MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.; March 8, 2019 – No. 1 Penn State (14-0, 9-0 B1G) will head in to the 2019 Big Ten Wrestling Championships with seven first or second seeds when the event begins on Saturday in Minneapolis. The Nittany Lions, under the guidance of head coach Cael Sanderson, will take part in the two-day NCAA qualifier and conference championship tournament beginning Saturday at 11 a.m. Eastern/10 a.m. Central (local) at the University of Minnesota's Williams Arena. All rankings listed are InterMat as of Feb. 26.
The conference has finalized its preseeds for the tournament and all ten of Penn State's 10 entrants will be seeded. Weight classes where the Big Ten received eight or more automatic qualifiers are seeded all the way, one through 14. Weight classes where the Big Ten received fewer than eight qualifiers are seeded one through eight. Penn State will have six first round byes on Saturday, five of which were dictated by having a first or second seed at a weight where all 14 wrestlers were seeded.
Sophomore Devin Schnupp (Lititz, Pa.) is the No. 12 seed at 125. He enters the tournament with a 6-14 overall record and is 1-8 against the Big Ten this year. Schnupp will take on fifth-seed Travis Piotrowski, ranked No. 12 by InterMat, in the first round on Saturday.
True freshman Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Pa.), ranked No. 12 nationally at 133, will be the No. 4 seed in his first Big Ten tournament. Bravo-Young sports a 17-2 overall record heading to the conference tournament and is 4-1 against the Big Ten this season. He will face Nebraska's Jevon Parrish in the first round on Saturday.
Sophomore Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 2 nationally at 141, is the No. 2 seed. Lee has a 24-1 overall record this year and went 8-1 against the conference. He is 24-1 all-time against the Big Ten including a 4-1 mark at the championship tournament last year, placing third as a true freshman. Lee has a bye in the opening round on Saturday.
Redshirt freshman Brady Berge (Mantorville, Minn.), ranked No. 13 nationally at 149, is seeded No. 6 in his first Big Ten tournament. Berge is 16-2 this season, including a 4-1 record against Big Ten competition. Berge will take on Purdue's Parker Filius in the opening round Saturday.
Senior Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 1 nationally at 157, is the No. 1 seed at his final Big Ten tournament. Nolf is 23-0 this year, including a 10-0 mark against the conference. Nolf is 47-3 all-time against Big Ten competition, including an 8-1 mark in the tournament. He was the 2017 Big Ten Champion. Nolf receives a bye in the opening round on Saturday.
Junior Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 1 in the country at 165, is the tournament's No. 1 seed. Joseph is 21-0 this year, including a perfect 8-0 mark against Big Ten competition. Joseph is 31-5 all-time against the Big Ten, including a 6-2 record in the Big Ten tournament. Joseph will have a bye in the first round on Saturday.
Junior Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), ranked No. 1 nationally at 174, is the No. 1 seed at this year's tournament. Hall is 23-0 this year, including a 9-0 mark against Big Ten foes. Hall is 34-2 all-time against Big Ten opponents, including a 6-1 record in the Big Ten tourney. Hall was last year's Big Ten Champion. Hall will have a bye in the first round on Saturday.
Senior Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.), ranked No. 2 in the country, is the No. 2 seed at the tournament. Rasheed is 16-0 this season, including a perfect 3-0 mark against Big Ten competition. He is 17-5 all-time against the Big Ten, including a 3-1 mark in his first Big Ten tournament last year, finishing as runner-up at 197. Rasheed receives a bye in the opening round on Saturday.
Senior Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 1 in the nation at 197, is the No. 1 seed at the tournament as well. Nickal is 22-0 this season, including a 9-0 record against the Big Ten. He is 56-3 all-time against the conference, including a 9-1 record in the Big Ten championship. Nickal won the conference title at 174 in 2016 and last year at 184. Nickal drew a bye in the first round on Saturday.
Senior Anthony Cassar (Rocky Hill, N.J.), ranked No. 3 nationally at 285, is the No. 2 seed this weekend. Cassar is 21-1 this year and went a perfect 10-0 against Big Ten foes. He is 16-0 all-time against conference competition and is making his Big Ten Championship debut this season. Cassar will take on Purdue's Jacob Aven in the opening round.
Penn State has won five Big Ten Championships (tournament) under Sanderson and six Big Ten Regular Season (dual meet) titles, including this year's dual crown. The Nittany Lions have had 25 individuals win a total of 43 Big Ten individual titles.
The Nittany Lions and the Big Ten's other 13 teams, will compete 2019 Big Ten Championships on Saturday and Sunday. Action begins tomorrow, March 9, at 11 a.m. Eastern / 10 a.m. Central (local) and will conclude with the championship finals on Sunday, March 10, at 4 p.m. Eastern / 3 p.m. Central (local). The Finals will air live on the Big Ten Network and the entire tournament, every mat, will stream live on BTN2go/BTN-Plus ($).
Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at @pennstateWREST, on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here.
