Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1462941
8 A P R I L 2 0 2 2 OPENING SHOT MADE IN DETROIT Penn State coach Cael Sanderson may have offered a window into why the Nittany Lions have become a dynastic power in collegiate wrestling when he said shortly after watching them win the 2022 NCAA championship, "There are always things we can do better." Well, sure. But in the aftermath of Penn State's performance in Detroit March 17-19, it was hard to imagine a realistic scenario in which the tourna- ment could have gone more smoothly. The Nittany Lions outdistanced Michi- gan in the team race by 36.5 points, clinching their ninth national champion- ship in 12 years well before the finals had even begun. And when the finals did get underway, the Lions were every bit as dominant as they'd been in the earlier rounds. Five Penn State wrestlers competed for their respective championships, and all five won: senior Roman Bravo-Young at 133 pounds, super senior Nick Lee at 141, sophomore Carter Starocci at 174, junior Aaron Brooks at 184 and junior Max Dean at 197. Brooks' victory over Michigan's Myles Amine was particularly satisfying for the Nittany Lions. Two weeks earlier, Amine had beaten Brooks in the Big Ten finals, and that win had lifted the Wolverines over Penn State for the confer- ence tournament championship.