LINCOLN, Neb.; March 4, 2022 – The Penn State Nittany Lion (17-0, 8-0 B1G) wrestling team will head into the 2022 Big Ten Championships with four top seeds with the release of the official tournament brackets today in Lincoln, Neb. Head coach Cael Sanderson's squad will have six first-round byes when the tournament begins tomorrow, Saturday March 4, at the University of Nebraska.
Senior Drew Hildebrandt (Granger, Ind.) is the No. 2 seed at 125 and will have a first-round bye. Hildebrandt is ranked No. 5 by InterMat and is 8-1 this year. He is 25-15 all-time vs. the Big Ten and 6-1 vs. the field at this year's tournament.
Senior Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.) is the No. 1 seed at 133 and will have a first-round bye. Bravo-Young is ranked No. 1 by InterMat and is 14-0 this year. He won the 2021 Big Ten title, is 36-7 all-time against the Big Ten and 5-0 vs. this year's field.
Senior Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.) is the No. 1 seed at 141 and will have a first-round bye. Lee is ranked No. 1 by InterMat and is 14-0 this year. He is 55-8 all-time vs. the Big Ten and 5-0 vs. the field this year.
Sophomore Beau Bartlett (Tempe, Ariz.) is the No. 7 seed at 149 and will meet No. 10 seed Michael Blockhus of Minnesota in the first round. Bartlett is ranked No. 17 by InterMat and is 11-6 this year. He is 13-7 all-time against the Big Ten and 3-4 vs. this year's field.
Senior Brady Berge (Mantorville, Minn.) is the No. 10 seed at 157 and will face No. 7 seed Garrett Model of Wisconsin in the opening round. Berge is ranked No. 13 at 157 by InterMat and is 5-1 on the year with all but two bouts at 165. Berge is 18-7 all-time against Big Ten foes and is 0-0 against the tournament's 157-field.
Junior Creighton Edsell (Wyalusing, Pa.) is the 10 seed at 165 and will take on No. 7 seed Hayden Lohrey of Purdue in the first round. Edsell is ranked No. 23 at 165 by InterMat and is 10-3 on the year. He is 12-3 all-time against the Big Ten and 1-0 vs. this year's field.
Sophomore Carter Starocci (Erie, Pa.) is the No. 1 seed at 174 and will have a first-round bye. Starocci is ranked No. 1 by InterMat and is 15-0 on the year. He is 16-2 all-time against the Big Ten and is 3-0 vs. this year's field.
Junior Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md.) is the No. 1 seed at 184 and will have a first-round bye. Brooks is ranked No. 1 by InterMat and is 14-0 this season. Brooks won both the 2020 and 2021 Big Ten titles, is 28-1 all-time against Big Ten foes and is 7-0 vs. this year's field.
Junior Max Dean (Lowell, Mich.) is the No. 2 seed at 197 and will have a first-round bye. Dean is ranked No. 1 by InterMat and is 15-1 this year. He is 11-5 all-time against the Big Ten and 5-1 against this year's tournament field.
Sophomore Greg Kerkvliet (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) is the No. 3 seed at 285 and will face No. 14 seed Zach Schrader of Maryland in the opening round. Kerkvliet is ranked No. 5 by InterMat and is 14-1 this season. He is 14-4 all-time against the Big Ten and is 6-1 against the field this year.
The Big Ten received a total of 88 qualifying spots for the 2022 NCAA Championships, set for Detroit, Mich. On March 17-19. The Big Ten will qualify automatically, the following: 10 at 125, 10 at 133, 7 at 141, 7 at 149, 7 at 157, 7 at 165, 8 at 174, 12 at 184, 11 at 197 and 9 at 285.
The 2022 Big Ten Tournament is hosted by the University of Nebraska and takes place Saturday and Sunday, March 5-6. Saturday's first session begins at 11 a.m. with session two starting at 6:30 p.m. (and semifinals to begin at 8:30 p.m. approximately). Sunday's third and fourth sessions begin at 12 and 4 p.m. respectively with the conference title bouts and placing bouts set for 4:30 p.m. All the action will be broadcast by the Big Ten Network or B1G+ online.
Penn State ended its dual meet season with a 17-0 record and won the 2022 Big Ten Regular Season title with an 8-0 mark. It marked the sixth time that head coach Cael Sanderson led Penn State through an unbeaten dual meet season.
All rankings listed by Penn State wrestling are InterMat individual and team TPI. The 2021-22 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by the Family Clothesline. 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.
