Penn State Wrestling Rolls to Another Big Ten Championship
The Penn State wrestling won five individual titles and placed nine wrestlers in the top three to claim its second consecutive team crown at the 2024 Big Ten Wrestling Championships. The Nittany Lions overwhelmed the field with 170.5 points, 47 more than second-place Michigan.
Penn State, which won its eighth Big Ten team title under head coach Cael Sanderson, delivered a phenomenal tournament even without injured star Carter Starocci, who took two injury defaults Saturday. Among the championship highlights:
- Aaron Brooks (197 pounds) became the third Penn State wrestler to win four Big Ten championships.
- Freshman Braeden Davis won Penn State's first Big Ten title at 125 pounds since 1999.
- Mitchell Mesenbrink (165) scored 49 points in three bouts, including 13 in his highlight-reel win over top-seeded Dean Hamiti of Wisconsin in the final.
- Sophomore Levi Haines defended his title at 157 with a takedown in sudden victory.
- Greg Kerkvliet (285) won his first Big Ten title after placing fourth, third and second the past three seasons.
Penn State went 5-2 in the championship finals, with Beau Bartlett (141) and Bernie Truax (184) losing tough bouts on late takedowns in their finals. In all, Penn State went 29-4 during the two-day tournament, not counting Carter Starocci's two injury defaults at 174 pounds. The Nittany Lions will send 10 wrestlers to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2014 (Starocci is expected to receive an at-large bid).
Penn State drew huge crowd at the Xfinity Center, and it cheered everything. There was a roar when Aaron Nagao pinned Nebraska's Jacob Van Dee to place third at 133 and another when Tyler Kasak pinned Maryland's Ethan Miller to place third at 149. After losing in Saturday's semifinals, Kasak had terrific Sunday, preceding the pin with an 8-1 decision over Iowa's Caleb Rathjen, to whom he lost in February.
Penn State also swept the Big Ten individual awards: Brooks was named the conference's wrestler of the year and of the tournament, Mesenbrink was named freshman of the year and Sanderson was named coach of the year.
The 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships are scheduled for March 21-23 in Kansas City. The NCAA will release at-large bids Tuesday and brackets Wednesday. Here's a recap of Penn State's performance in the Big Ten finals.
125: No. 6 Braeden Davis (Penn State) dec. No. 4 Patrick McKee (Minnesota) 8-1
Davis, a freshman, ended a long Penn State dry spell at 125 pounds, becoming the team's first Big Ten champ at the weight class since Jeremy Hunter in 1999. He also entered the NCAA title race by dropping McKee for a takedown as time expired, then pounding the mat in celebration. The freshman had just won the Big Ten in title resoundingly, with an impressive second-period ride and that takedown stamp.
Davis (20-0) lifted and matted McKee, a senior, midway through the second, then tilted him for three back points. That was a remarkable moment for the freshman who, just over a year ago, won his fourth Michigan high school title. Davis went 4-0 at Big Tens with two sudden-victory decisions.
141: No. 2 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) dec. No. 1 Beau Bartlett (Penn State) 4-1
The Bartlett-Mendez rematch followed almost the same script as February, when Bartlett won in sudden victory. The two traded escapes again and appeared headed to another sudden victory. But Mendez took two aggressive shots in the third period. Bartlett defended the first but couldn't counter the third, and Mendez scored the decisive takedown with 11 seconds left in the match.
It was an exceptional sequence from Mendez, who handed Bartlett (20-1) his first loss of the season after beating defending champ Real Woods of Iowa. Bartlett and Mendez could be headed for a decisive Round 3 in the NCAA finals.
157: No. 1 Levi Haines (Penn State) dec. No. 7 Will Lewan (Michigan) 4-1 SV
Haines won his second Big Ten title with another grueling test from Lewan, whom he beat 2-1 in January. This time, the two traded escapes to force sudden victory, but Haines appeared to wear down Lewan with his physicality. And then he jumped out of the sudden-victory block, finally getting a takedown against Lewan. Haines (18-0) is 2-0 in overtime matches this season. He'll return to NCAAs as the top seed.
165: No. 2 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) dec. No. 1 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) 13-11
This was breathtaking. Mesenbrink trailed Hamiti, the defending Big Ten champ, 11-6 in the third, having given up three takedowns in the first two periods. But Mesenbrink put on a third-period show, turning an escape into a takedown into back points, ripping off a seven-point run for the victory.
Mesenbrink (22-0) had a marvelous tournament, winning by fall, technical fall and the entertaining decision in the final. Mesenbrink scored 49 points in his three Big Ten bouts.
184: No. 1 Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota) dec. No. 3 Bernie Truax (Penn State) 8-1 SV
Salazar scrambled through a tight spot in sudden victory, turning it into a takedown and back points to beat a game Truax wrestling in his first Big Ten final. Truax (14-4) took several strong shots that Salazar defended to force sudden victory. In the extra period, Salazar went for a shot but fell to the mat, giving Truax an opening. Salazar fended off the takedown attempt, reset and put Truax onto the mat for the win.
197: No. 1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) tech. fall No. 3 Zach Glazier (Iowa) 19-3 in 6:08
Brooks might be the nation's most dominant wrestler. He rolled through the Big Ten bracket with two technical falls and a major decision, scoring 52 points in just three matches.
Brooks (17-0) has won 16 of those bouts with bonus points. He is an overwhelming favorite to become a four-time NCAA champion.
285: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) vs. No. 2 Nick Feldman (Ohio State) 9-3
Good for Feldman, who took the first swing and scored the first Big Ten takedown against Kerkvliet this season. But it didn't last, as the nation's top-ranked heavyweight claimed control of the match.
After finishing fourth, third and second in his previous Big Ten tournaments, Kerkvliet won his first title. Kerkvliet (15-0) now will look for his first NCAA title.
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