Penn State takes the lead after Session 1 of the 2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships
DETROIT, Mich. – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team took the lead in the team race after Thursday’s opening session of the 2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Detroit, Mich. Head coach Cael Sanderson’s squad moved seven wrestlers into the second round with two more in consolation action.
Penn State leads the early team race with 15.5 points, just one point ahead of Iowa at 14.4. Michigan is close behind as well at 12.5. Action in the three-day event continues Thursday evening with all nine Nittany Lion qualifiers still active.
Senior Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), the No. 1 seed at 133, met No. 32 Dominic LaJoie of Cornell in the first round. Bravo-Young took a big lead with three first period takedowns. He added another takedown and an escape to lead 9-2 after two. Bravo-Young dominated the third period and rolled to a 16-5 major decision with 2:59 in riding time.
Senior Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), the No. 1 seed at 141, took on No. 32 Josh Mason of Bloomsburg in the opening round. Lee took control of the match quickly, taking Mason down and to his back for a six-point burst in the opening :15. He upped his lead to 8-0 in the second and added four more back points to lead 12-0 after two. The Lion senior advanced to the second round with a 15-3 major including 3:58 in riding time.
Sophomore Beau Bartlett (Tempe, Ariz.), the No. 13 seed at 149, took on No. 20 Colin Realbuto of Northern Iowa in his first NCAA tournament bout. Bartlett and Realbuto battled through an even first period and Bartlett chose down to start the second. He escaped to a 1-0 lead but not before Realbuto built up 1:41 in riding time. Realbuto escaped to a 1-1 tie to start the third and then took a 3-1 lead with a late takedown. Bartlett picked up a point on a second Panther stall, then escaped with :28 left to tie the bout at 3-3 (but Realbuto had clinched riding time). Bartlett scrambled through a low shot and finished off a takedown with just :09 left to grab a thrilling 5-4 win.
Sophomore Carter Starocci (Erie, Pa.), the No. 1 seed at 174, battled No. 33 Conner O’Neill of Rutgers in the first round. Starocci dominated the opening stanza, rolling up an 8-2 lead off three takedowns and two back points. He increased that lead to 11-4 with over 3:00 in riding time after two periods and then ended the match late in the third, rolling O’Neill to his back for the fall at the 6:38 mark.
Junior Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md.), the No. 2 seed at 184, met No. 31 Wyatt Sheets of Oklahoma State in the opening round. Brooks opened up a 4-1 lead after the opening period with two takedowns and added to his margin in the second, bolting out to a 9-2 advantage. The Nittany Lion junior continued to pour on the offense in the third, dominating the final minutes and posting a 21-7 major decision with 4:32 in riding time.
Junior Max Dean (Lowell, Mich.), the No. 1 seed at 197, faced No. 32 Will Feldkamp of Clarion in the first round. Dean came out firing on offense, opening up an early 8-1 lead with two takedowns and a four-point turn. The Nittany Lion junior took Feldkamp down quickly in the second period, turned him once for two points and then a final time to end the bout early with a 16-1 technical fall at 4:32.
Sophomore Greg Kerkvliet (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.), the No. 4 seed at 285, took on No. 29 Brandon Metz of North Dakota State in the first round. Kerkvliet took Metz down early in the first period and spent the rest of it on top, building up a riding time edge as he looked for back points. Metz chose down to start the second period and Kerkvliet took advantage of the decision. Kerkvliet turned Metz midway through the second period and picked up the fall at the 4:17 mark.
Senior Drew Hildebrandt (Granger, Ind.), the No. 16 seed at 125, was Penn State’s first competitor of the day against No. 17 Anthony Noto of Lock Haven. Hildebrandt and Noto battled through a scoreless first period and Noto chose neutral to start the second. Noto notched a takedown with :46 on the clock but Hildebrandt quickly escaped to a 2-1 score. Trailing by one, Hildebrandt chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 2-2 tie. The bout moved to sudden victory where Noto notched a quick takedown to post the 4-2 (sv) win and send Hildebrandt to consolation action. Noto proved to be the only LHU wrestler to advance to round two.
Senior Brady Berge (Mantorville, Minn.), the No. 16 seed at 157, met No. 17 Hunter Willits of Oregon State in the first round. Berge and Willits battled through a scoreless first period with Berge defending two quick Willits shots. Willets escaped to a 1-0 lead to start the second period and carried that lead to the third. Berge chose down in the third and escaped to a 1-1 tie, but Willets built up over 1:00 in riding time and that edge gave the Beaver the 2-1 victory, sending Berge into consolation action.
Penn State went 7-2 in the first round and added 8.5 important bonus points off three majors, two pins and a technical fall.
Penn State has won eight of the last ten contested NCAA Championships (all since Sanderson’s arrival at Penn State and he is in his 13th season this year). The Nittany Lions have won nine NCAA titles overall, owning a championship from 1953. The Nittany Lions won four-straight titles in 2016, ‘17, ‘18 and ‘19 and again in 2011, ‘12, ‘13 and ‘14.
The three-day event continues Thursday at 7 p.m. (ESPN) with the second round and consolation action; Friday’s at 11 a.m. (ESPNU) and 8 p.m. (ESPN); and Saturday’s at 11 a.m. (ESPNU) and 7 p.m. (ESPN). The entire event will be telecast nationally on the ESPN family of networks (ESPN/2/U).
