Of the nine wrestlers that represented Penn State at the NCAA Wrestling Championships Thursday, seven moved on to Friday.
With Penn State winning nine of the last 11 National Titles in Wrestling, it isn’t surprising to see that its are currently No. 1 with 26.0 points as a team after the first day of the NCAA Championships at the BOK Center.
Penn State placed seven wrestlers in the quarterfinals and leads second-place Iowa by 5.5 points heading into Friday.
No. 1 graduate Roman Bravo-Young (19-0) has been dominant all year and is going for his third straight national championships.
No. 6 junior Beau Bartlett (23-2) edged out came out just short in a close 3-2 decision over No. 11 Clay Carlson of South Dakota State to make it to the quarterfinals (23-9).
No. 12 redshirt freshman Shayne Van Ness (21-6) had a great day Thursday, coming back from a 8-0 deficit to pin Maryland’s No. 21 Ethen Miller (20-8). He continued his impressive run with a 14-8 decision in an upset of No. 5 Iowa State’s Paniro Johnson (18-5) at 149 pounds.
No. 2 freshman Levi Haines (22-1) is still rolling after his Big Ten championship win and will look to continue that in the quarter finals.
Like RBY, No. 1 174-pounder Carter Starocci (21-0) is undefeated in looking for his third straight title.
No. 3 senior Aaron Brooks (14-1) isn’t undefeated but is also looking for title No. 3.
No. 3 junior Greg Kerkvliet (17-2) also had no problem against No. 14 AJ Nevills of South Dakota State (20-7) in the heavyweight bout Thursday. Kerkvliet made numerous takedowns and won a 14-2 major decision against Nevills to progress to Friday in good form.
The Quarterfinals and Consolations start Friday at 12:00 p.m. EST. Nittany Sports Now will have nonstop coverage the next two days of the NCAA Wrestling Championships. Here is Penn State’s schedule for Friday afternoon.
Here are Penn State’s quarterfinal matches.
133-No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young vs. No. 8 Minnesota’s Aaron Nagao
141-No. 6 Beau Bartlett vs. No. 3 Pitt’s Cole Matthews
149-No. 12 Shayne Van Ness vs. No. 20 Indiana’s Graham Rooks
157-No. 2 Levi Haines vs. No. 7 Virginia Tech’s Bryce Andonian
174-No. 1 Carter Starocci vs. No. 8 Minnesota’s Bailee O’Reilly
184-No. 3 Aaron Brooks vs. No. 6 Ohio State’s Kaleb Romero
285-No. 3 Greg Kerkvliet vs. No. 11 Wisconsin’s Trent Hilger
Follow this thread for updates on how Penn State’s wrestlers are performing.Â
133: Bravo-Young (PSU) vs. Aaron Nagao (Minn)
The redshirt freshman Nagao holds his own, and the two are scoreless after the first period. RBY starts the second period on top and rides him out for the period, almost getting a turn near the end. The two enter the third period scoreless. Nagao starts the third period on top by RBY’s choice. RBY breaks the deadlock by reversing Nagao and taking a 2-0 lead. Nago cuts the deficit in half with an escape point, but by this time RBY has riding time point locked up. He ends up holding on for a 3-1 win to advance to the semifinals.
Final: RBY 3, Nagao 1
Roman Bravo-Young with the 4-1 win over Nagao!
RBY into the semis…
He's now a 5X All-American! #PSUwr pic.twitter.com/daQVgSVI6H— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 17, 2023
141- Bartlett (PSU) vs. Cole Matthews (PITT)
After a scoreless first period, Bartlett gets the match’s first point in the second. Matthews answers with a point, and its tied in the third. The two end up going into sudden-victory, where again, nothing is decided, and they have to wrestle a pair of 30-second tiebreakers.
Matthews starts the first tiebreaker on top and stays there, while Bartlett tries unsuccessfully to make something happen.
With two seconds left, Bartlett takes down Matthews for the win. Pitt throws the challenge brick unsuccessfully.
Final: Bartlett 3, Matthews 1 (SV)
The thrill of sudden victory!
