Parents: JOHN BROOKS, RANELLE BOYD, ADRIENNE BROOKS
Major: RECREATION, PARK AND TOURISM MANAGEMENT
CAREER NOTES:
Athletic: All-American as a true freshman...Was the 184-pound Big Ten Champion (2020)...Named Big Ten Freshman of the Year (2020)...Was to be the #3 seed at the 2020 NCAA Championships at 184 before the NCAA canceled the tournament... Named First Team All-American after 2020 tournament was canceled by the NCAA...2021 NCAA Champion at 184...2021 Big Ten Champion, second straight title...First-team All-Big Ten...Two-time Hodge Trophy Finalist...2022 NCAA Champion, winning second straight...2023 Big Ten Champion, winning third overall...First-team All-Big Ten...2023 NCAA Champion, winning third straight title...Four-time All-American.
2022-23 / SENIOR SEASON:
Season: Rolled to a 17-1 overall record, 9-1 in duals, 5-0 in B1G duals...12 wins were for bonus (four majors, five tech falls, three pins)...2023 Big Ten Champion, winning third overall...First-team All-Big Ten...2023 NCAA Champion, winning third straight title...Four-time All-American...Hodge Trophy Finalist.
Lock Haven (11/11): Notched 24-9 tech fall (6:32) over LHU’s Colin Fegley in season opener. NWCA Exhibition (11/22): Downed #2 Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa 12-8 in exhibition bout (not official result). Lehigh (12/4): Posted 8-3 win over #22 Tate Samuelson. Collegiate Duals (12/19-20): Pinned CMU’s Ben Cushman (1:18), then pinned #17 Gavin Kane of North Carolina in the first period (0:54). Lost 9-7 to #4 Marcus Coleman of Iowa State. Wisconsin (1/6): Posted 16-0 tech fall over Tyler Dow (4:32). Michigan (1/20): Majored #9 Matt Finesilver in BJC Dual. Iowa (1/27): Dominated Drake Rhodes 22-7 (TF; 5:42) in BJC Dual victory. Ohio State (2/3): Hard-fought 3-2 win over #5 Kaleb Romero in Columbus. Rutgers (2/10): Rolled to an 18-3 tech fall over #14 Brian Soldano.
Big Ten Championships (3/4-5): Dominated the field at the 2023 Big Ten Championships to become a three-time champion. Opened with 18-2 tech fall over #14 Brian Soldano of Rutgers before majoring #8 Matt Finesilver of Michigan 18-6 in semifinals. Dominated #5 Kaleb Romero of Ohio State 12-2 in title bout to win his third crown.
NCAA Championships (3/16-18): Rolled to his third straight NCAA individual title, going 5-0 in Tulsa to claim the crown. Opened tournament with a major decision and a pin before downing #2 Kaleb Romero 4-1 in the quarterfinals. Took out #2 Trent Hidlay of North Carolina State 6-3 in the semifinals and then dominated #1 Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa 7-2 in the NCAA finals.
2021-22 / JUNIOR SEASON:
Season: Won second straight NCAA title at 184, going 5-0 in Detroit to win crown...Went 21-1 on the season with eight majors, one tech and four falls...Enters senior season with 50-2 record, 16 majors, four techs and seven pins.
Sacred Heart (11/13): Began season with 23-8 tech fall over Joe Accousti (7:00). Oregon State (11/13): Pinned Jackson McKinney (1:03). Army West Point (11/18): Impressive 21-7 major over #28 Brad Laughlin. Collegiate Duals (12-20-21): Went 3-0 at Collegiate duals, including win over #4 Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa, a major over #15 Jonathan Loew of Cornell and a pin in PSU’s win over #3 Arizona State, was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week (12/29) and Penn State Male Athlete of the Week (12/23). Maryland (1/7): Majored Kyle Cochran 19-7 with nine takedowns. Indiana (1/9): Dominated #8 D.J. Washington in 13-4 major. Big Ten Wrestler of the Week (1/11). Rutgers (2/16): Majored #5 John Poznanski 10-2. Michigan (1/21): Beat #2 Myles Amine 3-1 in Crisler Arena. Michigan State (1/23): Posted 4-0 win over #27 Layne Malczewski. Iowa (1/28): Dominated #17 Abe Assad in an 8-3 win in Iowa City. Ohio State (2/4): Pinned Rocky Jordan (3:20) in the BJC Dual. Nebraska (2/6): Majored #9 Taylor Venz, notching six takedowns in 14-4 win.
