By Gabriel Herman and Geoff Rushton
Penn State wrestling claimed four individual Big Ten championships but came up just short of another team title on Sunday in Lincoln, Neb.
Michigan won the team championship, its first since 1973, with 143 points, narrowly edging the Nittany Lions’ 141.5 and denying Penn State its seventh conference tournament title in 11 years.
Nittany Lion 133-pounder Roman Bravo-Young won his second conference title, while Max Dean (197) and defending national champions Nick Lee (141) and Carter Starocci (174) each won their first Big Ten championships.
Top-ranked 184-pounder Aaron Brooks sustained his first loss of the season to finish second. Brady Berge (157) and Greg Kerkvliet (heavyweight) won third-place matches, Beau Bartlett (149) claimed seventh and Drew Hildebrandt won a mini-bracket bout to finish 10th and advance to the NCAA Championships.
How It Happened
No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young had the opportunity to defend his Big Ten 133-pound title when he took on No. 2 Austin DeSanto of Iowa. The championship bout was their seventh meeting all-time as Bravo-Young led the series against DeSanto 4-2, winning the previous four bouts.
While neither wrestler scored any points in the first period, DeSanto came out with an aggressive approach. The Hawkeye scored the bout’s first point on an escape in the second period. Bravo-Young escaped to start the third period, tying things up at 1-1.
With just 20 seconds left in the third, Bravo-Young got a takedown, which was upheld on review, then had an incredible ride out of DeSanto in the closing seconds. The Nittany Lion became a two-time Big Ten champion on a 3-1 decision.
No. 1 Nick Lee came away with a Big Ten championship after Iowa’s No. 2 Jaydin Eierman medically forfeited at 141 pounds.
Lee led Eierman 2-1 in their three prior matchups ahead of the forfeit, and is the first Penn State wrestler to win a 141-pound Big Ten title since 2003.
No. 10 Brady Berge went up against No. 2 Kaleb Young of Iowa in a 157-pound bout for third place and a rematch from earlier in the tournament. The wrestlers traded escapes and went into sudden victory tied 1-1.
Berge was able to get in quick on a leg to drive in a takedown and take third place at 157 pounds in a crucial moment for Penn State’s team score.
In the 174-pound championship bout, No. 1 Carter Starocci faced Michigan’s No. 2 Logan Massa in their third all-time matchup. Starocci led the series 2-0 before this match. Starocci hit a takedown about midway through the first period taking a 2-0 lead.
Massa was awarded an escape in the first period, but head coach Cael Sanderson disagreed and challenged the call. It was overturned but moments later Massa did have an indisputable escape. Starocci led 2-1 into the start of the second period.
Starocci escaped with about 30 seconds remaining in the second period, extending his lead 3-1 into the third. Following a third caution against Massa, Starocci was awarded a point, and with riding time secured, the Nittany Lion came away with a 5-1 victory and his first Big Ten title.
No. 1 Aaron Brooks looked to win his third straight Big Ten title as he took on No. 2 Myles Amine from Michigan in the 184-pound championship.
Brooks struck first on a takedown with 1:20 remaining in the initial period. Amine escaped with under a minute left to make it a 2-1 bout into the start of the second period.
Brooks elected to start on the bottom in the second period and quickly escaped, extending his lead to 3-1. Amine tacked on a point off of an escape early in the third period setting up an intense 1:45 finale in the third. The Wolverine scored a takedown with 15 seconds left, but with under five seconds remaining, Brooks escaped to make it a 4-4 bout that went into sudden victory overtime.
Amine notched a quick takedown in overtime and beat Brooks 6-4. Prior to the bout, Brooks had only given up one takedown all season.
No. 2 Max Dean faced No. 1 Eric Schultz of Nebraska in the title bout at 197 pounds.
Dean got in on a low single for an early takedown early, taking a 2-0 lead with under 30 seconds in the first period. Schultz escaped in short time time end the period with Dean leading 2-1. In the second period, Schultz elected to start on the bottom.
Schultz took down and escaped with 30 seconds left in the second, tying things up heading into the third period 2-2. Dean started the third period on the bottom, and escaped for a 3-2 lead. The Nittany Lion had an excellent defensive showing and with riding time secured won his first Big Ten title 4-2.
The final bout and opportunity for the Nittany Lions to win a Big Ten championship came down to No. 3 Kerkvliet as he faced Michigan’s No. 4 Mason Parris in the heavyweight third-place bout.
Kerkvliet got the initial takedown with under a minute remaining in the first period. Parris escaped almost immediately, making it a 2-1 score. Parris then escaped about 20 seconds into the second period and the wrestlers headed 2-2 into the third.
Kerkvliet escaped early in the third period to retake the lead. With nearly 30 seconds remaining in, the Nittany Lion added another takedown to extend his lead 5-2 and put the bout away. Parris escaped , but Kerkvliet won 5-3, placing third at 285 pounds.
While Kerkvliet secured the third-place victory, he would have needed a fall and the accompanying three points to put Penn State ahead of the Wolverines in the team championship standings. The Nittany Lions finished just 1.5 points short of Michigan’s mark.
What’s Next?
At least nine Penn State wrestlers will make the trip to Detroit as qualifiers for the 2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships. which begin at noon on Thursday, March 17 at Little Caesar’s Arena.
Penn State will be looking to win its ninth NCAA team championship under Cael Sanderson. It would be the Nittany Lions’ third without having also won the Big Ten title during Sanderson’s tenure.
