PISCATAWAY, N.J.; March 7, 2020 – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (12-2, 8-1 B1G) moved six wrestlers through to the semifinals in the first session of the 2020 Big Ten Wrestling Championship at Rutgers University. All six have qualified for the NCAA Championships. The Lions, under the guidance of head coach Cael Sanderson, have three more wrestlers still alive on consolation action, looking to punch their tickets to Minneapolis in two weeks. The two-day event is being held at Rutgers' RAC.
The Nittany Lions entered the tournament with five top-two seeds and five wrestlers making their first-ever appearances at the event, including three freshmen.
Freshman Brandon Meredith (Limerick, Pa.) entered the tournament as the tournament's 14th-seed at 125. Meredith opened the tournament against No. 11 Mitch McKee of Minnesota. The Lion notched an early takedown and led 2-1 after the opening period. McKee escaped to start the second period and tied the bout at 2-2 but Meredith had 1:07 in riding time. Tied 2-2 after two but with 1:07 in time, Meredith chose neutral to start the third period and fought McKee on his feet for the period. With :20 left, Meredith got in on a single that forced a scramble over the final seconds. Time ran out with not takedown called and, after a failed review by Minnesota, Meredith's 1:07 riding time advantage gave the Lion freshman a 3-2 upset in in his Big Ten debut. Meredith took on No. 10 Michael DeAugustino in the quarterfinals. DeAugustino notched a takedown early to open up a 2-1 lead in the first period. DeAugustino added one more takedown and led 4-1 after one and an escape in the second period to lead 5-1 after two. Meredith went on to drop the 8-2 decision. He continues on in consolation action this evening.
Sophomore Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), ranked No. 2 nationally at 133 in the NCAA coaches poll, is the second seed at the tournament and received a first-round bye. He met No. 8 Sammy Alvarez of Rutgers in the quarterfinals. Bravo-Young scored quickly and took a 2-0 lead. He controlled Alvarez for the next 1:13 before Alvarez escaped. Bravo-Young carried that lead and riding time into the second period where he chose neutral to start. He scrambled his way to a second takedown and upped his lead to 4-1 with :40 left in the period. Bravo-Young finished on top and carried that lead, plus 2:03 in time, into the third. Alvarez chose down to start the third and Bravo-Young maintained control long enough to clinch the riding time point before Alvarez escaped to a 4-2 score. Bravo-Young's riding time edge allowed the Lion sophomore to post the 5-2 victory. Bravo-Young will battle in the semifinals tonight.
Junior Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 1 at 141, is the tournament's top seed and had a first-round bye. Lee met No. 33 Parker Filius of Purdue in the quarterfinals. Lee made short work of the Purdue grappler. He worked his way in on a quick shot, took Filius down and turned him to his back in just 0:37 for the fast fall. Lee's win moves him into the semifinals tonight.
Sophomore Jarod Verkleeren (Greensburg, Pa.), ranked No. 20 nationally at 149, is the 8th-seed and took on No. 19 Yahya Thomas of Northwestern in the opening round. Verkleeren gave up an early takedown and quickly escaped to a 2-1 score. Thomas scored again quickly and the Lion fell behind 4-2 after the opening period. He escaped to start the second period but Thomas led 4-3 and had 1:51 in riding time. Thomas escaped to start the third period, maintaining his riding time edge. Verkleeren could not manage an escape and dropped the 6-3 decision. He received a bye in the first round of consolation action. He continues on in consolation wrestling tonight.
