Penn State captures 7th all-time Big Ten wrestling championship
Penn State continued its dominance of Big Ten wrestling this season by capturing the conference championship, its seventh and first since 2019.
After working through the regular-season schedule with a 16-0 record (8-0 in the Big Ten), Penn State claimed four individual champions and nine NCAA qualifiers Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Nittany Lions finished ahead of runner-up Iowa, 147-134.5.
Coach Cael Sanderson was named Big Ten Coach of the Year for the seventh time and Levi Haines, a champion at 157 pounds, earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors.
Roman Bravo-Young (133), a native of Tucson, Ariz, and Aaron Brooks (184) became three-time Big Ten champions, giving Penn State nine all-time in that category. Carter Starocci (174) won for the second time.
Bravo-Young, a senior, defeated Minnesota’s Aaron Nagao, 5-2. Haines, a Pennsylvania native from Arendtsville, beat Peyton Robb of Nebraska, 3-1.
Erie Cathedral Prep graduate Starocci, a junior, and Brooks, a senior from Hagerstown, Md., claimed 6-1 and 12-2 (major) decisions against Mikey Labriola of Nebraska and Ohio State’s Kaleb Romero.
Also qualifying for the NCAA Championships on March 16-18, in Tulsa, Okla., were Beau Bartlett (third place, 141), Shayne Van Ness (fourth place, 149), Alex Facundo (seventh place, 165), Max Dean (second place, 197) and Greg Kerkvliet (second place, 285).
Jerry DiPaola is a TribLive reporter covering Pitt athletics since 2011. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in 1993, first as a copy editor and page designer in the sports department and later as the Pittsburgh Steelers reporter from 1994-2004. He can be reached at jdipaola@triblive.com.
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