Big Ten Championship (2-1, 2nd, NCAA Qualifier): Went 2-1 at Big Tens, taking second; pinned #8 Kyle Cochran of Maryland (1:40) and beat #19 Taylor Venz of Nebraska; suffered first career post-season loss (in Big Tens or NCAAs), 6-4 in sudden victory, to #2 Myles Amine of Michigan in the finals.
NCAA Championships (5-0, 1st, National Champion): Rolled to his second straight NCAA title at 184 with 5-0 showing in Detroit. Opened with three straight majors over #31 A.J. Burkhart of Lehigh, #15 Hunter Bolen of Virginia Tech and #7 Kaleb Romero of Ohio State in the quarterfinals. Beat #3 Trent Hidlay of N.C. State in the national semis. Dominated #1 Myles Amine of Michigan 5-3 with over 4:00 of riding time in NCAA finalst to win crown, one of five Penn Staters to claim victory.
2020-21 / SOPHOMORE SEASON:
Season: Rolled to first NCAA individual title at 184...Won second straight Big Ten title as well...Hodge Trophy Finalist...Posted perfect 14-0 overall record...6-0 in dual meets...Five majors, two tech falls.
Indiana/Northwestern (1/30): Went 2-0 in opening day tri-dual at Northwestern...Notched an 18-5 major over Indiana and closed out day with a 21-6 tech fall (7:00) with 4:34 in riding time over NU’s Jack Jessen. Wisconsin (2/2): Won his third straight bout with bonus points to open the season, downing #10 Chris Weiler of Wisconsin 13-3. Michigan (2/14): Beat Michigan’s Jaden Bullock 10-5 in Ann Arbor. Ohio State (2/19): Rolled over #20 Rocky Jordan of Ohio State, posting 13-4 major. Maryland (2/22): Majored Maryland’s Kyle Cochran 17-5.
Big Ten Championships (3-0, Champion, NCAA Qualifier): Won his second straight Big Ten Championship, going 3- with a major. All three wins were over ranked opponents; 14-8 over #16 Nelson Brands; 10-2 over #18 John Poznanski of Rutgers; and 10-5 over #14 Taylor Venz of Nebraska in the finals.
NCAA Championships (5-0, 1st, National Champion): Completed unbeaten season with 5-0 run through his first NCAA Championships, earning his first NCAA individual title. Downed #32, #17 and #8 seeds to get to semifinals. Took down #4 Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa to reach the NCAA finals. Beat #2 Trent Hidlay of North Carolina State in the finals to become 2021 National Champion.
2019-20 / TRUE FRESHMAN SEASON:
Season: Notched an impressive 15-1 overall record as a true freshman. Went 9-1 in dual meets and then won the Big Ten Championship at 184 as a true freshman, qualifying for the NCAA Championships before the NCAA canceled the event. He was set to be the #3 seed. Brooks was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Penn State’s third under Cael Sanderson (David Taylor, 2011; Jason Nolf, 2016)... Named First Team All-American after 2020 tournament was canceled by the NCAA.
Mat-Town Open (12/1): Won the 184-pound title at Lock Haven’s Mat-Town Open in first action of the year, going 3-0 with a pin. Lehigh (12/6): Made Penn State dual debut on the road, downing Chris Weiler 10-5 in Bethlehem. Penn (12/8): Made Rec Hall dual debut by rolling to a 19-4 tech fall (6:03) over Jesse Quatse. Illinois (1/10): Big Ten dual debut victory, 9-4, over Zach Braunagel in Rec Hall. Rutgers (1/19): Recorded first pin in Rec Hall over Billy Janzer at the 4:36 mark in dual meet victory. Iowa (1/31): Impressive 7-3 victory over #6 Abe Assad of Iowa in road dual. Wisconsin (2/7): Posted 3-2 win over sixth-year senior Johnny Sebastian. Minnesota (2/9): Posted strong 13-3 major over Owen Webster in Minneapolis. Ohio State (2/15): Tallied six takedowns in lopsided 15-4 major over #12 Rocky Jordan in BJC Dual.
Big Ten Championship (3/7-8): Won Big Ten title at 184 as a true freshman after 3-0 run at Rutgers. Majored #19 Owen Webster of Minnesota 15-4 and then pinned #9 Taylor Venz of Nebraska (4:00) to avenge his only loss of the year to date, advancing to the finals. Took care of #7 Cameron Caffey of Michigan State 3-2 in the title bout to win the crowns. Honored as Big Ten Freshman of the Year after the tournament.
