Blue White Illustrated

a COVID-induced blanket year of eligi- bility for all athletic teams that most as- suredly will assist equally strong wrestling programs such as Iowa and Oklahoma State, who return most, if not all, of their respective lineups. A late start to an already shortened season affected Penn State's youth- laden team this past season because it was difficult to garner competitive ex- perience. It's not likely to happen again. Next season's lineup should boast an impressive array of talent. It starts at 125 with Robbie Howard. The true freshman went 7-6 this season and did not place at NCAAs, but he showed flashes of his incredible high school career prior to postseason shoul- der surgery that hampered him at Penn State. Health will be the key; the talent is there. Bravo-Young will enter his fourth sea- son as the reigning Big Ten and NCAA champion at 133 pounds with a 58-9 ca- reer record. Tournament broadcasters routinely say Bravo-Young is the quick- est wrestler in the country. His strength and riding skills on top also improved, which led to his position atop the NCAA podium. Senior Nick Lee will still be senior Nick Lee next season, as the four-time All-American has declared his intention to return at 141 pounds. Or at least re- turn. It's doubtful Lee would bump up to 149 and allow a lighter 149-pound Beau Bartlett to drop down, because Lee's freestyle weight is 143 pounds and it would make sense to hold 141. Bartlett, another true freshman, was a late-season entry into the lineup at 149, but the four-time national prep champion from Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, Pa., could have made 141 if called upon. A bit light for the weight, Bartlett still managed an 8-3 record de- spite not qualifying for NCAAs. If he were to redshirt, Terrell Barraclough is a solid replacement option. Somewhere in the mix in the 141-149 range the next few years is incoming recruit Shayne VanNess. The 157-pound class is a bit of a question mark at the moment. Brady Berge recovered from serious concus- sion issues and won 10 of 13 matches before injuring a knee in the NCAA quarterfinal round. The severity of that injury will determine Berge's fate next season. Austin Boone, Aurelius Dunbar and Matt Lee are other op- tions. Joe Lee did not enjoy a strong post- season at 165 and finished 6-7. He ap- pears to have the work ethic of brother Nick, and a stronger version of Joe is likely. Another contender could be Greco-Roman specialist Mason Manville and incoming recruit Alex Fa- cundo of Davison, Mich., unless he opts for a grayshirt. Back-to-back NCAA champions await Penn State opponents at 174 and 184, and Starocci will be a redshirt freshman again at 174. He lost in the Big Ten finals to Iowa's Michael Ke- merer but avenged that defeat when it counted most, in the NCAA finals, during an incredible 14-2 rookie sea- son. Brooks will enter his third season at 184 with a 29-1 record, two Big Ten ti- tles and one NCAA crown. Brooks, much like Nick Lee, improved with each bout, and his ceiling is effectively un- limited. The final two spots likely will be oc- cupied by Michael Beard (197) and Greg Kerkvliet (285), each of whom placed seventh at NCAAs. Beard at 10-6 didn't always show consistency but did dis- play plenty of talent and aggression from the neutral position. Kerkvliet was cleared to return from what was thought to be a season-end- ing knee injury on Feb. 22, Penn State's last match of the dual meet season. He was dominant against wrestlers seeded lower than himself but struggled against stars such as Gable Steveson of Minnesota and Mason Parris of Michi- gan; every other wrestler in the country struggled against them as well. Put an- other 20 pounds on Kerkvliet's frame and combine it with his strength and agility, and Penn State could have an- other heavyweight champion relatively soon. ■ B y the time the first of Penn State's four NCAA finalists stepped onto the mat at the NCAA Wrestling Championships, Iowa had already claimed the team title. But plenty of drama was still to unfold. The Nittany Lions went a perfect four for four in the finals, as Roman Bravo-Young, Nick Lee, Carter Starocci and Aaron Brooks each claimed their first NCAA ti- tles March 20 in St. Louis, with three of those victories coming in overtime. "I think the guys just believed," Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said. "They wrestled really well. Obviously, you're in the NCAA finals, you can wrestle great and still not win. ... Our guys did a really nice job. They just believed and found a way. I think we have some really special guys." That showing wasn't enough for Penn State to lay claim to a fifth consecutive NCAA team title, though, as Big Ten rival Iowa earned the national crown with 129 points to the Nittany Lions' 113.5. "Obviously, we need a little bit more of a team effort," Sanderson said. "If you have four national champions and you're not winning the tournament, you've got to have more point-scorers. But it also just speaks to how good Iowa is. They've got a really good team this year and they competed really well and won a lot of tough matches." Here's a look at those four PSU cham- pions claimed their national crowns: 133 ROMAN BRAVO-YOUNG Bravo-Young said that before his battle with top-seeded Daton Fix of Oklahoma Nittany Lions dominate finals, crown four NCAA champs BY DAVID ECKERT davideckert98@gmail.com

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