Penn State Leads Big Ten Wrestling With 4 Top Seeds
Penn State begins the Big Ten postseason with nine wrestlers seeded among the top 5 at their weight classes, and four as No. 1s, for this weekend's conference tournament.
The conference coaches released their preliminary seeds for the 2023 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, set for March 4-5 at Michigan's Crisler Center. Defending NCAA champs Roman Bravo-Young (133 pounds), Carter Starocci (174), Aaron Brooks (184) and Max Dean (197) are No. 1 seeds for the tournament.
Penn State leads all programs with four No. 1 seeds. Iowa has two, while Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State and Wisconsin have one each.
Penn State, which went unbeaten to clinch the Big Ten regular-season title, has not won a conference tournament since 2019. Last year, the Lions also went unbeaten during the regular season but lost to Michigan by 1.5 points at the Big Ten tournament.
The Lions crowned four individual champs but lost a head-to-head decision at 184, where Michigan's Myles Amine defeated Aaron Brooks in overtime. Penn State also loses the potential for first-round bonus points by having so many top seeds earn byes.
Elsewhere, Penn State has multiple contenders this year. Here are the Lions' seeds at all 10 weight classes for the Big Ten championships.
- 125: Gary Steen (11)
- 133: Roman Bravo-Young (1)
- 141: Beau Bartlett (2)
- 149: Shayne Van Ness (5)
- 157: Levi Haines (2)
- 165: Alex Facundo (4)
- 174: Carter Starocci (1)
- 184: Aaron Brooks (1)
- 197: Max Dean (1)
- HWT: Greg Kerkvliet (2)
Two championship contenders to watch are Haines and Kerkvliet. Haines, a true freshman, is 18-1 and has won 17 consecutive bouts since an early season loss to Vincent Zerban of Northern Colorado. He has not wrestled top-seeded Peyton Robb of Nebraska this season but has wins over the fifth, sixth and ninth seeds.
At heavyweight, Kerkvliet and top-seeded Mason Parris of Michigan begin a postseason where they could meet in a pair of finals. Kerkvliet defeated Parris twice last year, including for third place at the Big Ten tournament. Parris won their dual 3-1 this season. Iowa's third-seeded Tony Cassioppi, whom Kerkvliet defeated in their dual, figures into the mix as well.
The 2023 Big Ten Wrestling Championships are scheduled for March 4-5 at Michigan's Crisler Center. The semifinals will be broadcast at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday on Big Ten Network. The championship bouts are scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET Sunday on BTN.
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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.