LINCOLN, Neb. – Penn State (17-0, 8-0 B1G) claimed four individual titles at the 2022 Big Ten Championships in Lincoln, Neb. The Nittany Lions ended the tournament as Big Ten runners-up, missing out on their seventh title by just 1.5 points. Michigan won the team crown with 143.0 points, Penn State took second with 141.5, and Iowa third with 129.5.
Senior Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), senior Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), sophomore Carter Starocci (Erie, Pa.) and junior Max Dean (Lowell, Mich.) all won individual championships. The Nittany Lions qualified nine for the NCAA Championships in two weeks in Detroit, Mich.
Bravo-Young, ranked No. 1 at 133, met No. 3 Austin DeSanto of Iowa in the first of Penn State's five final bouts. The duo battled through a scoreless first period, with each wrestler connecting on singles that led to stalemates and resets. The bout was tied 0-0 after one and DeSanto chose down to start the second. DeSanto escaped to a 1-0 lead and Bravo-Young gave up a first stall warning in the process. The Lion senior chose down to start the third and quickly escaped to a 1-1 tie. DeSanto took a low shot that Bravo-Young countered, working the Hawkeye's back toward the mat and, after a few seconds' work, got the takedown with :23 left in the bout. Bravo-Young finished the period on top and won his second straight Big Ten title 3-1. Bravo-Young went 3-0 with a major in Lincoln and stays unbeaten on the year at 17-0.
Lee, ranked No. 1, was to face No. 2 Jaydin Eierman of Iowa in the finals at 141. Eierman, however, medically forfeited and Lee won the 2022 Big Ten Championship, his first. Lee went 3-0 with two tech falls and the forfeit victory. He earned five bonus points in three matches for Penn State. The Nittany Lion remains unbeaten on the year with a 17-0 record.
Starocci, ranked No. 1, met No. 2 Logan Massa of Michigan in the finals. Starocci set the tempo early, working the middle of the mat and forcing Massa backwards. When Massa engaged Starocci high, resets were called. Starocci broke through with a fast low single at the 1:15 mark for a 2-0 lead. Starocci kept control for nearly a minute before Massa escaped to a 2-1 score. Leading by one, Starocci chose down to start the second period. Massa controlled the action until Starocci escaped to a 3-1 lead. Massa chose down to start the third and Starocci dominated the period. He rode Massa for the full two minutes, picked up a penalty point on a third caution and a riding time point to roll to a 5-1 victory. Starocci picked up his first Big Ten title going 3-0 with a pin. Starocci stays unbeaten on the year at 18-0.
Junior Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md.), ranked No. 1, met No. 2 Myles Amine of Michigan in Penn State's fourth finals bout. Brooks came out with a fast tempo, working shoulders until being able to slide into a low single. Amine turned the shot into a wild scramble in front of Penn State's bench. Brooks patiently continued to work, picking up the takedown at the 1:20 mark to take a 2-0 lead. Amine escaped after a reset to cut Brooks' lead in half and action continued in neutral. Brooks led 2-1 after one and chose down to start the second period. The Lion escaped quickly to open up a 3-1 lead and went back to work on offense. Amine got hit for stalling once as the second period ticked away and Brooks led by two after two. Amine chose down to start the third and escaped to a 3-2 score. Each wrestler took shots that ended in stalemates as the clock moved to the :40 mark. Amine scrambled to a takedown with :15 left, and Brooks escaped with four seconds left to tie the match at 4-4, sending it to sudden victory. Amine ended the match with a takedown early in extra time to post the 6-4 (sv) win. Brooks took second at Big Ten's with a 2-1 record and a pin.
Dean, ranked No. 1 at 197, took on No. 2 Eric Schultz of Nebraska in Penn State's fifth and final title tilt. Dean set a high tempo early, forcing the action in the center of the mat. With Schultz backing up, Dean looked for an opening on offense as the clock hit its midway point. Dean's pressure finally paid off with a low single to a takedown with :33 left on the clock. Schultz escaped with seconds left and cut the lead to 2-1 after one. Schultz chose down to start the second period and Dean worked up over 2:00 in riding time with a strong ride. Schultz managed an escape to tie the bout at 2-2 before the period ended. Dean chose down to start the third and quickly escaped toa 3-2 lead with 1:55 in time. Dean ended the period in neutral and, with 1:55 in riding time, won his first Big Ten title 4-2. Dean took the crown with a 3-0 mark.
Senior Brady Berge (Mantorville, Minn.), ranked No. 13 at 157, met No. 12 Kendall Coleman of Purdue in the consolation semifinals. Berge battled Coleman evenly for the first 2:30 and then moved in on a shot, forcing a scramble that allowed the Lion to take Coleman down and directly to his back. Berge worked for the fall and got the pin with just one second left in the period (2:59). The victory moved him into the third-place bout for a rematch with No. 9 Kaleb Young of Iowa. After a scoreless first period, Berge escaped to a quick 1-0 lead to start the second period. Young matched that escape to start third period and regulation ended tied 1-1. Berge grabbed the win with a slick low shot at the 1:12 mark, finishing off the takedown and the 3-1 (sv) win at 1:07. Berge took third place with a 4-1 mark, including a major and a pin.