Junior Bo Pipher (Paonia, Colo.) entered his first conference tournament as the 13th-seed at 157. Pipher took on No. 8 Will Lewan of Michigan in the first round. Pipher battled the fourth seed evenly for the entirety of the first period, sending the bout to the middle stanza tied 0-0. Lewan chose down to begin the second period and escaped to a 1-0 lead after :30 of work. Trailing 1-0, the Lion junior chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 1-1 tie. Lewan lifted Pipher off the mat at the :48 mark but slammed the Lion to the ground. Lewan was called for an illegal move and Pipher led 2-1. Lewan came out and quickly took the Lion down to lead 3-2 at the :38 mark. Pipher escaped to a 3-3 tie with :25 left and then nearly connected on a low shot at :10. The bout moved to sudden victory tied 3-3. Pipher had a chance on a quick low shot seconds into the period but Lewan skipped away to keep the action going. Lewan then worked his way into control of Pipher's legs and got a takedown call as time expired. Pipher dropped the 5-3 (sv) decision and moved into consolation action. He took on Wisconsin's Garrett Model in his first consolation bout. Pipher fell behind 2-0 early and trailed 4-1 at the 1:00 mark of the opening period. He trailed 8-1 after one and 11-1 after two and lost an 18-1 tech fall at the 6:10 mark. He ends the tournament win an 0-2 mark.
Senior Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 1 nationally and the top-seed at 165, had a first-round bye. He battled Michigan State's Drew Hughes in the quarterfinals. Joseph scored quickly, taking Hughes down for an early 2-0 lead. The Lion senior tacked on a second takedown and picked up a stall point to lead 5-1 with over 2:00 in time after one. Joseph quickly added two more takedowns and led 9-2, then added three more takedowns to lead 15-5 after two periods. The Lion senior picked up a riding time point on over 3:00 of time and rolled to the 16-5 major decision. His bonus point win moves him into tonight's semifinals.
Senior Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), ranked No. 2 nationally and the 2nd-seed at 174, had a first-round bye. Hall took on No. 20 Joey Gunther of Illinois in the quarterfinals. Hall took Gunther down quickly and then spent the rest of the first period in control. Hall turned Gunther to his back multiple times and led 14-0 after the opening period. Gunther chose down to start the second period and Hall looked for an opportunity to pick up a fall. He was able to turn Gunther one more time, settling for a two-point near fall, and rolled to the 16-0 technical fall at the 4:12 mark in the second period. His win moves him into tonight's semifinals.
True freshman Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md.), ranked No. 5 nationally at 184, made his Big Ten tourney debut as the tournament's top-seed and had a first-round bye. He met No. 19 Owen Webster of Minnesota in the quarterfinals. Brooks forced Webster into an early stall and then finished the opening period with a takedown and a rideout to lead 2-0 after one. Webster chose down to start the second period and Brooks maintained offensive control for the entire period to lead 2-0 with a clinched riding time edge (3:26). The Lion freshman added a quickly third period takedown, then a second and a third. He went on to post the 15-4 major decision with over 4:00 in riding time. His win moves him into tonight's semifinals.
Senior Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.), ranked No. 24 nationally, is the 6th-seed at 197. Rasheed battled Illinois' Matt Wroblewski in his first-round bout. Rasheed notched two quick takedowns and opened up a 4-1 lead early. He then deftly locked up a cradle and, after seconds of work, notched the fast fall over the Illini. Rasheed's pin at the 0:53 mark moved the Lion senior into the quarterfinals where he took on No. 3 Jacob Warner of Iowa. Rasheed and Warner battled evenly for the first two minutes with neither wrestler threatening on offense. Rasheed worked hi way in on a low single at the :40 mark and forced a scramble over the next :30. But Warner fought the move to a stalemate and the bout moved to the second period tied 0-0. Warner escaped to start the second period and led 1-0. Trailing 1-0 after two, Rasheed chose down to start the second period and worked his way to an escape and a 1-1 tie at the 1:30 mark. Rasheed countered a slight Warner shot as the clock hit :45 and steadily worked his way into control for a takedown to lead 3-1 with :25 left. Rasheed finished the period on top and posted the thrilling 3-1 victory. His win moves him into tonight's semifinals.
True freshman Seth Nevills (Clovis, Calif.), ranked No. 16 nationally, made his Big Ten tourney debut as the 7th-seed at 285. Nevills took on Rutgers' Alex Esposito in the opening round. Nevills almost connected on an early single but Esposito was able to fight off the move. The Knight then worked his way in on a single leg and Nevills took an injury timeout. The Lion freshman was able to continue but gave up a quick takedown and fell behind 2-0. Esposito then controlled the Lion for the rest of the period. Nevills chose top to start the second period. Nevills could not continue at the 4:29 mark and dropped the injury default decision. Nevills received a bye in his first consolation bout. If able, he will continue on in consolation action this evening.