📺 ESPNU#NCAAWrestling x @pennstateWREST pic.twitter.com/EwgeRsZyuJ
— NCAA Wrestling (@NCAAWrestling) March 17, 2023
149- Van Ness (PSU) vs. Graham Rooks (Indiana)
In this Big 10 matchup, Rooks leads 4-1 after the first period with two takedowns.
By the end of the second period, Rooks leads 7-2. Van Ness gets a point in the third period.
Van Ness comes back, somehow, someway, to take a 9-7 lead and gets a 10-7 decision.
Final: Van Ness 10, Rooks 7
Shayne Van Ness the 10-7 win over Rooks!
SVN into the semifinals!
SVN is a freshman All-American! #PSUwr pic.twitter.com/JNj6XagTFP— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 17, 2023
157-No. 2 Haines (PSU) vs. Andonian (VT)
The match gets off to a brutal start for Haines. Andonian almost gets a pin in the first minute and goes up 6-0. Haines gets a point to move to within 6-1, which is what Andonian’s lead is at the end of the first. Haines gets another point in the second period to move to within 6-2, and then gets a takedown to cut it to 6-4. Andonian make it 7-4, but Haines quickly gets another takedown to make it a 7-6 match by the end of the second period.
An escape point makes it 8-6, but early in the third period, Haines ties the match with a takedown.
With less than a minute left in the third period, Haines gets Andonian in a half nelson and pins him.
Final: Haines 14, Andonian 8 (PIN)
The thrill of sudden victory!
📺 ESPNU#NCAAWrestling x @pennstateWREST pic.twitter.com/EwgeRsZyuJ
— NCAA Wrestling (@NCAAWrestling) March 17, 2023
174- Starocci (PSU) vs. O’Reilly (Minnesota)
Starocci gets a first-period takedown and riding time. O’Reilly gets a point to make it 2-1, but Starocci fights back with a takedown to make it 4-1 in the second period. Starocci led 5-1 heading into the third. O’Reilly gets an escape in the third to make it 5-2. He ends up getting the win by that score.
Carter Starocci the 5-2 win over O'Reilly!!
Carter moves into the semifinals!
Starocci is now a 3X All-American! #PSUwr pic.twitter.com/svXeq2jtBG— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 17, 2023
Final: Starocci 5, O’Reilly 2 (decision)
184: Brooks (PSU) vs. Romero (OSU)
Brooks opens the scoring with an escape point and gets a takedown in the second period to make it 3-0. Romero gets a point to make it 3-1, but Brooks answers with an escape. He ends up winning, 4-1.
Final: Brooks 4, Romero 1 (decision)
285: Kerkvliet (PSU) vs. Hillger (Wisconsin)
Kerkvliet takes a 1-0 lead into the second period. With less than 30 seconds left, Kerkvliet gets a takedown to make it 3-0 and takes that lead into the third period. He ends up capping a perfect afternoon for Penn State with a 4-0 shutout.
Final: Kerkvliet 4, Hillger 0 (decision)
Penn State Results
133: No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young (PSU) over No. 8 Aaron Nagao (Minn), 3-1 (decision)
141:No. 6 Beau Bartlett (PSU) over No. 3 Cole Matthews (Pitt), 3-1 (SV)
149: No. 12 Shayne Van Ness (PSU) over No. 20 Graham Rooks (Indiana), 10-7 (decision)
157: No. 2 Levi Haines (PSU) over No. 7 Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech), 14-8 (PIN)
174: No. 1 Carter Starocci (PSU) over No. 8 Bailee O’Reilly (Minnesota), 5-2 (decision)
184: No. 1 Aaron Brooks (PSU) over No. 6 Kaleb Romero (OSU), 3-1 (decision)
285: No. 3 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) over No. 11 Trent Hilger (Wisconsin), 4-0 (decision)
Team Standings
- Penn State– 63
- Nebraska–
- Cornell– 41.5
- Iowa– 38
- Michigan– 27.5
- Arizona State– 27, Ohio State– 27
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Missouri (26.5)
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Iowa State (25.5
