Penn State sits in first place after Nationals day one
DETROIT, Mich. – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team sits in first place in a tight team race after day one of 2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Detroit, Mich. Head coach Cael Sanderson’s squad capped off a solid first day with eight more wins in the evening session, including six Nittany Lions advancing to the quarterfinals. Action in the three-day event continues Friday morning.
The Nittany Lions went 6-1 in the quarterfinals and 2-0 in their two consolation bouts, maintaining a lead in the team race over second place Arizona State. Penn State finished day one with 27.5 points while the Sun Devils had 21.5 as of 10 p.m. (with one wrestler still to compete in consolation action). Michigan is in third with 21.0.
Senior Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), the No. 1 seed at 133, met No. 16 Josh Koderhandt of Navy in the second round. Bravo-Young scored quickly, taking Koderhandt down in the opening seconds. He added a two-point turn and finished on top to lead 4-0 with over 2:00 in time after one. Koderhandt chose down to start the second and Bravo-Young made him pay for the decision. The Nittany Lion worked the Midshipman over to his back after riding for a minute-plus and picked up the fall at the 4:45 mark, advancing to the quarterfinals and picking up big bonus points for Penn State.
Senior Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), the No. 1 seed at 141, battled No. 16 Quinn Kinner of Rider in his second-round match-up. Lee took a quick 2-1 lead with a takedown and added a second takedown and rideout to lead 4-1 with 1:58 in riding time after the first period. Lee added two more takedowns in the second and led 8-2 after two. With riding time clinched in the third, Lee worked his way to a 9-2 win to advance to the quarterfinals.
Sophomore Carter Starocci (Erie, Pa.), the No. 1 seed at 174, met No. 16 Adam Kemp of Cal Poly in the second round. Starocci controlled the entire bout, chasing Kemp towards the outside circle for seven minutes. Starocci led 2-1 after the opening period and upped that lead to 5-1 with a takedown and an escape in the second. Starocci continued to pressure Kemp for the next two minutes and finished off a convincing 10-4 win with two more takedowns and a riding time point. The victory moved Starocci into the quarterfinals.
Junior Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md.), the No. 2 seed at 184, battled No. 15 Hunter Bolen of Virginia Tech in the second round. Brooks led 2-0 after one, with an early takedown and rideout. The Nittany Lion continued to control the action during the middle period, taking a 6-0 lead with an escape, a takedown and a stall point. Brooks added a third takedown and over 3:00 in riding time with a strong third period and rolled to a 9-1 major to advance to the quarterfinals and pick up bonus points.
Junior Max Dean (Lowell, Mich.), the No. 1 seed at 197, took on No. 17 Jay Aiello of Virginia in the second round. Dean and Aiello battled through a scoreless first period. Aiello chose down to start the second period and after getting ridden for much of the period, scrambled to a reversal to lead 2-0 after two. Dean escaped quickly to start the third period but trailed 2-1 late. The Lion forced a scramble with a late shot and worked his way to a takedown in the last :30. He finished the period on top and, with riding time, used four unanswered points to grab the 4-2 victory, advancing to the quarterfinals.
Sophomore Greg Kerkvliet (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.), the No. 4 seed at 285, met No. 13 Tate Orndorff of Ohio State in Penn State’s final second round bout. Kerkvliet dominated the bout from the outset. He took Orndorff down quickly in the first and rode him for the entire period to lead 2-0 with 2:25 in riding time after one. Kerkvliet started the second period with a reversal and once again finished on top to lead 4-0 with over 4:00 in riding time. The third period was all Kerkvliet as he picked up two more takedowns, a stall point and the riding time point to roll to a 10-1 major decision. The victory, with key bonus points, advances him to the quarterfinals.
Sophomore Beau Bartlett (Tempe, Ariz.), the No. 13 seed at 149, met No. 4 Sammy Sasso of Ohio State in the second round. Bartlett and Sasso battled through two scoreless minutes before the Buckeye countered a Bartlett move and took the Lion down to lead 2-0 after the opening stanza. Bartlett tied the bout with a reversal, but Sasso escaped and led 3-2. Sasso worked his lead to 5-2 before Bartlett cut it to 5-4 with a late takedown but ran out of time after cutting Sasso loose and dropped a 6-4 decision. The loss moved Bartlett into consolation action.
Senior Drew Hildebrandt (Granger, Ind.), the No. 16 seed at 125, took on No. 33 Logan Ashton of Stanford in the first round of consolation action. Hildebrandt and Ashton battled through a scoreless first period. The Lion senior took a 1-0 lead with a quick escape to start the second. After Ashton chose neutral to start the third, Hildebrandt iced the bout with a takedown. The 3-1 win keeps the Nittany Lion alive in consolation action.
Senior Brady Berge (Mantorville, Minn.), the No. 16 seed at 157, battled No. 33 Derek Holschlag of Northern Iowa in the first round of consolation action. Berge took Holschlag down quickly to open up a 2-0 lead. He added another takedown and two back points to lead 6-1 after one. Berge notched two quick takedowns in the second period to up his lead to 10-3. Holschlag was able to take Berge down and cut the lead to 10-5. Berge rolled up three more takedowns in the final minute and, with a rideout and 2:28 in riding time, posted the 15-8 major. He moved into the second consolation round with the win.
The Nittany Lions went 8-1 in session two and 15-3 overall on day one. Penn State has picked up 13.5 bonus points off six major decisions, one tech fall and three pins.
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 on Friday’s at 11 a.m. (ESPNU) with the quarterfinals and consolation action and 8 p.m. (ESPN) with the national semifinals and consolation action, including the All-America round; and Saturday’s at 11 a.m. (ESPNU) and 7 p.m. (ESPN).
Penn State at 2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships – Session 2
March 17, 2022 – Detroit, Mich. – Little Caesars Arena
Team Standings (Top 3 as of 10 p.m. // ASU and Iowa each had one wrestler still in conso action)
1: PENN STATE 27.5
2: Arizona State 21.5
3: Michigan 21.0
4: Iowa 20.0