HIGH SCHOOL / PERSONAL:
Wrestled at North Hagerstown High School...Named 2018 National High School Coaches Association Wrestler of the Year...Became seventh wrestler to capture four NHSCA Championships at NHSCA High School Nationals...Compiled a 163-2 record at NHHS...Won four Maryland state titles...Went 22-0 as a senior, 46-0 as a junior, 43-1 as a sophomore and 45-1 as a freshman...Four-year letterman, three-year captain...Has one sister, Kaiya...Has three brothers, Isaiah, Jared and Jaden.
BROOKS MATCH-BY-MATCH
2022-23
Date Wt. Result Opponent Place Rec
11/11 184 W, 24-9 Colin Fegley, Lock Haven (TF; 6:32) dual 1-0
12/4 184 W, 8-3 #22 Tate Samuelson, Lehigh dual 2-0
12/19 184 WBF Ben Cushman, Central Michigan (1:18) dual 3-0
12/19 184 WBF #17 Gavin Kane, North Carolina (0:54) dual 4-0
12/20 184 L, 7-9 #4 Marcus Coleman, Iowa State dual 4-1
1/6 184 W, 16-0 Tyler Dow, Wisconsin (TF; 4:32) dual 5-1
1/20 184 W, 14-4 #9 Matt Finesilver, Michigan (major) dual 6-1
1/27 184 W, 22-7 Drake Rhodes, Iowa (TF; 5:42) dual 7-1
2/3 184 W, 3-2 #5 Kalem Romero, Ohio State dual 8-1
2/10 184 W, 18-3 #14 Brian Soldano, Rutgers (TF; 4:05) dual 9-1
3/4 184 W, 18-2 #14 Brian Soldano, Rutgers (TF; 5:57) B1G 10-1
3/4 184 W, 18-6 #8 Matt Finesilver, Michigan (major) B1G 11-1
3/5 184 W, 12-2 #5 Kaleb Romero, Ohio State (major) B1G (1st) 12-1
3/16 184 W, 13-4 #30 Matt Waddell, Chattanooga (maj.) NCAA 13-1
3/16 184 WBF #14 Will Feldkamp, Clarion (4:59) NCAA 14-1
3/17 184 W, 4-1 #6 Kaleb Romero, Ohio State NCAA 15-1
3/17 184 W, 6-3 #2 Trent Hidlay, North Carolina St. NCAA 16-1
3/18 184 W, 7-2 #1 Parker Keckeisen, Northern Iowa NCAA (1st) 17-1
2021-22
Date Wt. Result Opponent Place Rec
11/13 184 W, 23-8 Joe Accousti, Sacred Heart (TF; 7:00) dual 1-0
11/13 184 WBF Jackson McKinney, Oregon State (1:03) dual 2-0
11/18 184 W, 21-7 #28 Brad Laughlin, Army (major) dual 3-0
12/20 184 W, 3-2 #4 Parker Keckeisen, Northern Iowa dual 4-0
12/20 184 W, 15-3 #15 Jonathan Loew, Cornell (major) dual 5-0
12/21 184 WBF Josh Nummer, Arizona State (1:48) dual 6-0
1/7 184 W, 19-7 #12 Kyle Cochran, Maryland (major) dual 7-0
1/9 184 W, 13-4 #8 D.J. Washington, Indiana (major) dual 8-0
1/16 184 W, 10-2 #5 John Poznanski, Rutgers (major) dual 9-0
1/21 184 W, 3-1 #2 Myles Amine, Michigan dual 10-0
1/23 184 W, 4-0 #27 Layne Malczewski, Michigan State dual 11-0
1/28 184 W, 8-3 #17 Abe Assad, Iowa dual 12-0
2/4 184 WBF Rocky Jordan, Ohio State (3:20) dual 13-0
2/6 184 W, 14-4 #9 Taylor Venz, Nebraska (major) dual 14-0
3/5 184 WBF #8 Kyle Cochran, Maryland (1:40) B1G 15-0
3/5 184 W, 7-2 #19 Taylor Venz, Nebraska B1G 16-0
3/6 184 L, 4-6 (sv) #2 Myles Amine, Michigan B1G (2nd) 16-1
3/17 184 W, 21-7 #31 A.J. Burkhart, Lehigh (major) NCAA 17-1
3/17 184 W, 9-1 #15 Hunter Bolen, Virginia Tech (major) NCAA 18-1
3/18 184 W, 13-2 #7 Kaleb Romero, Ohio State (major) NCAA 19-1
3/18 184 W, 6-4 (sv) #3 Trent Hidlay, North Carolina State NCAA 20-1
3/19 184 W, 5-3 #1 Myles Amine, Michigan NCAA (1st) 21-1
