After five Nittany Lions took home individual titles at last weekend’s Big Ten Championships in College Park, Maryland, the newly released seeds for the NCAA Championships reflected Penn State’s dominance.
The NCAA released the 33 seeds in each of 10 weight classes during a selection show on Wednesday night, and a Nittany Lion wrestler was featured in all 10 weight classes.
Four Penn State wrestlers earned No. 1 seeds and two are seeded No. 2. No Nittany Lion is seeded lower than 10th.
No. 1 Braeden Davis: 125 Pounds
Braeden Davis, a true freshman, has a 20-2 record so far this season after securing a Big Ten title last week and beating then-No. 5-ranked Eric Barnett of Wisconsin in the finals.
No. 10 Aaron Nagao: 133 Pounds
Aaron Nagao holds a 14-5 record on the season, finishing third at the Big Ten Championships with an emphatic pin in the third-place match over Jacob Van Dee of Nebraska.
No. 2 Beau Bartlett: 141 Pounds
Beau Bartlett, now 20-1, suffered his first loss of the season last week in the Big Ten Championships at the hands of Ohio State Buckeye Jesse Mendez. Bartlett held the No. 1 rank at 141 pounds for the majority of the season.
No. 7 Tyler Kasak: 149 Pounds
The second true freshman in the lineup, Tyler Kasak holds a record of 17-4 on the season, taking a third-place finish in the conference tournament after a pin over Ethan Miller of Maryland.
No. 1 Levi Haines: 157 Pounds
The NCAA runner-up at 157 pounds last season, Levi Haines is one of four undefeated wrestlers on the roster and holds a record of 18-0. The sophomore defended his Big Ten title with another first-place victory last weekend.
No. 2 Mitchell Mesenbrink: 165 Pounds
After transferring to Penn State this season, Mitchell Mesenbrink has put on a show. At 22-0 this season, the redshirt freshman won his first Big Ten title in his first outing after a massive comeback victory over Wisconsin’s Dean Hamiti.
No. 9 Carter Starocci: 174 Pounds
Carter Starocci, now 12-2 after two injury defaults, didn’t wrestle at the Big Ten Championships due to an injury suffered against Edinboro in the Nittany Lions’ last regular-season dual. However, the three-time national champion had no problem receiving an at-large bid for the NCAA Championships.
No. 6 Bernie Truax: 184 Pounds
Bernie Truax was a runner-up at this year’s conference tournament. The graduate transfer is 14-4 on the season.
No. 1 Aaron Brooks: 197 Pounds
Penn State’s third four-time Big Ten champion and Big Ten Wrestler of the Year, Aaron Brooks is 17-0 as he aims to become a four-time national champion.
No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet: Heavyweight
At 15-0, Greg Kerkvliet won his first Big Ten title last weekend and now will seek his first national title.
This year’s NCAA National Championship will take place March 21-23 in Kansas City, Missouri. The first session of action will begin at noon on Thursday, March 21.
