Penn State rolls through Day 1 of NCAA Wrestling Championships
The NCAA Wrestling Championships kicked off this morning in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Penn State's first-round went as planned for the most part, with 8 of 9 Lions winning their initial round matches.
133's returning National Champion Roman Bravo-Young took on #33 Ethan Oakley of Appalachian State in his first-round bout. RBY started his match fast with a quick takedown and plenty of riding time to be up 2-1. Another takedown got RBY a 4-1 lead into the 2nd. RBY continued his offensive attack and took a 9-3 lead midway through the third before adding two more to go up 11-3. Riding time would make it 12-3, and RBY cruises to the second round.
At 141, #6 Beau Bartlett took on #27 Shannon Hanna of Campbell. Bartlett started the match with a quick TD to go up 2-0. An escape and another takedown from Beau made it 4-1 heading into the 2nd period. Bartlett's offensive barrage cooled off in the 2nd, as it kicked off with an escape from an optional start. Handfighting took up the rest of the period. Beau would escape and another takedown to end the third and would win 8-2 with riding time.
149's Shayne Van Ness took on #21 Ethan Miller of Maryland. Van Ness was taken down and turned to go down 4-0 in the first. SVN would be down 8-0 to Miller in the second. Van Ness would start to get his offense going in the 2nd period, getting a takedown and some near-fall to cut the lead to 8-3. However, the points would be given back as a coach's challenge from Maryland reversed the call. SVN went down 9-1 into the third. A quick takedown made it 10-3. Another quick SVN takedown made it 11-5 and then 11-7. Van Ness continues to push the pace. Van Ness comes back with a knee tap and pins Miller with only :34 left in the third!
#2 Levi Haines took on Austin Eyler of Lock Haven and his offense picked up right where it left off from the B1G Tournament. After a barrage of takedowns in the first and second, Haines went up 7-2. Haines would finish off his first round with a 10-3 victory and 1:44 RT.
Alex Facundo's tournament did not get off to an ideal start, as he fell to Holden Heller of Pitt, the #20 seed, 5-3.
Returning NCAA Champion Carter Starocci took on John Worthing of Clarion, and the match started with a takedown and an armbar to give Carter a quick fall at just 1:21.
At 184, Aaron Brooks took on Matthew Waddell of Chattanooga and had a few easy takedowns to take a commanding 4-1 lead into the 2nd. The attacks continued for Brooks as he pushed it to a 12-4 lead in the third and accumulated more riding time to lock up his point, and took home a 13-4 major.
Max Dean wrestled Levi Hopkins of Campbell, and the first period ended with no scoring. Dean got out to a 1-0 lead after taking down and getting an escape. A takedown made it 3-0, with another coming in the third period making it 5-0. Dean worked hard on top to get a turn on Hopkins. Dean let Hopkins up and the match went 5-1, but the RT makes it 6-1 for Dean, who moves onto the second round and will take on Silas Allred of Nebraska in a rematch of the B1G Championship Final.
#2 Greg Kerkvliet locked up a quick victory against #30 Copass of Purdue with a cradle and the fall, contributing more points to Penn State's attempt to defend the team title.
8 of the 9 Lions who competed in Thursday morning's session picked up victories.
Team Scores Through Session 1:
1. Penn State -- 16.0
2. North Carolina State -- 11.5
3. Iowa -- 12
Session 2 Recap
The Lions rolled through Session 2 on Thursday evening, extending their team lead, which now is x points over Iowa.
At 133, Roman Bravo-Young advanced to yet another NCAA Quarterfinals with a 5-2 win over Brayden Palmer of Chattanooga. It wasn't the most exciting performance, but RBY got the job done. He will face Aaron Nagao of Minnesota, who pinned Pitt's Micky Phillippi.
141's Beau Bartlett will face Cole Matthews of Pitt after a 3-1 win over Clay Carlson of SDSU.
At 149, Shayne Van Ness followed up his unbelievable comeback against Ethan Miller of Maryland in Round 1 by nearly pinning Paniro Johnson of Iowa State. He won 14-8 and will take on Graham Rooks, who knocked out Caleb Henson of Virginia Tech.
157 saw Levi Haines advance to the Quarterfinals against Jacob Wright of Wyoming via an 8-2 win. Haines has looked great so far and is set up for a big tournament as a true freshman.
After Alex Facundo dropped his first-round match in the 165-pound weight class, he met with #4 Julian Ramirez of Cornell. Facundo's tournament is, unfortunately, over. He dropped a 12-2 major decision.
Returning NCAA Champion Carter Starocci continued his dominance at 174 with yet another great performance. Carter took on rival Donnell Washington of Indiana, who got into quite the scrap earlier this year during the dual meet. Starocci won 4-0 after the riding time was factored in.
Aaron Brooks is the returning NCAA Champion at 184 and took out Will Feldkamp of Clarion. Brooks comes in as the #3 seed after a loss to Marcus Coleman, who came in as the #5 seed. Brooks shot for a beautiful double-leg and worked into a headlock, barely getting the fall before time expired. Brooks's pin helped secure Penn State's lead in the team race after Session 2.
Max Dean had a rematch with Silas Allred of Nebraska, who won a B1G Championship after beating Dean at 197 just two weeks ago in Ann Arbor. Dean dropped a 7-2 decision and will drop into the consolation bracket.
At heavyweight, #2 seed Greg Kerkvliet took on AJ Nevills of South Dakota State, brother of both Nick and Seth Nevills, who wrestled for the Lions. Kerk's early takedown and cradle put him up 6-0. He continued to dominate the match and locked up a 14-2 major decision with riding time, adding to Penn State's team lead.
| RANK | TEAM | SCORE |
|---|---|---|
|
1. |
Penn State Nittany Lions |
26.0 |
|
2. |
Iowa Hawkeyes |
21.5 |
|
T-3. |
Minnesota Golden Gophers |
16.5 |
|
T-3. |
Missouri Tigers |
16.5 |
|
T-3. |
North Carolina State Wolfpack |
16.5 |
--------------------------------------------------------------
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel