Nittany Lion Wrestling Club members Nick Lee, Jason Nolf, and Aaron Brooks won championships in the US Open Freestyle Championships Friday.
Lee won the title at 65 kg, Nolf took the championship at 74 kg and Brooks did the same at 86 kg. All three wrestlers went 5-0 at the US Open Championships to get gold medals.
Nick Lee – U.S. Open Champion at 65kg! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/A4FINaFhMc
— NLWC (@NittanyLionWC) April 29, 2023
Jason Nolf – U.S. Open Champion at 74kg! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/dMVNJB5Wee
— NLWC (@NittanyLionWC) April 29, 2023
https://twitter.com/NittanyLionWC/status/1652136040977649664?s=20
Brooks is the only current Penn State wrestler of those three and three-time national champion in the 184-pound weight class.
In the finals, Lee beat Pennsylvania RTC’s Joseph McKenna, 10-5. Nolf beat former PSU wrestler Vincenzo Joseph, now of the Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club, 10-5 in the finals. Brooks beat Zahid Valencia of the Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club, 10-6.
Also placing in the tournament for the NLWC were Beau Bartlett (65 kg, fourth place), Carter Starocci (79 kg, sixth place), and Morgan McIntosh (92 kg, sixth place).
Bartlett was 3-0 in the tournament before falling to the eventual champion Lee in the semifinals. He rebounded with a win in the consolation semifinals before falling to New York Athletic Club’s Matthew Kolodzik, 8-6, in the third-place match.
Starocci went 3-0 in the tournament before falling to Cliff Keen Wrestling Club’s Alex Dieringer, 7-1, in the semifinals. He then forfeited his final two consolation bouts.
McIntosh got two pins in his first two bouts of the tournament before falling 4-1 in the quarterfinals to Sunkist’s Eric Schultz. McIntosh then went on to win a pair of matches before losing twice to take sixth place.
The NLWC’s Joshua Rodriguez (61 kg) and Ceron Francisco (125 kg) went 2-2 in the tournament and did not place.
