First place Penn State advances five to National
DETROIT, Mich. – Five Penn State Nittany Lions will be competing for NCAA individual glory on Saturday night after claiming victories in their NCAA semifinal contests Friday night. Head coach Cael Sanderson will once again have multiple Lions in the national finals Saturday night at 7 p.m. in Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena. Penn State leads the team race with 108.0 points, head of second place Michigan (84.5).
The Nittany Lions will leave Detroit with six more All-Americans (all six semifinalists). Since 2011, Penn State went 5-1 in the semis this session is 45-5 in the NCAA semifinals, a gaudy .900 win percentage. Penn State now has 238 All-Americans in its storied history, with 75 of them coming under Sanderson’s tutelage.
Senior Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), the No. 1 seed at 133, met No. 5 Austin DeSanto of Iowa in the first of Penn State’s six semifinal bouts. The duo battled through a scoreless first two minutes with Bravo-Young fighting off two solid DeSanto scoring efforts. The first period ended in a scoreless tie and DeSanto chose down to start the second period. Bravo-Young got in on a low single and nearly took DeSanto to his back but the Hawkeye scrambled out of trouble and forced a reset with :45 on the clock. Trailing 1-0, Bravo-Young chose down to start the third period and worked hard for an escape, getting the point at the 1:14 mark to knot the score. Bravo-Young stalked the mat and struck quickly, using a low single to force a scramble on the outside circle to take DeSanto down. The takedown gave Bravo-Young a 3-2 win (with a late Iowa escape) and a trip to the NCAA finals.
Senior Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), the No. 1 seed at 141, took on No. 4 Real Woods of Stanford in the semis at 141. The duo worked the center of the mat for the first minute-plus with each man taking slight shots on the NCAA logo. Lee broke through as action moved to the outside circle, using a low shot and finishing off a takedown to take a 2-0 lead at 1:04. Woods escaped to a 2-1 score at the :34 mark and action resumed in neutral. Leading 2-1, Lee chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 3-1 lead. Lee continued to press on offense, forcing Woods backwards and getting a stall warning called on him at the :15 mark. Woods chose down to start the third period trailing 3-1. Lee maintained control for the first minute, nearly turning Woods in the process. But the Cardinal scrambled out of control and escaped to a 3-2 Lee lead. Lee maintained pressure for the final seconds of the bout and rolled to the 3-2 victory, advancing to the NCAA finals once again.
Sophomore Carter Starocci (Erie, Pa.), the No. 1 seed at 174, battled No. 4 Hayden Hidlay of North Carolina State in his semifinal bout. Starocci and Hidlay worked the center of the mat for the first minute, working in neutral. Starocci took a fast low single and connected for a takedown and a 2-1 lead after a quick Hidlay escape. Starocci kept pressing and blazed through a late low shot for another takedown and a 4-1 lead after one. He chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 5-1 lead. Starocci forced Hidlay into a stall and then scored on a low double to open up a 7-1 lead at the :45 mark. Hidlay managed an escape late and Starocci led 7-2 with :53 riding time after two. Hidlay chose down to start the third period and escaped to a 7-3 score, but Starocci had 1:08 in riding time. Starocci controlled the center of the mat for the remainder of the match, tacked on a final takedown and 1:09 in riding time to post a 10-3 win. The victory sends Starocci to the NCAA title bout once again.
Junior Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md.), the No. 2 seed at 184, took on No. 3 Trent Hidlay of North Carolina State in the semis. Brooks and Hidlay worked neutral for the opening minute. Brooks pressured Hidlay backwards and then slid down on a fast low double for the bout’s first takedown and a 2-0 lead with 1:48 on the clock. A quick Hidlay escape cut the lead in half. Leading 2-1, Brooks took down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 3-1 lead. Brooks nearly locked up a cradle at the 1:15 mark but Hidlay worked his way out of bounds to force a reset. Brooks forced Hidlay into a stall warning before the period ended. Hidlay chose down to start the third period and escaped to a 3-2 score. Hidlay countered a Brooks shot for a takedown and, after a quick Brooks escape, the bout was tied 4-4 with 1:16 left. Brooks nearly scored as the bout ended but Hidlay fought off the move and the bout went to extra time. Brooks took care of business in overtime, notching a takedown to secure the 6-4 (sv) win and advance to the NCAA finals once again.
Junior Max Dean (Lowell, Mich.), the No. 1 seed at 197, met No. 21 Gavin Hoffman of Ohio State in his semifinal bout. Dean scored in the opening minute, connecting on a low single and finishing off the takedown for an early 2-0 lead. Dean controlled the action from the top position and killed the first period clock with a rideout. Leading 2-0, Dean chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 3-0 lead with 1:57 in time. He quickly added another takedown and built his lead up to 5-0. The Lion maintained top position as his riding time neared 3:00. Dean finished on top and led 5-0 after two with clinched riding time (3:23). Hoffman chose neutral to start the third and countered another Dean shot for his first takedown. Dean led 6-2 at 1:15 and added one more takedown to post a 9-3 win with 3:25 in riding time, heading back to the NCAA finals again, his first time as a Nittany Lion.
Sophomore Greg Kerkvliet (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.), the No. 4 seed at 285, met No. 1 Gable Steveson of Minnesota in Penn State’s final semifinal bout. Kerkvliet and Steveson battled through an even opening minute, with Kerkvliet sliding away from a low shot at the 1:50 mark to keep the bout scoreless. Kerkvliet connected on a low shot that Steveson defendedt and then the Gopher took a 2-0 lead at the 1:10 mark. Kerkvliet escaped to a 2-1 score and trailed by one after one. Kerkvliet chose down to start the second, but Steveson maintained control as the clock hit 1:00. Kerkvliet escaped to a 2-2 tie, but Steveson had 1:22 in riding time. Kerkvliet kept shooting, forcing Steveson into a stall warning before Steveson added another takedown. Kerkvliet ended up dropping a 8-3 decision, moving into the third-place bracket.
Senior Drew Hildebrandt (Granger, Ind.) went 1-2 at 125, sophomore Beau Bartlett went 1-2 at 149 and senior Brady Berge (Mantorville, Minn.) went 2-2 with a pin at 157 for Penn State, with all three ending their tournament runs in Friday’s third session.
The Nittany Lions went 5-1 in the semifinals and are 27-7 overall after two days of action. Penn State has 16.5 bonus points off seven majors, one technical fall and four 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 tournament continues on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. (ESPNU) with the conclusion of the consolation bracket and all placing bouts. The national finals are then at 7 p.m. (ESPN).
Penn State at 2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships – Session 4
March 18, 2022 – Detroit, Mich. – Little Caesars Arena
Team Standings (Top 5)
1: PENN STATE – 108.0
2: Michigan – 84.5
3: Arizona State – 63.5
4: Iowa – 62.0
5: Nebraska – 54.0
