Penn State Wrestling shines at the 2023 U.S. Open

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – Penn State Wrestling sent a dozen current Nittany Lions or members of its Olympic Regional Training Center, as well as a couple all-time great alumni, to the 2023 U.S. Open in Las Vegas, Nev., this weekend. Three Penn Staters, including current Nittany Lion Aaron Brooks, won titles at the event and advanced to Final X on June 10.

Aaron Brooks went 5-0 to win the U.S. Open title at 86 kg. He posted wins of 10-0, 9-0, 11-0 and 6-1 to advance to the title bout where he met Zahid Valencia. Brooks came back from a 6-0 lead after the opening period to score 10 unanswered points with a furious second period pace. Brooks posted a 10-6 win to claim the crown.

Former Nittany Lion Nick Lee went 5-0 to win the U.S. Open championships at 65 kg. Lee posted wins of 10-0, 10-0, 10-10 (crit.) and12-1 to advance to the finals where he took on Joey McKenna. Lee came back from a 5-0 deficit in the first period to score 10 unanswered points in the second period. The fast-paced comeback gave Lee a 10-5 win and the U.S. Open title.

Jason Nolf went 5-0 to win the U.S. Open title at 74 kg. He met former Lion great Vincenzo Joseph (SKWC) in an all Nittany Lion final. Nolf posted wins of 11-0, 10-0, 10-0 and 9-2 to get to the finals while Joseph posted wins of 17-6, 11-0, 11-0 and 5-3 to advance to the title bout. Joseph opened up an early lead on Nolf, but Nolf was able to come back to notch a hard-fought 10-5 win and take the U.S. Open crown. Joseph took second place with a 4-1 mark.

Former Nittany Lion great Mark Hall (PRTC) advanced to the semifinals at 86 kg before dropping a tough bout to former Nittany Lion Brooks in the semifinals. Hall picked up wins by fall, 10-0 and 1-0 before meeting Brooks in the semifinals. He responded with consolation victories of 8-2 and 13-2 to finish with a 5-1 record and place third.

Nittany Lion Beau Bartlett advanced to the semifinals at 65 kg before losing 10-10 on criteria to Lee in the semifinals, giving the eventual Open champion his toughest match of the weekend. Bartlett posted wins of 10-0, 5-3 and 11-6 before dropping the match to Lee in the semis. He responded with an 8-2 consolation victory before dropping an 8-6 bout in the consolation finals. Bartlett went 4-2 at the tournament and placed fourth as the 10-seed.

Carter Starocci battled his way to three wins out of the gates at 79 kg (10-0, 10-0, 9-0) before dropping a 7-1 decision in the semifinals and bowing out of the tournament. Starocci went 3-1 and placed sixth at the U.S. Open.

Former Penn State standout Morgan McIntosh also placed at the event, taking sixth at 92 kg. McIntosh won his first two bouts, 10-0, 10-0 before falling 4-1 in the quarterfinals. He responded with a 10-0 win and a 12-2 victory before losing in consolation action. He ended the tournament with a 4-2 record and took sixth at 92 kg.

Current Nittany Lion Timothy Levine picked up a win at 65 kg, going 1-2 overall at 61 kg. The Olympic RTC/NLWC’s Ceron Francisco went 2-2 at 125 kg. Penn State Olympic RTC wrestlers Josh Rodriguez (61 kg) and Ceron Francisco (125 kg) also competed at the Open with each wrestler going 2-2 at their respective weight classes.

In women’s freestyle action, Jennifer Page roared out to three straight wins to advance to the title match at 62 kg. Page won 10-0, 8-6 and 13-2 to reach the finals where she lost a hard-fought 10-8 bout and placed second at the U.S. Open.

Current Nittany Lions Jack Kelly and Connor Pierce competed in the 2023 U20 Open bracket. Kelly went 2-2 at 86 kg and Pierce went 3-2 at 70 kg.

Penn State’s RTC/ NLWC came home from Las Vegas with three titles, a second-place finish (WFS), a fourth-place finish and two sixth place finishes while two other former Lions claimed second and third at their respective weight classes as well.

The winners of each weight class in senior competition, men’s and women’s, now advance to Final X on Saturday, June 10 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Five current Olympic RTC/Nittany Lion Wrestling Club standouts already await U.S. Open winners at Final X as the overall top-seed at their respective weights: Thomas Gilman (57 kg), Zain Retherford (70 kg), Kyle Dake (74 kg), David Taylor (86 kg) and Kyle Snyder (97 kg).

Final X will determine the 2023 U.S. Senior World Teams in all three Olympic disciplines: men’s and women’s freestyle and Greco-Roman. There will be 30 weight classes contested, 10 in each Olympic discipline. The top two U.S. athletes in each weight class will compete in a best-of-three series in Final X to determine who will wrestle at the 2023 Senior World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.