NCAA Wrestling: Seven Nittany Lions to quarterfinals; Iowa leads PSU by 5.5 points
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Penn State continued to roll in the second session of the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships. Penn State will have seven wrestlers competing in the national quarterfinals on Friday morning. The Nittany Lions are in second place in the team race, pre-tourney favorite Iowa first with 33.5, then Penn State with 28.
Eight of Penn State’s nine national qualifiers are still alive after the opening day of the event. Over half of Penn State’s wins have brought bonus points with them to the team race.
Junior Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), the No. 2 seed at 133, met No. 18 Kyle Burwick of Wisconsin in the second round. The Lion junior took a 2-1 lead midway through the first period and turned that into a 4-1 lead with a second takedown in the final seconds of the period. Bravo-Young notched a reversal to take a 6-1 lead and ended the second stanza with another late takedown to carry an 8-2 lead into the third period. Burwick chose down to start the third period and Bravo-Young worked his riding time edge up over 1:00. Bravo-Young used a late takedown in the third period and 1:22 in riding time for an 11-3 major decision, another Penn State bonus point victory.
Senior Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), the No. 2 seed at 141, met No. 15 Clay Carlson of South Dakota State in round two. Lee took a 2-0 lead just :20 into the bout, added a second takedown and two back points to jump out to a 6-1 lead in the first minute. He forced Carlson into a stall warning and finished off the period with a 6-2 lead. Lee escaped to start the second stanza and rolled into another takedown just :15 into the second. He picked up a stall point and finished the period with an 11-2 lead and 2:28 in riding time. Lee tacked on one more takedown in the third and, with a gaudy 4:06 in riding time, rolled into the quarterfinals with a 14-3 major decision.
Junior Brady Berge (Mantorville, Minn.), the No. 12 seed at 157, met No. 5 Kaleb Young of Iowa in the second round. Berge scored quickly, using a high shot to take Young down to a 2-0 lead just :40 into the bout. The Lion junior countered a late Young shot and nearly scored again as the period ended but time ran out and Berge led 2-1 after one. Young tied the match at 2-2 with an escape to start the second stanza, the only scoring of the period. Berge chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 3-2 lead. Berge fought off a deep Young shot with :55 on the clock and maintained his one-point lead as the clock moved under :30. The Lion junior finished the match in neutral and roared into the quarterfinals with a 3-2 victory over the fifth-seeded Young.
Freshman Carter Starocci (Erie, Pa.), the No. 3 seed at 174, faced off against No. 14 Hayden Hastings of Wyoming in round two. Starocci scored quickly, taking a 2-0 lead with just under a minute gone. The Lion freshman built up over 1:00 in riding time, cut Hastings loose, and added a late takedown to lead 4-1 after one period. Hastings picked up an escape in the second period but not before Starocci had over 2:00 in riding time and led 4-2 after two. Starocci escaped to start the third period and added on a final takedown to finish off the third period in control. His 2:13 in riding time added one more to his tally in an 8-2 victory that moved the freshmen into the quarterfinals.
Sophomore Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md.), the No. 1 seed at 184, took on No. 17 Owen Webster of Minnesota in the second round. Brooks and Webster battled evenly for over 2:00 before Brooks’ constant pressure led to a takedown and a 2-0 lead for the Lion sophomore. Brooks finished the period on top and carried that lead with :56 in time into the middle period. Brooks picked up a quick escape to start the second period and led 3-0. He led 4-0 after two thanks to a stall point. Webster chose down to start the third period but Brooks dominated the action. He maintained control for the entirety of the period and, with 2:53 in riding time, rolled into the national quarterfinals with a 5-0 win.
Freshman Michael Beard (Pottstown, Pa.), the No. 15 seed at 197, met No. 31 Owen Pentz of North Dakota State in the second round. Beard dominated the first period. The Nittany Lion freshman collected four takedowns in the opening three minutes, scoring often and building up over 1:00 in riding time to lead 8-4 after one. Beard continued the offensive show in the second period, picking up two more takedowns (including one in the final seconds) to lead 12-6 heading into the third period. Beard finished off the major decision with two more takedowns and 1:32 in riding time to post the 17-8 major decision and advance to the quarterfinals.
Freshman Greg Kerkvliet (Grove Heights, Minn.), the No. 9 seed at 285, battled No. 8 Jordan Wood of Lehigh in the second round. Kerkvliet nearly scored on a fast low shot at the whistle but Wood was able to skip away.
Kerkvliet kept up the pace and got a takedown at 1:30 and led 2-1 after the opening three minutes. Kerkvliet quickly escaped to a 3-1 lead to begin the second period and added another takedown. The Lion freshman led 5-1 after two periods. Woods chose down to start the third and Kerkvliet worked his riding time edge up over 1:00 with strong work on top. He turned Woods for four back points and led 9-2 with 1:17 in time as the clock moved below 1:00. Kerkvliet added a final takedown and 1:32 in riding time to move into the quarterfinals with a 12-2 major decision.
True freshman Robert Howard (Cranford, N.J.), the No. 23 seed at 125, took on No. 7 Taylor LaMont of Utah Valley in his second-round match-up. Howard and LaMont wrestled through an even minute-plus to start the bout.
Each wrestler had slight chances but quick defense on both sides sent the bout to the second period tied 0-0. LaMont escaped to a 1-0 lead to start the second, the only scoring of the middle stanza. Howard looked to answer that escape in the third period but LaMont was able to maintain control until the :25 mark. Howard escaped but 1:26 in riding time allowed LaMont to escape with a 2-1 victory and send Howard into the wrestle-backs.
Freshman Joe Lee (Evansville, Ind.), the No. 23 seed at 165, took on No. 26 Andrew Nicholson of Chattanooga in his first consolation bout of the tournament. Nicholson notched a takedown quickly in the bout but Lee reversed the action right away and tied the bout. A quick Moc escaped and Lee trailed 3-2 at the 2:15 mark. Lee to a 4-3 lead with a takedown midway through the period and Nicholson escaped to a tie. Nicholson took a 7-4 lead in the second with an escape and a takedown, finishing on top in the period. The Moc added a quick takedown in the third and picked up a riding time point to hand Lee a 10-4 loss, ending the Penn State freshman’s tournament run. Lee went 0-2 in his first NCAA tournament.
The Nittany Lions went 7-2 in the second round and ended day one with a 15-3 overall record. Eleven of Penn State’s 15 victories are bonus wins. The Nittany Lions have collected 13.0 bonus points off four technical falls and seven major decisions.
The 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships continue on Friday, the quarterfinal rounds (sessions 3/4, broken in two) at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Sessions 3/4 will air on ESPNU.
Penn State at 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships – Session 2
March 18, 2021 – Enterprise Center – St. Louis, Mo.
TEAM STANDINGS (top five)
1: Iowa – 33.5
2: PENN STATE – 28.0
3: Missouri – 23.5
4: North Carolina State – 21.0
5: Oklahoma State – 20.0