2020-21
Date Wt. Result Opponent Place Rec
1/30 184 W, 18-5 Drayton Harris, Indiana (major) dual 1-0
1/30 184 W, 21-6 Jack Jessen, Northwestern (TF; 7:00) dual 2-0
2/2 184 W, 13-3 #10 Chris Weiler, Wisconsin (major) dual 3-0
2/14 184 W, 10-5 Jaden Bullock, Michigan dual 4-0
2/19 184 W, 13-4 #20 Rocky Jordan, Ohio State (major) dual 5-0
2/22 184 W, 17-5 Kyle Cochran, Maryland (major) dual 6-0
3/6 184 W, 14-8 #16 Nelson Brands, Iowa B1G 7-0
3/6 184 W, 10-2 #18 John Poznanksi, Rutgers (major) B1G 8-0
3/7 184 W, 10-5 #14 Taylor Venz, Nebraska B1G (1st) 9-0
3/18 184 W, 17-1 #32 J. Anderson, Gardner-Webb NCAA 10-0
3/18 184 W, 5-0 #17 Owen Webster, Minnesota NCAA 11-0
3/19 184 W, 9-4 #8 Taylor Venz, Nebraska NCAA 12-0
3/19 184 W, 6-4 #4 Parker Keckeisen, Northern Iowa NCAA 13-0
3/20 184 W, 3-2 #2 Trent Hidlay, North Carolina St. NCAA (1st) 14-0
2019-20
Date Wt. Result Opponent Place Rec
12/1 184 WBF Kyle Myers, West Virginia (4:50) LHU 1-0
12/1 184 W, 11-5 Jared McGill, Pitt LHU 2-0
12/1 184 W, 7-4 Kyle Inlander, Bucknell LHU (1st) 3-0
12/6 184 W, 10-5 Chris Weiler, Lehigh dual 4-0
12/8 184 W, 19-4 Jesse Quatse, Penn (TF; 6:03) dual 5-0
1/10 184 W, 9-4 Zach Braunagel, Illinois dual 6-0
1/19 184 WBF Billy Janzer, Rutgers (4:36) dual 7-0
1/24 184 L, 5-9 #8 Taylor Venz, Nebraska dual 7-1
1/31 184 W, 7-3 #6 Abe Assad, Iowa dual 8-1
2/7 184 W, 3-2 Johnny Sebastian, Wisconsin dual 9-1
2/9 184 W, 13-3 Owen Webster, Minnesota (major) dual 10-1
2/15 184 W, 15-4 #12 Rocky Jordan, Ohio State (maj.) dual 11-1
2/23 184 W, 8-5 Tanner Harvey, American dual 12-1
3/7 184 W, 15-4 #19 Owen Webster, Minnesota (maj.) B1G 13-1
3/7 184 WBF #9 Taylor Venz, Nebraska (4:00) B1G 14-1
3/8 184 W, 3-2 #7 Cameron Caffey, Michigan St, B1G (1st) 15-1
Aaron Brooks Season 2020-21
Penn State Olympic RTC/NLWC Ends Action in Paris
Penn State Olympic RTC/NLWC Resident Athlete Kyle Snyder closed out his Olympic Wrestling run with a tough loss in the Bronze Medal round in Paris. In addition, Nittany Lion legend Zain Retherford, who was in the running for Bronze at 65 kg, was forced to withdraw from the Olympics for medical reasons.
Dake Wins Olympic Bronze, Retherford and Snyder Alive for Bronze as Penn State/NLWC Continues Action in Paris
– Penn State Olympic RTC/NLWC Resident Athlete Kyle Dake rallied late to win a second Olympic Bronze Medal in Paris, France. Dake capped off his tournament with a 10-4 win in the Bronze Medal round at 74 kg. In addition, former Lion great Zain Retherford began action at 65 kg and PSRTC/NLWC Resident Athlete Kyle Snyder started at 97 kg. Both men are still alive for Bronze Medals.
Penn State Wrestling’s Aaron Brooks Wins Olympic Bronze Medal
Former Nittany Lion legend Aaron Brooks capped off his first trip to the Olympic Games by winning a Bronze Medal at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Brooks’ win Friday in Paris makes him the third wrestler in Penn State history to win an Olympic medal.