COLLEGE PARK, Md.; March 8, 2024 – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (12-0, 8-0 B1G) will have five top seeds at the 2024 Big Ten Championships, which begin on Saturday, March 9, at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md. Penn State, under the direction of head coach Cael Sanderson, will have six first round byes thanks to six top-two seeds. All individual rankings listed are InterMat as of Feb. 27, 2024.
True freshman Braeden Davis, ranked No. 9 at 125, enters his first Big Ten Championship with a 16-2 record. Davis will be the 6th-seed and meet Justin Cardani of Illinois in the opening round.
Sophomore Aaron Nagao, ranked No. 11 at 133, carries a 10-4 mark into the Big Ten Championship. Nagao is seed 5th-seed and faces Michigan State's Andrew Hampton in the first round.
Senior Beau Bartlett, ranked No. 1 at 141, heads to Big Tens with an 18-0 record. Bartlett is the No. 1 seed and has a first round bye. He will face the winner of the 8/9 bout between No. 26 Jordan Hamdan of Michigan State and No. 23 Danny Fongaro of Indiana in the quarterfinals.
True freshman Tyler Kasak, ranked No. 9 at 149, heads to his first Big Ten Championship with a 13-3 mark. Kasak is the 4th-seed and takes on Northwestern's Aiden Vandenbush in the first round.
Sophomore Levi Haines, ranked No. 1 at 157, carries a 15-0 record into the post-season. Haines is the No. 1 seed and has a first round bye. He will battle the winner of the 8/9 bout between No.19 Joey Blaze of Purdue and No. 21 Trevor Chumbley of Northwestern in the quarterfinals.
Freshman Mitchell Mesenbrink, ranked No. 5 at 165, is 19-0 heading into his first Big Ten Championship. Mesenbrink is the 2nd-seed and has a first round bye. He will meet the winner of the 7/10 bout between No. 29 Stoney Buell of Purdue and No. 31 Blaine Brenner of Minnesota in the quarterfinals.
Senior Carter Starocci, ranked No. 1 at 174, is 12-0 entering the Big Ten tournament. Starocci is the No. 1 seed and has a first round bye. He will take on the winner of the 8/9 match-up between No. 25 DJ Washington of Indiana and No. 30 Andrew Sparks of Minnesota in the quarterfinals.
Graduate Bernie Truax, ranked No. 6 at 184, heads to Maryland with an 11-3 record. Truax is the 3rd-seed and takes on Maryland's Chase Mielnik in the opening round.
Senior+ Aaron Brooks, ranked No. 1 at 197, carries a 14-0 mark into his final Big Ten Championship. Brooks is the No. 1 seed and has a first round bye. He will battle the winner of the 8/9 bout between Northwestern's Evan Bates and Purdue's Ben Vanadia in the quarterfinals.
Senior Greg Kerkvliet, ranked No. 1 at 285, heads to the post-season with a 12-0 record. Kerkvliet is the No. 1 seed and has a first round bye. He will face the winner of the 8/9 bout between No. 30 Bennett Tabor of Minnesota and Josh Terrill of Michigan State in the quarterfinals.
Penn State closed out the dual season at 12-0, 8-0 B1G. This weekend's tournament serves as the national qualifier for the Big Ten's 14 teams. The event begins on Saturday, March 9, with session 1 at 10 a.m. and session 2 at 5:00 p.m. Sunday's sessions 3 and 4 begin at 12 p.m. with the Big Ten finals slated for 4:30 p.m. The entire tournament will be featured on B1G+ and/or the B1G Network.
The 2023-24 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by the Family Clothesline. Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via X/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.
