Blue White Illustrated

H eadlined by a quartet of returning na- tional champions, a trio of talented underclassmen and a pair of late- blooming seniors, Penn State is getting set to send a nine-man contingent to the up- coming NCAA championships. This year's tournament will take place at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, and the Nittany Lions are once again the favorites after claiming seven of the past eight team titles. Penn State is coming off a championship performance at the Big Ten tournament, its first conference crown since 2016. Here's a weight-by-weight look at how Cael Sanderson's wrestlers stack up against the field: PSU OUTLOOK Returning national runner-up Stevan Micic of Michigan would be the presumed favorite here had he not injury de- faulted out of the confer- ence tournament. With his status un- clear, this weight class is up for grabs be- tween five or so competitors, with a slight nod going to Daton Fix of Oklahoma State. Bravo-Young has had an outstand- ing true freshman campaign, and a spot on the podium is within reach. But after a fifth-place finish at Big Tens, he appears to be just outside of that top group of na- tional contenders for now. FRONT OF THE CLASS Daton Fix (Okla- homa State), Stevan Micic (Michigan), Nick Suriano (Rutgers), Austin DeSanto (Iowa), Micky Phillipi (Pittsburgh) 141 | Nick Lee (27-2) | So., Evansville, Ind. PSU OUTLOOK After claiming All-America hon- ors as a true freshman, Lee has been strong as a soph- omore, grinding out a third-place finish at Big Tens after falling to eventual champion Joey McKenna of Ohio State in the semis. It was only his second loss of the year, and Lee is on track for another top-five finish at nationals. FRONT OF THE CLASS Lee, Yianni Di- akomihalis* (Cornell), Josh Alber (North- ern Iowa), Jaydin Eierman (Missouri), Joey McKenna (Ohio State) 149 | Brady Berge (18-3) | R- Fr., Mantorville, Minn. PSU OUTLOOK After split- ting time with classmate Jarod Verkleeren for much of the year, Berge got the postseason nod. He fin- ished in sixth place at Big Tens following a medical forfeit in the consolations. By that time, he had already secured his first trip to NCAAs. When healthy, he can compete with the best of them, but his will be an uphill battle to- ward the podium in Pittsburgh. FRONT OF THE CLASS Anthony Ash- nault (Rutgers), Mitch Finesilver (Duke), Micah Jordan (Ohio State), Matthew BACK FOR MORE A nine-man contingent looks to extend the Nittany Lions' dominance at nationals | 133 Roman Bravo-Young 21-4 Fr. | Tucson, Ariz. 149 Brady Berge 18-3 R-Fr. | Mantorville, Minn. 141 Nick Lee 27-2 So. | Evansville, Ind.

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