It was a very good day for the Penn State Nittany Lions on Sunday during the final two sessions of the 2024 Big Ten Championships in College Park, Maryland.
After seeing five individual wrestlers win BIg Ten championships and the Nittany Lions winning their eighth tournament team title, the program also swept the 2024 Big Ten Individual Awards.
Aaron Brooks who won his fourth straight Big Ten individual title at 184 pounds, was named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Year and Wrestler of the Champions.
Cael Sanderson earned the Big Ten Coach of the Year award, the eighth time he has won the honor.
Mitchel Messenbrink was also named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year after mainting a perfect record through the regular season and Big Ten Tournament before claiming his first Big Ten title on Sunday afternoon in the 165 pound championship defeating Wisconsin's Dean Hamiti, the Big Ten's top wrestler at 165,13-11.
FULL RESULTS
125: At 125 pounds, freshman Braeden Davis capped off his incredible tournament run by defeating Minnesota's Patrick McKee with an 8-1 decision. Davis defeated a trio of All-Americans over the course of Saturday and Sunday to win the 125 title and will now turn his sights to a national title in Kansas City later this month.
133: At 133, Aaron Nagao secured a third place finish by defeating Nebraska's Jacob Van Dee. At the 141 weight class, Beau Bartlett suffered his first loss of the season as Ohio State's Jesse Mendez used a takedown in the final seconds to defeat Bartlett 4-1.
149: In the 149 third place match, the Nittany Lions' Tyler Kasak defeated Maryland's Ethen Miller to earn a third place finish.
157: In the 157 championship, Penn State's Levi Haines defeated Michigan's Will Lewan with a takedown in sudden victroy, to win his second straight championship. Haines will enter the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed at 157.
165: In the most anticipated matchup on Sunday, Mitchell Mesenbrink and Wisconsin's Dean Hamiti had an absolute classic. Hamiti after the first period had a 6-1 lead over Mesenbrink. The redshirt freshman was able to cut Hamiti's lead to 9-6 entering the third period before using a huge third period effort to defeat Hamiti 13-11 and clinch his first Big Ten championship.
184: Bernie Truax gave Minnesota's Isaiah Salazar, the Big Ten's top ranked wrestler at 184 all he could handle but it wouldn't be enough in an 8-1 decision in sudden victory.
197: Aaron Brooks was going for his fourth Big Ten championship on Sunday evening in College Park and there was little doubt that he would complete the job as he defeated Iowa's Zach Glazier 19-3 with the technical fall. He becomes the third Nittany Lion ever to win four Big Ten titles joining Ed Ruth and David Taylor. He'll attempt to become the sixth wrestler ever to win four national titles later this month in Kansas City.
HWT: Senior Greg Kerkvliet's quest for a Big Ten championship si complete. The senior remained undefeated with a 8-3 decision over Ohio State's Nick Feldman.
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