Sophomore Greg Kerkvliet (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.), ranked No. 5 at 285, battled No. 10 Lucas Davison of Northwestern in the conso semis. Kerkvliet fell behind on a second period takedown but used two reversals, one in the second and another to start the third, plus riding time to roll to a 5-3 win. The victory moved him into the third-place bout against No. 3 Mason Parris of Michigan. Kerkvliet took an early lead with a first period takedown and led by one after one. Parris tied the match with a second period escaped and Kerkvliet did the same in the third. The Lion sophomore added a final takedown to ice the bout and took third at Big Ten's with a 5-3 win. Kerkvliet took third with a
Sophomore Beau Bartlett (Tempe, Ariz.), ranked No. 17 at 149, met Michigan's Kanen Storr in the seventh-place bout, needing one more win to clinch a top seven finish and a trip to the NCAA tournament. After a scoreless first period, Bartlett chose down in the second and escaped with seconds left to lead 1-0, but Storr had a large riding time edge. Bartlett rode Storr long enough in the third to kill the time edge and then notched a takedown in the final seconds to post a 3-1 win and earn his trip to the NCAA tournament. Bartlett finished seventh and earned a trip to the NCAA Championships with the win.
Senior Drew Hildebrandt (Granger, Ind.) took on Indiana's Jacob Moran in the 125-pound ninth place mini bracket. A win would clinch a top ten finish at 125 for Hildebrandt and earn him an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. Hildebrandt used a first period takedown and ride out to open up an early lead and rolled to a 4-0 win with nearly 2:00 in riding time. The victory clinched his trip to NCAAs. He did not compete in the ninth-place bout, taking a medical forfeit (not a loss), and placed 10th with a 1-2 mark.
Junior Creighton Edsell (Wyalusing, Pa.) went 1-2 at 165 and did not place. The Lions will wait to see if Edsell is placed into the pool for an at-large bid in the next couple days. The at-large selections are then announced on Wednesday with the release of the full NCAA bracket.
Penn State went 8-1 in sessions 3 and 4 and ended the tournament with a 25-9 mark. The Lions collected 19.0 bonus points off two majors, two tech falls, five pins and two forfeit wins.
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.
Penn State's nine qualifiers will now prepare for the 2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships on March 17-19 in Detroit, Mich., and the team will await any at-large selections on Wednesday night. The three-day event will be held in Detroit's Little Caesars Arena. Thursday's sessions begin at 12 p.m. (ESPNU) and 7 p.m. (ESPN2); Friday's at 11 a.m. (ESPNU) and 8 p.m. (ESPN); and Saturday's at 11 a.m. (ESPNU) and 7 p.m. (ESPN). The entire event will be telecast nationally on the ESPN family of networks (ESPN/2/U).
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 – FINAL
March 6, 2022 – Lincoln, Neb. – University of Nebraska, Host
Team Standings (Top 3)
1: Michigan
Weight-by-weight agate (RANKINGS LISTED ARE INTERMAT as of 2/22/22):
125: #5 Drew Hildebrandt, Sr., Granger, Ind. – NCAA Qualifier
Rd. 1: bye
Qtr: #13 Michael DeAugustino, Northwestern – L, 3-5 (sv)
Cn 2: #10 Patrick McKee, Minnesota – L, 3-6 dec.
9/10 Rd 1: bye
9/10 Rd 2: Jacob Moran, Indiana – W, 4-0 dec.
9th: Medical Forfeit – DNC (not a loss)
Hildebrandt, 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.
Hildebrandt met No. 10 Patrick McKee in Penn State's first consolation bout of the night. Hildebrandt fell behind early and could not come back after trailing by four, dropping a 6-3 decision to McKee. While the loss dropped Hildebrandt out of the scoring portion of the tournament, the Lion senior moved into the mini bracket for ninth place since the conference qualifies 10 at 125.
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133: #1 Roman Bravo-Young, Sr., Tucson, Ariz. – NCAA Qualifier
Rd. 1: bye
Qtr: #23 Matt Ramos, Purdue – W, 11-3 maj. dec.
Semi: #8 Dylan Ragusin, Michigan – W, 4-0 dec.
Finals: #3 Austin DeSanto, Iowa – W, 3-1 dec.
Bravo-Young, the 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.
Bravo-Young met No. 8 Dylan Ragusin of Michigan in Penn State's first semifinal bout. Bravo-Young dominated the bout, notching the only takedown in the meeting, adding an escape and a riding time point, to roll to a 4-0 win.
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141: #1 Nick Lee, Sr., Evansville, Ind. – NCAA Qualifier
Rd. 1: bye
Qtr: #22 Joe Zargo, Wisconsin – W, 16-0 (TF; 5:06)
Semis: #18 Jake Bergeland, Minnesota – W, 16-1 (TF; 5:06)
Finals: #2 Jaydin Eierman, Iowa – W, med. forf.
Lee, the 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 faced off against No. 18 Jake Bergeland of Minnesota in the semifinals. Lee took Bergeland down twice in the opening minutes and led 12-1 after a handful of nearfalls in the first period. Lee finished off a 16-1 tech fall with a reversal to start the second period, ending the bout at the 5:06 mark.
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149: #17 Beau Bartlett, So., Tempe, Ariz. – NCAA Qualifier
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 – WBF (3:40)
Cn. 3: #15 Mike VanBrill, Rutgers – L, 1-2 (tb)
7th: Kanen Storr, Michigan – W, 3-1 dec.
Bartlett, the 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.
Bartlett took on No. 29 Christian Kanzler of Illinois in consolation action. Bartlett battled Kanzler through a scoreless first period. He chose down to start the second, quickly reversed the Illini into a cradle and pinned Kanzler at the 3:40 mark. The win moved him into the third round of consolations where he met No. 15 Mike VanBrill of Rutgers. Bartlett took VanBrill through sudden victory tied 1-1 only to lose a close 2-1 (tb) decision on riding time.
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157: #13 Brady Berge, Sr., Mantorville, Minn. – NCAA Qualifier
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 – L, 1-3 (sv)
Cn. Semi: #12 Kendall Coleman, Purdue – WBF (2:59)
3rd: #9 Kaleb Young, Iowa – W, 3-1 (sv) dec.
Berge, the 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.
Berge took on No. 10 Will Lewan of Michigan in the semis. Berge and Lewan battled evenly for seven minutes. Each wrestler notched an escape and the match moved to sudden victory where Lewan scored on a quick scrambling takedown to post the 3-1 (sv) win. Berge's loss moves him into consolation action, still alive for third place.
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165: #23 Creighton Edsell, Jr., Wyalusing, Pa. -- DNP
Rd. 1: Hayden Lohrey, Purdue – W, 3-1 (sv)
Qtr: #5 Alex Marinelli, Purdue – L, 2-8 dec.
Cn. 2: Cael Carlson, Minnesota – L, 2-3
Edsell, the 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.
Edsell met Cael Carlson of Minnesota in a conso bout. Edsell gave up a first period takedown and dropped a 3-2 decision, ending his tournament run at 1-2.
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174: #1 Carter Starocci, So., Erie, Pa. – NCAA Qualifier
Rd. 1: bye
Qtr: Dominic Solis, Maryland – WBF (2:13)
Semis: #4 Michael Kemerer, Minnesota – W, med. forf.
Finals: #2 Logan Massa, Michigan – W, 5-1 dec.
Starocci, the 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.
Starocci was set to meet No. 4 Michael Kemerer of Iowa in the semifinals. Starocci, however, received a medial forfeit victory over the Hawkeye.
See above story for tonight's recap.
184: #1 Aaron Brooks, Jr., Hagerstown, Md. – NCAA Qualifier
Rd. 1: bye
Qtr: #8 Kyle Cochran, Maryland – WBF (1:40)
Semis: #19 Taylor Venz, Nebraska – W, 7-2 dec.
Finals: #2 Myles Amine, Michigan – L, 4-6 (sv)
Brooks, the 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.
Brooks faced off against No. 19 Taylor Venz of Nebraska in the semis. Brooks controlled the action from the outset and opened things up with a four-point second period, rolling to a 7-2 victory with 3:06 in riding time.
See above story for tonight's recap.
197: #1 Max Dean, Jr., Lowell, Mich. – NCAA Qualifier
Rd. 1: bye
Qtr: #12 Greg Bulsak, Rutgers – W, 6-2 dec.
Semis: #5 Cameron Caffey, Michigan State – W, 5-2 dec.
Finals: #2 Eric Schultz, Nebraska – W, 4-2 dec.
Dean, the 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.
Dean took on No. 5 Cameron Caffey of Michigan State in the semis. Dean took an early 2-0 lead with a takedown, an escape in the second and third and 1:23 in riding time to roll to a 5-2 win. Dean's victory avenged his only loss of the season in January.
See above story for tonight's recap.
285: #5 Greg Kerkvliet, So., Inver Grove Heights, Minn. – NCAA Qualifier
Rd. 1: Zach Schrader, Minnesota – WBF (2:13)
Qtr: #11 Christian Lance, Nebraska – W, 7-1 dec.
Semis: #4 Tony Cassioppi, Iowa – L, 4-6 (sv)
Cn. Semi.: #10 Lucas Davison, Northwestern – W, 5-3 dec.
3rd: #3 Mason Parris, Michigan – W, 5-3 dec.
Kerkvliet, the 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.
Kerkvliet met No. 4 Tony Cassioppi of Iowa in the final semifinal match of the night for Penn State. Kerkvliet took a 2-1 lead with a reversal in the second, a 4-2 lead with a takedown at the :30 mark but gave up a late reversal and the match moved to sudden victory. Cassioppi scored a quick takedown and notched the 6-4 (sv) win.
See above story for tonight's recap.
