Four Nittany Lion wrestlers won national titles and Penn State broke the team points record to close out a historic run at the 2024 NCAA Championships Saturday night in Kansas City.
Carter Starocci and Aaron Brooks became Penn State’s first four-time national champions and just the sixth and seventh in NCAA history, an exclusive club the includes Nittany Lion coach Cael Sanderson, while Levi Haines and Greg Kerkvliet won their first titles.
Beau Bartlett and Mitchell Mesenbrink dropped close decisions in their title bouts to finish as national runners-up. Earlier in the day, Tyler Kasak took third at 149 pounds and Bernie Truax placed fifth at 184 as Penn State tied its program record with eight All-Americans.
Penn State, which clinched the team title on Friday night, finished with 172.5 points to eclipse the previous mark of 170, set by Iowa in 1997. The Nittany Lions also set the record for largest margin of victory, outpacing second-place Cornell by a stunning 100 points. Michigan (71), Iowa State (68.5) and Iowa (67) rounded out the top five.
The team championship is Penn State’s third in a row, 11th under Sanderson and 12th overall.
Brooks was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the Championships and received the 2023-24 Most Dominant Wrestler award, an honor that measures average team points earned throughout the season. Brooks won all but two matches this season with bonus points and averaged 4.95 team points per victory.
Heavyweight
The finals kicked off with the heavyweight championship bout between No. 1 seed Greg Kerkvliet and No. 10 seed Lucas Davison of Michigan. Kerkvliet opened the scoring at the 1:52 mark of the first period, converting an ankle pick into a double leg for a takedown. After a Davison escape, Kerkvliet again got in on a low single for a takedown and Davison escaped before the end of the first to narrow the Nittany Lion senior’s lead to 6-2.
Another Davison escape opened the second, then Kerkvliet used a head outside single and worked for about 20 seconds before driving through for his third takedown and a 9-3 lead.
Kerkvliet escaped quickly at the start of the third. Davison shot in on a low double and Kerkvliet countered, stepping behind for his fourth takedown of the bout. Davison escaped, but that would be all he could manage. Kerkvliet completed an undefeated senior campaign at 20-0 with a 13-4 major decision and his first national title.
141 Pounds
No. 2 seed Beau Bartlett and No. 1 seed Jesse Mendez of Ohio State met in a rematch of the Big Ten title bout. After Mendez broke a scoreless tie with an escape to open the second, Bartlett got in on single, but Mendez fought it off and took a 1-0 lead into the third. A Bartlett escape tied the bout and late in the final period the Nittany Lion senior had Mendez wrapped up and nearly had a takedown. Mendez, however, rolled through for a counter takedown with one second remaining to claim the national title with a 4-1 decision.
Bartlett finishes his senior season with a 23-2 record, with both losses coming to Mendez, and his second All-America honors.
157 Pounds
No. 1 seed Levi Haines got on the board first with a quick escape in the second period against No. 2 seed Jacori Teemer of Arizona State. With Haines leading 1-0, Teemer chose the neutral position to start the third, forgoing the opportunity for a tying escape. Haines took advantage, powering through on a double for the bout’s first takedown and a 4-0 lead with 1:39 remaining. The Nittany Lion sophomore stayed strong on top for the rest of the period and with a riding time point won a 5-0 decision for his first national title.
The win capped a 23-0 season for the two-time Big Ten champion and two-time All-American Haines.
165 Pounds
No. 4 seed David Carr of Iowa State used a low double for a fast takedown in the first period to take a 3-0 lead over No. 2 seed Mitchell Mesenbrink. Carr was strong on top and built 1:42 in riding time before Mesenbrink could escape to narrow the score to 3-1.
After Carr escaped to start the second for a 4-1 lead, Mesenbrink drove through on a double but the Cyclone senior held onto a leg to force a stalemate. Mesenbrink picked up a point on a stall call before Carr used a low single for a takedown with 30 seconds remaining. Mesenbrink escaped before time ran out to make it a 7-3 bout.
Mesenbrink chose bottom position and added another stall point before escaping to close the gap to 7-5. The Nittany Lion redshirt freshman then hit a double and fought through for a takedown. Carr escaped to tie the score at 8-8, and with riding time assured, held off Mesenbrink the remainder of the way for a 9-8 decision and his second national title.
The loss was the first of the season for Mesenbrink, who finishes his debut collegiate campaign as national runner-up with a 26-1 record and a Big Ten championship.
174 Pounds
No. 9 seed Carter Starocci and No. 6 seed Rocco Welsh of Ohio State were scoreless through most of the first period until a second stall warning against the Buckeye gave Starocci a 1-0 lead heading into the second. The Nittany Lion senior escaped to start the second and open up a 2-0 lead that held up heading into the third. Welsh chose neutral to start the final period but was unable to generate the go-ahead takedown. Starocci got hit with a stall warning late but nothing more and won a 2-0 decision for his fourth national title.
Wrestling throughout the tournament with a heavily wrapped right leg after an injury in late February, Starocci bounced back from being unable to compete in the Big Ten Championships to become Penn State’s first four-time champion. He finishes his championship season at 17-2, with both losses coming from injury defaults at the conference tournament.
184 Pounds
No. 1 seed Aaron Brooks was the aggressor early against Mifflintown native and No. 2 seed Trent Hidlay of NC State, but couldn’t convert until late in the first period. Brooks used a head outside single and turned Hidlay over for a takedown and a 3-0 lead after one. A Brooks escape to start second and a second stall warning against Hidlay late in the period expanded the Nittany Lion’s lead to 5-0.
Hidlay chose bottom position to start the third and Brooks stayed in control for much of the final period. Hidlay scored a late escape, but got no more. Brooks added a riding time point for a 6-1 decision to become Penn State’s second four-time national champion.
Dominant throughout the season, Brooks was a buzzsaw in the national tournament, winning his first four bouts with two pins and two tech falls before the decision victory in the final — just his second win all year without bonus points. Brooks, also a four-time Big Ten champion, concludes his senior campaign at 22-0 and riding a 35-match win streak. He will be the favorite to win the Hodge Trophy.
Brooks and Starocci join Pat Smith (Oklahoma State), Cael Sanderson (Iowa State), Kyle Dake (Cornell), Logan Stieber (Ohio State) and Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) as the only four-time national champions in NCAA history. Penn State joins Cornell as the only school with two wrestlers to accomplish the feat and is the first program to have two win their fourth titles in the same year.
