UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa - Senior day marked the final regular season dual of the 2023-24 season and allowed 10 accomplished Nittany Lions to share a moment with their families amid a chorus of cheers from the Rec Hall faithful. The occasion also served as a way for graduate student Bernie Truax and other wrestlers to enjoy the sights and sounds of historic Rec Hall for the final time.
Each grappler walked arm-in-arm with their families and loved ones before being greeted with a hug and a gift from head coach Cael Sanderson. The cohort of seniors honored before the 55-0 dual win over Edinboro on Sunday took in their respective moments as Truax reflected on his lone season in Happy Valley and what he called "a beautiful moment."
"It's been better," Truax said about Penn State surpassing his expectations. "It's fun to be around these guys who are scoring points and attacking. It's super fun to watch before my match to see Mitchell [Mesenbrink], Carter [Starocci] and the rest of the guys go and score points and it gets me fired up to go and try to do the same thing."
Truax picked up his 11th win of the season and the 78th win of his career with a 21-3 tech fall win. His 19th collegiate tech fall was one of five the Nittany Lions amassed on the day as freshman Braeden Davis, sophomore Aaron Nagao and seniors Carter Starocci and Aaron Brooks all garnered tech fall wins.
The three-time All-American and Oceanside, California, native has embraced the "goofy, laid back" nature of the team that Brooks described as Truax utilized his final college dual meet to continue his mentality of "go out there and have fun and compete."
Sanderson and the seniors captured a picture together prior to the dual in a group that's achieved Big Ten championships, numerous All-American honors and several National Champions. Sanderson described the "mix-and-match" group of seniors as "impressive" for how they've developed as grapplers and people on and off the mat.
"They're just competitors," Sanderson said. "We spend a lot of time together every day, multiple hours so they're good friends and just people that you enjoy working with. That's what makes my job fun is being able to work with just motivated, good people every day. The wins and the wrestling is just a bonus but it's just fun to be around people that are striving to be the best they can be on a consistent basis."
Brooks was one of those wrestlers who received a thunderous ovation from the crowd as he raised his right arm with a wave to thank the fans. A three-time national champion and four-time All-American secured his 81st career win with his 18th tech fall.
Brooks' infectious and positive energy was evident after the match as he grinned from ear-to-ear reflecting on his journey from Hagerstown, Maryland, to Penn State. The top-seeded grappler at 197 pounds recognized that days are Rec Hall aren't over despite his final home dual meet.
"I'm very blessed that I was able to wrestle in Rec Hall," Brooks said. "It definitely molded me and prepared me to wrestle anywhere. I'd say that's what I'm grateful for, that's what I think about. I don't think this is my last time, I don't like to sit and think about that kind of stuff because I might wrestle differently or whatever it may be but I'm just glad I got to do it, be a part of it and hope to stick around after."
Brooks and the rest of the Nittany Lions benefited from its dual with Edinboro by honing in on their craft with the postseason on the horizon. Grapplers were able to try new techniques or attacking moves they'd established in practice.
This paid off as four other Nittany Lions tallied a pin including seniors Beau Bartlett and Greg Kerkvliet, freshman Tyler Kasak and sophomore Levi Haines. Utilizing an array of various moves created moments for Brooks and his teammates to stay sharp and focus on Sanderson's message of, "performance has a higher standard than winning or losing."
Brooks has spent the last five years with Sanderson and is on the hunt to join his head coach as one of five wrestlers all time who've won four national championships. Brooks shared how trust with the coaches and his teammates has built a strong culture within the program and one that's allowed him to thrive.
"How I have gotten better, I wouldn't even think about my wrestling," Brooks said. "Honestly, just being more at peace. Guys are playing for everyone so just following coach and what he has for me and when I'm doing that, I grow everywhere and that helps my wrestling… Coach Cael [Sanderson] talks a lot about thinking about the team whenever you don't want to do things or when you're doing things. It's easy to be selfish if I don't want to make weight or I don't want to go wrestle because I don't feel good but I go do it, the team sees that and then one day they do it for the team as well."