of its linear coverage of the event, giving fans around the country the chance to see the nation’s best wrestlers throughout the weekend. Saturday’s sessions begin at 10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. while Sunday’s action starts at 12 p.m. followed by the individual championship round at 4 p.m.
The network will air whip-around coverage of all four mats during session one on Saturday and air Saturday night’s Big Ten semifinals. All four individual mats for both Saturday sessions will have mat cams available on the Big Ten Network+. Sunday afternoon’s Big Ten Championship finals will also air live on the Big Ten Network. Big Ten Network+ will feature the consolation action occurring before the finals, as well as placing bouts during the title tilts.
Penn State claimed a share of the 2021 Big Ten Dual Meet Championship, the seventh regular season crown for the Lions since head coach Cael Sanderson’s arrival in Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions went 6-0 in the conference and shared the title with 5-0 Iowa.
Penn State’s Big Ten Championships line-up features six freshmen and a sophomore for a seven-underclassmen contingent ready to compete in the tournament. Senior Nick Lee (141) and juniors Roman Bravo-Young (133) and Brady Berge (157) are Penn State’s upperclassmen. True freshmen Robert Howard (125) and Beau Bartlett (149) will be joined by redshirt freshman Joe Lee (165), Carter Starocci (174), Michael Beard (197) and Greg Kerkvliet (285) in the line-up.
The Nittanny Lions are coming off a 6-0 season that saw the team earn a share of its seventh Big Ten Dual Meet Championships with 5-0 Iowa. The Lion line-up features nine ranked wrestlers according to InterMat. Bravo-Young is ranked No. 3 at 133; Nick Lee is No. 2 at 141; Bartlett is No. 10 at 149; Berge is No. 8 at 157; Joe Lee is No. 15 at 165; Starocci is No. 4 at 174; Brooks is No. 1 at 184; Beard is No. 15 at 197 and Kerkvliet is No. 6 at 285.
The event serves as the national qualifier for all 14 Big Ten teams. Penn State’s qualifiers will trek to the Enterprise Arena for the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships on Thursday-Saturday, March 18-20.
NCAA AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS BY CONFERENCE
Conference 125 133 141 149 157 165 174 184 197 285 PA AQ TOTAL
ACC 2 3 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 3 23 10 33
Big 12 4 4 3 4 2 4 3 3 4 4 35 10 45
Big Ten 7 7 7 6 7 7 7 7 5 6 66 10 76
EIWA 2 2 4 3 4 4 4 5 4 3 35 10 45
MAC 3 4 3 3 3 1 2 2 2 2 25 10 35
Pac-12 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 2 1 9 10 19
Southern 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 3 10 13
Pre-Allocation 19 20 20 20 20 19 19 20 19 20 196
Automatic Qualifier 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 70
At-Large 7 6 6 6 6 7 7 6 7 6 64
Total 33 33 33 33 33 33 33 33 33 33 330
Note: The number under each weight class is the number of pre-allocations. Add the automatic qualifier for the conference tournament champion to account for the total qualifying spots available at each weight for each conference tournament (i.e ACC 125 has 2 pre-allocations plus 1 AQ to account for 3 total NCAA spots available at that weight).
#2 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (6-0, 6-0 B1G)
WT NAME EL HT/HS REC
125 Robert Howard Fr. Cranford, N.J./Bergen Catholic 2-1
(2-1 vs. B1G this year; 2-1 vs. B1G career; 0-0 in B1G tourney)
133 #3 Roman Bravo-Young Jr. Tucson, Ariz./Sunnyside 6-0
(6-0 vs. B1G this year; 25-7 vs. B1G career; 6-3 in B1G tourney)
141 #2 Nick Lee Sr. Evansville, Ind./Home schooled 6-0
(6-0 vs. B1G this year; 45-7 vs. B1G career; 8-2 in B1G tourney)
149 #10 Beau Bartlett Fr. Tempe, Ariz./Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) 7-1
(7-1 vs. B1G this year; 7-1 vs. B1G career; 0-0 in B1G tourney)
157 #8 Brady Berge Jr. Mantorville, Minn./Kasson-Mantorville 5-0
(5-0 vs. B1G this year; 11-4 vs. B1G career; 2-1 in B1G tourney)
165 #15 Joe Lee R-Fr. Evansville, Ind./Mater Dei 4-2
(4-2 vs. B1G this year; 4-2 vs. B1G career; 0-0 in B1G tourney)
174 #4 Carter Starocci Fr. Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep 6-1
(6-1 vs. B1G this year; 6-1 vs. B1G career; 0-0 in B1G tourney)
184 #1 Aaron Brooks So. Hagerstown, Md./North Hagerstown 6-0
(6-0 vs. B1G this year; 15-1 vs. B1G career; 3-0 in B1G tourney)
197 #15 Michael Beard R-Fr. Pottstown, Pa./Malvern Prep 3-1
(3-1 vs. B1G this year; 3-1 vs. B1G career; 0-0 in B1G tourney)
285 # 6 Greg Kerkvliet Fr. Grove Heights, Minn./Simley 2-0
(2-0 vs. B1G this year; 2-0 vs. B1G career; 0-0 in B1G tourney)
Rankings listed are InterMat Indiv./Team Ranking InterMat TPI (3/2/21)
