LINCOLN, Neb. – The Penn State Nittany Lions (17-0, 8-0 B1G) will have seven wrestlers compete in the semifinals later tonight at the 2022 Big Ten Wrestling Championships. All seven have qualified for the NCAA Championships. Penn State, under the guidance of head coach Cael Sanderson, has three more still alive for NCAA bids as well. The two-day event continues tonight at 6:30 p.m. Eastern.
The Nittany Lions entered the tournament with six top-two seeds which earned byes in the opening round (four first, two second). Penn State current qualifiers for the NCAA Championships in two weeks are: Roman Bravo-Young at 133, Nick Lee at 141, Brady Berge at 157, Carter Starocci at 174, Aaron Brooks at 184, Max Dean at 197, and Greg Kerkvliet at 285. Three others are still alive in consolation action: Drew Hildebrandt at 125, Beau Bartlett at 149, and Creighton Edsell at 165.
Senior Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), No. 1 seed at 133, had a first-round bye. He took on No. 23 Matt Ramos of Purdue, the 9th-seed, in the quarterfinals. Bravo-Young broke open an early close match and rolled to an 11-3 major decision with 2:56 in riding time. The victory pushed him into the semifinals against No. 10 Dylan Ragusin of Michigan. Senior Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), No. 1 seed at 141, had a first-round bye. He met No. 22 Joe 22 Joe Zargo of Wisconsin, the 8th-seed, in the quarterfinals. Lee dominated the action against No. 22 Joe Zargo of Wisconsin, turning a first period takedown into a number of near falls. Lee did not give up a point and finished off a 16-0 tech fall with a reversal at the 5:06 mark. Lee's victory moved him into the semifinals to meet No. 18 Jake Bergeland of Minnesota.
Senior Brady Berge (Mantorville, Minn.), No. 10 seed at 157, took on No. 31 Garret Model of Wisconsin (the 7th-seed) in the first round. Berge notched two first period takedowns, a third in the second and a fourth in the third to roll to a 10-2 major decision with 1:52 in riding time. He took on No. 9 Kaleb Young of Iowa, the 2nd-seed, in the quarterfinals. Berge notched the bout's only two takedowns and posted a thrilling 5-3 victory. The win moved Berge into the semifinals against No. 10 Will Lewan of Michigan. Sophomore Carter Starocci (Erie, Pa.), No. 1 seed at 174, had a first-round bye. He took on Maryland's Dominic Solis in the quarterfinals. Starocci made fast work of the Terrapin, opening up a 6-2 lead and then ending the match with a pin at the 2:13 mark in the first period. The victory moved Starocci into the semis to take on No. 4 Michael Kemerer from Iowa.
Junior Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md.), No. 1 seed at 184, had a first-round bye. He battled No. 8 Kyle Cochran of Maryland, the 8th-seed, in the quarterfinals. Brooks, like Starocci just moments before, ended his match quickly. He took Cochran down at the shoulders midway through the first, turned him to his back, reset once and got the fast fall at the 1:40 mark of the opening stanza. The win moved Brooks into the semifinals to meet No. 19 Taylor Venz of Nebraska. Junior Max Dean (Lowell, Mich.), No. 2 seed at 197, had Penn State's sixth first-round bye. He met No. 12 Greg Bulsak of Rutgers in the quarterfinals, the 7th-seed. Dean collected the bout's only takedowns and rolled to a convincing 6-2 victory. The win moved Dean into the semifinals to face No. 5 Cameron Caffey of Michigan State.
Sophomore Greg Kerkvliet (Inver Grove, Heights, Minn.), No. 3 seed at 285, wrestled Maryland's Zach Schrader in Penn State's final opening round bout. Kerkvliet took Schrader down quickly, turned him three times to open up a 14-0 lead and then pinned him on his fourth turn, getting the fall at the 2:13 mark in the opening period. He took on No. 11 Christian Lance of Nebraska, the 6th-seed, in the quarterfinals. Kerkvliet controlled the entire match, getting the bout's only takedowns and rolling to a 7-1 win with over 2:00 in riding time. The victory moved him into the semifinals to face No. 4 Tony Cassioppi of Iowa.
Senior Drew Hildebrandt (Granger, Ind.), No. 2 seed at 125, had a first-round bye. He met No. 13 Michael DeAugustino of Northwestern, the 7th-seed, in the quarterfinals. Hildebrandt was riding DeAugustino out in the second period when he got hit for a penalty point and trailed 2-0. He tied the bout with a third period reversal and sent the match to sudden victory on riding time. But DeAugustino notched a quick takedown to steal the 5-3 (sv) win and send Hildebrandt into consolation action. Sophomore Beau Bartlett (Tempe, Ariz.), No. 7 seed at 149, met No. 30 Michael Blockhus of Minnesota (the 10th-seed) in the opening round. Bartlett trailed 1-0 after two but used an escape, a takedown, and late defense to notch a 3-2 win to advance to the quarterfinals. He took on No. 5 Austin Gomez of Wisconsin, the 2nd-seed, in the quarters where he dropped an 12-4 major, moving into consolation action. Junior Creighton Edsell (Wyalusing, Pa.), No. 10 seed at 165, met Purdue's Hayden Lohrey (the 7th-seed) in the opening round. Edsell led 1-0 into the third, got hit for a penalty point midway through the final period, but ended the bout with a quick takedown in extra time to notch a 3-1 (sv) win. He took on No. 5 Alex Marinelli of Iowa, the 2nd-seed, in the quarterfinals. Edsell battled the second-seed tough but fell 8-2 to move into the consolation bracket.
