Penn State Sports Magazine
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6 4 M A R C H 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Can't make it to Detroit this year for the NCAA Wrestling Championships? Just take a trip to Lincoln, Neb., for the Big Ten Championships two weeks earlier. It's likely to look equally competi- tive. Not since 2006 has a team from outside of the Big Ten won a national team title. And Penn State — most certainly the team of the decade from 2010-19 with eight national titles — has won only half of the 12 Big Ten tournaments that have been contested since 2010. To project Penn State as the outright winner at this year's tournament, which is set to take place March 5-6, would be dangerous given Iowa's overall balance, Michigan's star power and highly ranked individuals from Ohio State, Nebraska, Minnesota and Wisconsin. "I think at certain weights, the Big Ten Tourna- ment is definitely the toughest tournament in the country before nationals, and I'll let people determine what weights those are," said Penn State senior Nick Lee, the defending 141-pound NCAA champ but not a returning Big Ten titlist. "There are less matches at the Big Ten Tourna- ment, but you're still getting top wrestlers, and I think that's a testament to the conference." Here is how this year's event shapes up … as rugged as usual: 125: Key points are within reach here for Penn State if sixth-ranked super senior Drew Hildebrandt (7-0) can make the finals against Michigan's No. 1-ranked Nick Suriano, a Penn State/Rutgers transfer. It's a deep weight class, with Minnesota's Patrick McKee (third at NCAAs last year, fourth at Big Tens) and Wisconsin's Eric Barnett (eighth NCAA, DNP Big Ten) also in contention. 133: This is another deep class, with six returning conference place winners and four All-Americans. Still, there's no reason to think another rematch between top-ranked Penn State senior Roman Bravo-Young (13-0) and Iowa's third-ranked Austin DeSanto (13-1) won't materialize. 141: There's no guarantee that we'll see another final between Penn State's top-ranked Lee (13-0) and Iowa's Jaydin Eierman. Eierman is the defending Big Ten champion, but he'll have to get past undefeated Rutgers senior Se- bastian Rivera in the semis to get to Lee. Five of the top six 141-pounders in the conference last season placed among the top six at nationals. 149: This is one of the Big Ten's deeper weight classes, and it's very likely that 18th- ranked sophomore Beau Bartlett (10-6) will earn the seventh seed for Penn State. Defend- ing champ Sammy Sasso of Ohio State was the NCAA runner-up last year, and Northwestern senior Yahya Thomas placed eighth at Big Tens but third at nationals. 157: This weight class lacks depth, and it got markedly thinner with the announcement that Minnesota's fourth-ranked Brayton Lee is out for the season with an injury. If Penn State senior Brady Berge (5-1) can make the cut from 165, he'll have to outdo favored Ryan Deakin of Northwestern, last year's conference runner-up and third-place finisher at nationals. If not, look for sophomore Terrell Barraclough to compete for the Lions. 165: Ohio State sophomore Carson Kharchla will earn the top seed over defending confer- ence champion Alex Marinelli of Iowa, by virtue of an overtime dual meet victory. Penn State sophomore Creighton Edsell (9-3) is more than capable of advancing to NCAAs if Berge makes the drop to 157. Wherever Berge goes, he'll have to qualify for NCAAs on his own; he's not eligible for a wildcard selection because he doesn't have enough qualifying matches. 174: This is certainly one of the deepest and most difficult weights to navigate. Penn State sophomore Carter Starocci (14-0) is the de- fending NCAA champ but returns as a Big Ten runner-up to Iowa's Michael Kemerer. Another epic final could occur if those two can make it through a tough bracket. 184: Another deep class, but well above the rest are top-ranked Penn State junior Aaron Brooks (14-0), the defending national cham- pion, and Michigan's Myles Amine. Ranked sec- ond, Amine has only one loss this season, but it's to Brooks, a 3-1 decision in a Jan. 21 dual meet. Northwestern is the only team that won't have a top-25 wrestler at this weight class. 197: Yet another great weight class. Penn State junior Max Dean (14-1), Iowa senior Ja- cob Warner and Nebraska senior Eric Schultz lead the way, but a few others are dangerously close. 285: Who's No. 2 is the question at this class, because Olympic champion and defending NCAA titlist Gable Steveson of Minnesota is by far No. 1. Penn State's fifth-ranked sophomore Greg Kerkvliet (13-1) likely will have to get past Iowa's Tony Cassioppi for a shot at Steveson. If not, a rematch between him and Michigan's Mason Parris might determine third place. — Jim Carlson | Blue White Contributor Nittany Lions Favored, But Big Ten Field Is Stacked Junior 197-pounder Max Dean will be competing in the Big Ten Tournament for the first time after transferring to Penn State from Cornell during the offseason. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL