DETROIT, Mich. – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team sits in first place in a tight team race after day one of 2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Detroit, Mich. Head coach Cael Sanderson's squad capped off a solid first day with eight more wins in the evening session, including six Nittany Lions advancing to the quarterfinals. Action in the three-day event continues tomorrow morning.
The Nittany Lions went 6-1 in the quarterfinals and 2-0 in their two consolation bouts, maintaining a lead in the team race over second place Arizona State. Penn State finished day one with 27.5 points while the Sun Devils had 22.0 as of 10 p.m. (with one wrestler still to compete in consolation action). North Carolina State is in third with 21.5.
Senior Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), the No. 1 seed at 133, met No. 16 Josh Koderhandt of Navy in the second round. Bravo-Young scored quickly, taking Koderhandt down in the opening seconds. He added a two-point turn and finished on top to lead 4-0 with over 2:00 in time after one. Koderhandt chose down to start the second and Bravo-Young made him pay for the decision. The Nittany Lion worked the Midshipman over to his back after riding for a minute-plus and picked up the fall at the 4:45 mark, advancing to the quarterfinals and picking up big bonus points for Penn State.
Senior Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), the No. 1 seed at 141, battled No. 16 Quinn Kinner of Rider in his second-round match-up. Lee took a quick 2-1 lead with a takedown and added a second takedown and rideout to lead 4-1 with 1:58 in riding time after the first period. Lee added two more takedowns in the second and led 8-2 after two. With riding time clinched in the third, Lee worked his way to a 9-2 win to advance to the quarterfinals.
Sophomore Carter Starocci (Erie, Pa.), the No. 1 seed at 174, met No. 16 Adam Kemp of Cal Poly in the second round. Starocci controlled the entire bout, chasing Kemp towards the outside circle for seven minutes. Starocci led 2-1 after the opening period and upped that lead to 5-1 with a takedown and an escape in the second. Starocci continued to pressure Kemp for the next two minutes and finished off a convincing 10-4 win with two more takedowns and a riding time point. The victory moved Starocci into the quarterfinals.
Junior Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md.), the No. 2 seed at 184, battled No. 15 Hunter Bolen of Virginia Tech in the second round. Brooks led 2-0 after one, with an early takedown and rideout. The Nittany Lion continued to control the action during the middle period, taking a 6-0 lead with an escape, a takedown and a stall point. Brooks added a third takedown and over 3:00 in riding time with a strong third period and rolled to a 9-1 major to advance to the quarterfinals and pick up bonus points.
Junior Max Dean (Lowell, Mich.), the No. 1 seed at 197, took on No. 17 Jay Aiello of Virginia in the second round. Dean and Aiello battled through a scoreless first period. Aiello chose down to start the second period and after getting ridden for much of the period, scrambled to a reversal to lead 2-0 after two. Dean escaped quickly to start the third period but trailed 2-1 late. The Lion forced a scramble with a late shot and worked his way to a takedown in the last :30. He finished the period on top and, with riding time, used four unanswered points to grab the 4-2 victory, advancing to the quarterfinals.
Sophomore Greg Kerkvliet (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.), the No. 4 seed at 285, met No. 13 Tate Orndorff of Ohio State in Penn State's final second round bout. Kerkvliet dominated the bout from the outset. He took Orndorff down quickly in the first and rode him for the entire period to lead 2-0 with 2:25 in riding time after one. Kerkvliet started the second period with a reversal and once again finished on top to lead 4-0 with over 4:00 in riding time. The third period was all Kerkvliet as he picked up two more takedowns, a stall point and the riding time point to roll to a 10-1 major decision. The victory, with key bonus points, advances him to the quarterfinals.
Sophomore Beau Bartlett (Tempe, Ariz.), the No. 13 seed at 149, met No. 4 Sammy Sasso of Ohio State in the second round. Bartlett and Sasso battled through two scoreless minutes before the Buckeye countered a Bartlett move and took the Lion down to lead 2-0 after the opening stanza. Bartlett tied the bout with a reversal, but Sasso escaped and led 3-2. Sasso worked his lead to 5-2 before Bartlett cut it to 5-4 with a late takedown but ran out of time after cutting Sasso loose and dropped a 6-4 decision. The loss moved Bartlett into consolation action.