Penn State went 8-5 overall in first session. The Lions picked up 9.5 bonus points off two majors, a tech and two pins. Each of Penn State's six semifinalists (Bravo-Young, Lee, Joseph, Hall, Brooks, Rasheed) have qualified for the NCAA Championships. Three more Lions (Meredith, Verkleeren, Nevills) are set to continue on tonight in consolation action, each still alive for a trip to Minneapolis. Pipher ends his tournament with an 0-2 mark.
The Big Ten received 79 automatic qualifiers: eight at 125, seven at 133, eight at 141, ten at 149, six at 157, eight at 165, nine at 174, ten at 184, six at 197 and seven at 285. In all, the NCAA allocated 283 automatic bids for 330 slots (33 per 10 weight classes). The remaining spots will be announced as at-large bids on Wednesday, March 11.
The tournament continues tonight with the second session at 6:30 p.m. Sunday's action starts at 12 p.m. with consolation bouts, followed up by the Big Ten finals. The full tournament is a BTN production and can be viewed as part of the BTN's BTN+ subscription package. The finals will air live nationally on BTN. The Big Ten tournament features action on Saturday and Sunday, March 7-8, and will decide the Big Ten's automatic qualifiers for the 2020 NCAA Championship at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
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.
Penn State at 2020 Big Ten Championship – Session 1
March 7, 2020 – Piscataway, N.J. – Rutgers University
Weight-by-weight agate (RANKINGS LISTED ARE OFFICIAL NCAA COACHES POLL, 2/27/20):
125: Brandon Meredith, Fr., Limerick, Pa.
Rd. 1: #11 Pat McKee, Minnesota – W, 3-2
Qtr: #10 Michael DeAugustino, Northwestern – L, 2-8
Cn. 2: TBA
See above story for this session's recap.
133: #2 Roman Bravo-Young, So., Tucson, Ariz.
Rd. 1: bye
Qtr: #8 Sammy Alvarez, Rutgers – W, 5-2
Semi: TBA
See above story for this session's recap.
141: #1 Nick Lee, Jr., Evansville, Ind.
Rd. 1: bye
Qtr: #3 Parker Filius, Purdue – WBF (0:37)
Semi: TBA
See above story for this session's recap.
149: #20 Jarod Verkleeren, So., Greensburg, Pa.
Rd. 1: #19 Yahya Thomas, Northwestern – L, 3-6
Cn. 1: bye
Cn. 2: TBA
See above story for this session's recap.
157: Bo Pipher, Jr., Paonia, Colo.
Rd. 1: #8 Will Lewan, Michigan – L, 3-5 (sv)
Cn. 1: Garrett Model, Wisconsin – L, 1-18 (TF; 6:10)
See above story for this session's recap.
165: #1 Vincenzo Joseph, Sr., Pittsburgh, Pa.
Rd. 1: bye
Qtr: Drew Hughes, Michigan State – W, 16-5 maj. dec.
Semi: TBA
See above story for this session's recap.
174: #2 Mark Hall, Sr., Apple Valley, Minn.
Rd. 1: bye
Qtr: #20 Joey Gunther, Illinois – W, 16-0 (TF; 4:12)
Semi: TBA
See above story for this session's recap.
184: #5 Aaron Brooks, Fr., Hagerstown, Md.
Rd. 1: bye
Qtr: #19 Owen Webster, Minnesota – W, 15-4 maj. dec.
Semi: TBA
See above story for this session's recap.
197: #24 Shakur Rasheed, Sr., Coram, N.Y.
Rd. 1: Matt Wroblewski, Illinois – WBF (0:53)
Qtr: #3 Jacob Warner, Iowa – W, 3-1
See above story for this session's recap.
285: #16 Seth Nevills, Fr., Clovis, Calif.
Rd. 1: Alex Esposito, Rutgers – L, inj.def. (3:29)
Cn. 1: bye
Cn. 2: TBA
See above story for this session's recap.
