Penn State wrestling kicked off the race for its 10th NCAA Championship on Thursday during session one of the national tournament at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
The Nittany Lions took the early lead in the team standings as seven Nittany Lions won their opening bouts, with six tallying a total of 8.5 bonus points, while No. 16 Drew Hildebrandt and No. 16 Brady Berge moved to the consolation brackets. All nine will wrestle again later tonight.
Penn State has 15.5 points after session one, leading Iowa’s 14.5 and and Michigan’s 13.5.
How It Happened
First to the mat for the Nittany Lions was No. 16 Drew Hildebrandt against No. 17 Anthony Noto of Lock Haven. The bout was knotted 0-0 until Noto took neutral and got the first takedown in the second period. Hildebrandt quickly escaped and added another escape in the third to leave the bout tied 2-2 at the end of regulation. In sudden victory, Noto got a quick takedown to walk away with the 4-2 win. Hildebrandt next will face Stanford’s No. 33 seed Logan Ashton in the consolation bracket.
No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young was up next against No. 32 Dominic LaJoie of Cornell at 133 pounds. Bravo-Young went up 2-0 within the first 10 seconds of the bout and was up 4-1 within the first minute. The intensity never wavered as, Bravo-Young went up 13-3 in the third. The bout finished with a 16-4 major decision victory for the Nittany Lion. Bravo Young gets No. 16 seed Josh Koderhandt of Navy in the second round.
Simultaneously, No. 1 Nick Lee had his first bout of the tournament against No. 32 Josh Mason of Bloomsburg at 141 pounds. Lee also got to work fast, earning a 6-0 lead with a takedown and back points in the first 30 seconds of the bout. Lee took a 12-0 lead into the third and with a takedown and 3:58 of riding time finished with a 15-3 major decision. He will take on No. 16 seed Quinn Kinner of Rider in the second round.
At 149 pounds, No. 13 Beau Bartlett took on against No. 20 Colin Realbuto of UNI. After a scoreless first period, Bartlett got the escape for a 1-0 lead after Realbuto built up 1:41 in riding time. Realbuto got an escape and a takedown to start the third, but Bartlett stormed back. The Nittany Lion got a point on a stall call, escaped and with under 10 seconds left scored a takedown to earn a 5-4 decision. Bartlett faces Ohio State’s No. 4 seed Sammy Sasso in the second round.
No. 16 Brady Berge faced off against No. 17 Hunter Willits of Oregon State at 157 pounds. The pair traded escapes in the second and third periods to tie the bout 1-1, but Willits secured a riding time point to take a 2-1 decision. Berge will meet No. 33 seed Derek Holschlag of Northern Iowa in consolation action on Thursday night.
After a bit of a break for Penn State, 174-pound No. 1 Carter Starocci took on No. 33 Connor O’Neill of Rutgers. The Nittany Lion sophomore worked fast to go up 8-2 after one. Starocci extended his lead through the second and third periods to 19-7 before taking O’Neill to his back for the pin at the 6:38. The Nittany Lion will look to keep it rolling in the second round against No. 16 seed Adam Kemp of Cal Poly.
At 184 pounds, No. 2 Aaron Brooks got going quickly against No. 31 AJ Burkhart of Lehigh. Brooks got the opening takedown after carrying Burkhart across the mat. Brooks took a 4-1 lead after one and controlled throughout the rest of the bout for a 21-7 major decision. He will face Virginia Tech’s 15th-seeded Hunter Bolen in the second round.
A few mats over, No. 1 Max Dean saw No. 32 Will Feldkamp of Clarion. After a slower start in the first period, Dean turned it on to take an 8-1 lead. In the second, Dean got a takedown and two turns for back points to put away a 16-1 technical fall at the 4:40 mark. He gets No. 17 seed Jay Aiello of Virginia in round two.
No. 4 heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet finished up the first round for Penn State against No. 29 Bradon Metz from North Dakota State. Kerkvliet took a 2-0 lead in the first period then closed it out in the second as he turned Metz for the pin at the 4:17 mark. Kerkvliet advances to face No. 13 seed Tate Orndorff of Ohio State in the second round.
What’s Next?
Session two begins at 7 p.m. on Thursday, with the second round and consolation rounds broadcast on ESPN.
StateCollege.com’s Geoff Rushton contributed to this report.