Senior Drew Hildebrandt (Granger, Ind.), the No. 16 seed at 125, took on No. 33 Logan Ashton of Stanford in the first round of consolation action. Hildebrandt and Ashton battled through a scoreless first period. The Lion senior took a 1-0 lead with a quick escape to start the second. After Ashton chose neutral to start the third, Hildebrandt iced the bout with a takedown. The 3-1 win keeps the Nittany Lion alive in consolation action.
Senior Brady Berge (Mantorville, Minn.), the No. 16 seed at 157, battled No. 33 Derek Holschlag of Northern Iowa in the first round of consolation action. Berge took Holschlag down quickly to open up a 2-0 lead. He added another takedown and two back points to lead 6-1 after one. Berge notched two quick takedowns in the second period to up his lead to 10-3. Holschlag was able to take Berge down and cut the lead to 10-5. Berge rolled up three more takedowns in the final minute and, with a rideout and 2:28 in riding time, posted the 15-8 major. He moved into the second consolation round with the win.
The Nittany Lions went 8-1 in session two and 15-3 overall on day one. Penn State has picked up 13.5 bonus points off six major decisions, one tech fall and three pins.
Penn State has won eight of the last ten contested NCAA Championships (all since Sanderson's arrival at Penn State and he is in his 13th season this year). The Nittany Lions have won nine NCAA titles overall, owning a championship from 1953. The Nittany Lions won four-straight titles in 2016, '17, '18 and '19 and again in 2011, '12, '13 and '14.
The three-day event continues on Friday's at 11 a.m. (ESPNU) with the quarterfinals and consolation action and 8 p.m. (ESPN) with the national semifinals and consolation action, including the All-America round; and Saturday's at 11 a.m. (ESPNU) and 7 p.m. (ESPN).
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 NCAA Wrestling Championships – Session 2
March 17, 2022 – Detroit, Mich. – Little Caesars Arena
Team Standings (Top 3 as of 10 p.m. // ASU and Iowa each had one wrestler still in conso action)
1: PENN STATE 27.5
2: Arizona State 22.0
3: North Carolina State 21.5
Weight-by-weight agate (RANKINGS LISTED ARE OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT SEED):
125: #16 Drew Hildebrandt, Sr.
Rd. 1: #17 Anthony Noto, Lock Haven – L, 2-4 (sv)
Cn. 1: #33 Logan Ashton, Stanford – W, 3-1 dec.
Cn. 2: #15 Brody Teske, Northern Iowa – tomorrow
Hildebrandt was Penn State's first competitor of the day against No. 17 Anthony Noto of Lock Haven. Hildebrandt and Noto battled through a scoreless first period and Noto chose neutral to start the second. Noto notched a takedown with :46 on the clock but Hildebrandt quickly escaped to a 2-1 score. Trailing by one, Hildebrandt chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 2-2 tie. The bout moved to sudden victory where Noto notched a quick takedown to post the 4-2 (sv) win and send Hildebrandt to consolation action.
See above story for bout-by-bout recap.
133: #1 Roman Bravo-Young, Sr.
Rd. 1: #32 Dominic LaJoie, Cornell – W, 16-4 maj. dec.
Rd. 2: #16 Josh Koderhandt, Navy – WBF (4:45)
Qtrs: #25 Brian Courtney, Virginia – tomorrow
Bravo-Young met No. 32 Dominic LaJoie of Cornell in the first round. Bravo-Young took a big lead with three first period takedowns. He added another takedown and an escape to lead 9-2 after two. Bravo-Young dominated the third period and rolled to a 16-5 major decision with 2:59 in riding time.
See above story for bout-by-bout recap.
141: #1 Nick Lee, Sr.
Rd. 1: #32 Josh Mason, Bloomsburg – W, 15-3 maj. dec.
Rd. 2: #16 Quinn Kinner, Rider – W, 9-2 dec.
Qtrs: #8 Grant Willits, Oregon State – tomorrrow
Lee took on No. 32 Josh Mason of Bloomsburg in the opening round. Lee took control of the match quickly, taking Mason down and to his back for a six-point burst in the opening :15. He upped his lead to 8-0 in the second and added four more back points to lead 12-0 after two. The Lion senior advanced to the second round with a 15-3 major including 3:58 in riding time.
See above story for bout-by-bout recap.
149: #13 Beau Bartlett, So.
Rd. 1: #20 Colin Realbuto, Northern Iowa – W, 5-4 dec.
Rd. 2: #4 Sammy Sasso, Ohio State – L, 4-6 dec.
Cn. 2: #19 Yahya Thomas, Northwestern – tomorrow
Bartlett took on No. 20 Colin Realbuto of Northern Iowa in his first NCAA tournament bout. Bartlett and Realbuto battled through an even first period and Bartlett chose down to start the second. He escaped to a 1-0 lead but not before Realbuto built up 1:41 in riding time. Realbuto escaped to a 1-1 tie to start the third and then took a 3-1 lead with a late takedown. Bartlett picked up a point on a second Panther stall, then escaped with :28 left to tie the bout at 3-3 (but Realbuto had clinched riding time). Bartlett scrambled through a low shot and finished off a takedown with just :09 left to grab a thrilling 5-4 win.
See above story for bout-by-bout recap.
157: #16 Brady Berge, Sr.
Rd. 1: #17 Hunter Willits, Oregon State – L, 1-2 dec.
Cn. 1: #33 Derek Holschlag, Northern Iowa – W, 15-7 maj. dec.
Cn. 2: #15 Johnny Lovett, Central Michigan – tomorrow
Berge met No. 17 Hunter Willits of Oregon State in the first round. Berge and Willits battled through a scoreless first period with Berge defending two quick Willits shots. Willets escaped to a 1-0 lead to start the second period and carried that lead to the third. Berge chose down in the third and escaped to a 1-1 tie, but Willets built up over 1:00 in riding time and that edge gave the Beaver the 2-1 victory, sending Berge into consolation action.
See above story for bout-by-bout recap.
174: #1 Carter Starocci, So.
Rd. 1: #33 Connor O'Neill, Rutgers – WBF (6:38)
Rd. 2: #16 Adam Kemp, Cal Poly – W, 10-4 dec.
Qtrs: tomorrow
Starocci battled No. 33 Conner O'Neill of Rutgers in the first round. Starocci dominated the opening stanza, rolling up an 8-2 lead off three takedowns and two back points. He increased that lead to 11-4 with over 3:00 in riding time after two periods and then ended the match late in the third, rolling O'Neill to his back for the fall at the 6:38 mark.
See above story for bout-by-bout recap.
184: #2 Aaron Brooks, Jr.
Rd. 1: #31 A.J. Burkhart, Lehigh – W, 21-7 maj. dec.
Rd. 2: #15 Hunter Bolen, Virginia Tech – W, 9-1 maj. dec.
Qtrs: #7 Kaleb Romero, Ohio State – tomorrow
Brooks met No. 31 Wyatt Sheets of Oklahoma State in the opening round. Brooks opened up a 4-1 lead after the opening period with two takedowns and added to his margin in the second, bolting out to a 9-2 advantage. The Nittany Lion junior continued to pour on the offense in the third, dominating the final minutes and posting a 21-7 major decision with 4:32 in riding time.
See above story for bout-by-bout recap.
197: #1 Max Dean, Jr.
Rd. 1: #32 Will Feldkamp, Clarion – W, 16-1 (TF; 4:40)
Rd. 2: #17 Jay Aiello, Virginia – W, 4-2 dec.
Qtrs: #8 Lou Deprez, Binghamton – tomorrow
Dean faced No. 32 Will Feldkamp of Clarion in the first round. Dean came out firing on offense, opening up an early 8-1 lead with two takedowns and a four-point turn. The Nittany Lion junior took Feldkamp down quickly in the second period, turned him once for two points and then a final time to end the bout early with a 16-1 technical fall at 4:32.
See above story for bout-by-bout recap.
285: #4 Greg Kerkvliet, So.
Rd. 1: #29 Brandon Metz, North Dakota State – WBF (4:17)
Rd. 2: #13 Tate Orndorff, Ohio State – W, 10-1 maj. dec.
Qtrs: #12 Christian Lance, Nebraska – tomorrow
Kerkvliet took on No. 29 Brandon Metz of North Dakota State in the first round. Kerkvliet took Metz down early in the first period and spent the rest of it on top, building up a riding time edge as he looked for back points. Metz chose down to start the second period and Kerkvliet took advantage of the decision. Kerkvliet turned Metz midway through the second period and picked up the fall at the 4:17 mark.
See above story for bout-by-bout recap.
