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Penn State 197-pounder Max Dean. Photo by Erin Sullivan | Onward State
5 Penn State Wrestlers Headed to Big Ten Finals; Nittany Lions 2nd in Team Standings
By Gabriel Herman and Geoff Rushton
Five of Penn State wrestling’s seven semifinalists were victorious Saturday night at the Big Ten Championships in Lincoln, Neb., and will compete for conference titles on Sunday.
The Nittany Lions are second in a tight team race with 111.5 points, trailing Michigan’s 116 and just ahead of Iowa’s 109. The Wolverines also have five finalists and the Hawkeyes have four.
Top seeded Nittany Lions Roman Bravo-Young (133 pounds), Nick Lee (141), Carter Starocci (174) and Aaron Brooks (184) were joined by No. 2 seed Max Dean in earning spots in the championship finals.
No. 10 seed Brady Berge and No. 3 seed Greg Kerkvliet are still alive for third-place finishes at 157 and heavyweight, respectively.
Three Nittany Lion wrestlers opened the second session in the consolation brackets. No. 2 Drew Hildebrandt lost his second bout of the tournament 6-3 to No. 8 Patrick McKee of Minnesota at 125 pounds and drops to a mini bracket for ninth or 10th place to earn a spot at the NCAA Championships.
No. 7 Beau Bartlett pinned No. 8 Christian Kanzler of Illinois but then lost to No. 6 Mike VanBrill of Rutgers. He’ll wrestle Kanen Storr of Michigan on Sunday for seventh place.
No. 10 Creighton Edsell lost on a 3-2 decision to Minnesota’s No. 9 Cael Carlson and will hope to receive an at-large bid to the NCAAs when they are announced on Wednesday.
Penn State went 6-5 in session two and 17-8 overall on day one of the conference tournament.
How It Happened
The first semifinalist for Penn State was No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young, who took on Michigan’s No. 5 Dylan Ragusin at 133 pounds. Bravo-Young scored the bout’s only takedown in the first period, had a full period rideout in the second and got an escape in the third to pick up a 4-0 decision.
Bravo-Young will face No. 2 Austin DeSanto from Iowa Sunday in the 133-pound championship.
No. 1 Nick Lee dominated No. 5 Jakob Bergeland of Minnesota at 141 pounds. Lee scored two takedowns and eight near fall points in the first period to take a 12-1 lead and carried a 14-1 margin into the the third with 4:21 in riding time. Lee got a reversal to start the third and record a 16-1 tech fall to advance to the championship final, where he’ll face No. 2 Jaydin Eierman of Iowa.
No. 10 Brady Berge looked for an upset over No. 3 Will Lewan of Michigan in a 157-pound semifinal bout. They traded escapes in the second and third to send the bout went to sudden victory overtime, with Lewan scrambling to a quick takedown for a 3-1 win.
Berge will face No. 12 Kendall Coleman of Purdue in the consolation semifinals on Sunday as he seeks a third-place finish.
No. 1 Carter Starocci won by medical forfeit over Iowa’s No. 4 Michael Kemerer at 174 pounds. Starocci will face No. 2 Logan Massa of Michigan in the championship. Massa defeated No. 3 seed Mikey Labriola of Nebraska 6-5 in the other semifinal.
No. 1 Aaron Brooks took control early against No. 4 Taylor Venz of Nebraska at 184 pounds, notching two takedowns and a reversal through the first two periods. Brooks secured riding time midway through the second period and ultimately came away with a 7-2 decision. Brooks will seek his third straight Big Ten title when he faces No. 2 Myles Amine of Michigan in the championship bout.
No. 2 Max Dean took on Michigan State’s No. 3 Cameron Caffey in the 197-pound semifinal. Dean got a first period takedown and a second period escape to take a 3-0 lead. Caffey got in on a takedown with nearly one minute left in the third period but Dean escaped and had 1:23 in riding time, giving him the 5-2 victory by decision.
Dean will face Nebraska’s No. 1 Eric Schultz in the 197-pound championship.
No. 3 Greg Kerkvliet faced off with Iowa’s No. 2 Tony Cassioppi at heavyweight. Kerkvliet had a reversal in the second period to take the lead. Cassioppi escaped to tie things at 2-2 and set up an intense final minute of wrestling.
Kerkvliet got a takedown with 30 seconds left in the bout to take a 4-2 lead, but with just four seconds left on the clock and the Nittany Lion’s riding time at :59, Cassioppi got a reversal to tie the bout and send it to sudden victory.
In the overtime period, Cassioppi scored a quick takedown for the 6-4 decision.
Kerkvliet will take on Lucas Davison of Northwestern in the consolation semifinals on Sunday as he looks for a third-place finish.
What’s Next?
Sunday’s Big Ten Championships action will begin at noon EST with consolation semifinals and 7th place matches streaming on B1G+. The championship finals and placing matches begin at 4:30 p.m.
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