Penn State went 11-3 in session one and collected 9.5 bonus points off two majors, one tech fall and three pins.
Penn State has its ten wrestlers in Lincoln looking to qualify them for the 2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships. The tournament serves as the national qualifier for the conference and 88 Big Ten wrestlers will earn trips to Detroit to battle for an NCAA title. The Big Ten will automatically qualify 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 his hosted by the University of Nebraska and takes place Saturday and Sunday, March 5-6. Tonight's second session begins at 6:30 p.m. (B1G+) with consolation action and the semifinals scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m. approximately (B1G Network). Sunday's third and fourth sessions begin at 12 p.m. (B1G+) and 4:30 p.m. (B1G Network) respectively with the conference title bouts and placing bouts set for 4 p.m.
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.
Penn State at 2022 Big Ten Championship – Session 1
March 5, 2022 – Lincoln, Neb. – University of Nebraska, Host
Team Standings (Top 3 after session 1 as of 3:20 p.m.)
1: Michigan – 68.5
2: PENN STATE – 67.5
3: Iowa – 55.0
Weight-by-weight agate (RANKINGS LISTED ARE INTERMAT as of 2/22/22):
125: #5 Drew Hildebrandt, Sr., Granger, Ind – 2nd-seed
Rd. 1: bye
Qtr: #13 Michael DeAugustino, Northwestern – L, 3-5 (sv)
Cn 2: #10 Patrick McKee, Minnesota -- tonight
See above story for bout-by-bout recap.
133: #1 Roman Bravo-Young, Sr., Tucson, Ariz. – 1st-seed
Rd. 1: bye
Qtr: #23 Matt Ramos, Purdue – W, 11-3 maj. dec.
Semi: #8 Dylan Ragusin, Michigan – tonight
See above story for bout-by-bout recap.
141: #1 Nick Lee, Sr., Evansville, Ind. – 1st-seed
Rd. 1: bye
Qtr: #22 Joe Zargo, Wisconsin – W, 16-0 (TF; 5:06)
Semis: #18 Jake Bergeland, Minnesota – tonight
See above story for bout-by-bout recap.
149: #17 Beau Bartlett, So., Tempe, Ariz. – 7th-seed
Rd. 1: #30 Michael Blockhus, Minnesota – W, 3-2 dec.
Qtr: #5 Austin Gomez, Wisconsin – L, 4-12 maj. dec.
Cn. 2: #29 Christian Kanlzer, Illinois – tonight
See above story for bout-by-bout recap.
157: #13 Brady Berge, Sr., Mantorville, Minn. – 10th-seed
Rd. 1: #31 Garrett Model, Wisconsin – W, 10-2 maj. dec.
Qtr: #9 Kaleb Young, Iowa – W, 5-3 dec.
Semis: #10 Will Lewan, Michigan – tonight
See above story for bout-by-bout recap.
165: #23 Creighton Edsell, Jr., Wyalusing, Pa. – 10th-seed
Rd. 1: Hayden Lohrey, Purdue – W, 3-1 (sv)
Qtr: #5 Alex Marinelli, Purdue – L, 2-8 dec.
Cn. 2: Cael Carlson, Minnesota – tonight
See above story for bout-by-bout recap.
174: #1 Carter Starocci, So., Erie, Pa. –1st-seed
Rd. 1: bye
Qtr: Dominic Solis, Maryland – WBF (2:13)
Semis: #4 Michael Kemerer, Minnesota – tonight
See above story for bout-by-bout recap.
184: #1 Aaron Brooks, Jr., Hagerstown, Md. – 1st-seed
Rd. 1: bye
Qtr: #8 Kyle Cochran, Maryland – WBF (1:40)
Semis: #19 Taylor Venz, Nebraska – tonight
See above story for bout-by-bout recap.
197: #1 Max Dean, Jr., Lowell, Mich. – 2nd-seed
Rd. 1: bye
Qtr: #12 Greg Bulsak, Rutgers – W, 6-2 dec.
Semis: #5 Cameron Caffey, Michigan State – tonight
See above story for bout-by-bout recap.
285: #5 Greg Kerkvliet, So., Inver Grove Heights, Minn. – 3rd-seed
Rd. 1: Zach Schrader, Minnesota – WBF (2:13)
Qtr: #11 Christian Lance, Nebraska – W, 7-1 dec.
Semis: #4 Tony Cassioppi, Iowa – tonight
See above story for bout-by-bout recap.
