Big Ten Tournament Preview: Wrestling
Penn State boasts a total of seven wrestlers ranked in the top-3 at its respective weights, the most of any school in the loaded conference. With the tournament set to begin on Saturday in Lincoln, the Nittany Lions are the favorites to take the Big Ten crown. Here’s a look at how the final lineup stacks up with the competition in the Big Ten.
125 lbs.
It has been quite some time since Penn State has had a legitimate contender at 125 pounds, but Drew Hildebrandt has changed that.
The transfer from Central Michigan is ranked at the No. 5 best wrestler in the country and lands at the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten tournament.
Coming in with only one loss on the year, expectations are high for Hildebrandt. He will have to make it past the former national champion, Michigan’s Nick Suriano.
Hildebrandt fell to Suriano 6-3 back in February in a dual meet in a closely contested bout.
133 lbs.
Roman Bravo-Young, the undefeated reigning national champion is not only ranked first in the Big Ten but in the nation as well.
Anything can happen in the postseason, but Bravo-Young should roll through the bracket with relative ease.
Iowa wrestler Austin Desanto is ranked in the No. 2 slot and is never an easy out for Bravo-Young, but four straight wins over Desanto should give RBY all the confidence he needs.
141 lbs.
Penn State’s Nick Lee is in a very similar position as RBY, the undefeated reigning national champion’s main competition in this bracket is Iowa’s No. 2 ranked wrestler Jaydin Eierman.
The 141-pound weight class stacks up as a much tougher bracket than 133, but Nick Lee is not easily rattled.
Don’t be surprised if Lee pulls off the classic Penn State move and loses to Eierman at Big Ten’s, then gets revenge at nationals.
149 lbs.
Beau Bartlett of Penn State is currently slotted in the No. 7 seed for the tournament in a weight class that will send seven automatic qualifiers to NCAA’s.
This gives Bartlett little room for error in this bracket.
Bartlett has had a very up and down season, nearly beating the No. 1 seed Sammy Sasso in a dual meet with Ohio State while also dropping six bouts on the year.
157 lbs.
Brady Berge is one of the best stories of the wrestling season for the Nittany Lions, and they are hoping this story has a happy ending.
Berge started the season on the coaching staff for South Dakota State and decided to come back to the PSU wrestling program this season.
He has competed for the majority of the year at 165 pounds, so his outlook is even more difficult to predict. Berge is ranked 10th and only seven qualify, so he will have his work cut out for him.
Berge is one of the smartest wrestlers on the team, and that fact paired with the bump down in weight should be enough for him to qualify for NCAA’s.
165 lbs.
When Cael Sanderson made the lineup change, he was showing he had full confidence in Creighton Edsell.
Edsell comes into the tournament with a 10-3 record on the year and is slotted in the 10 seed for the Big Ten tournament.
Edsell has a tough road ahead and will have to do so without much experience. Of the 10 weight classes, 165 has the worst outlook for the Nittany Lions, but never count out a Penn Stater.
174 lbs.
Undefeated defending national champion Carter Starocci finds himself in a very top-heavy weight class at Big Tens.
Starocci was dealing with an injury recently, but he returned to the lineup for the final dual meet of the year. Starocci is the favorite for sure, but he will have a tough road.
He has to go through Iowa’s Michael Kemerer and Michigan’s Logan Massa, both of which he only beat by one point earlier this season.
184 lbs.
Now stop me if you’ve heard this before, Penn State’s undefeated reigning national champion is the favorite to come out of the weight class clean.
Aaron Brooks is one of the most dominant wrestlers in the country, earning bonus points an astounding 71 percent of the time.
Brooks’ main competition will come courtesy of Michigan’s Miles Amine, who he defeated 3-1 in a dual this season.
197 lbs.
The 197-pound weight class is probably the most interesting one of all. This is the only weight class that doesn’t have a single undefeated wrestler in the country.
Penn State’s silver hammer, Max Dean, is the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the country but is No. 2 at the Big Ten championship due to a loss to Nebraska’s Eric Schultz.
The Cornell transfer is looking to make an instant impact in his first postseason with the Nittany Lions.
285 lbs.
Penn State’s freshman Greg Kerkvliet finds himself in the No. 3 seed for the heavyweight class.
The goal for Kerkvliet in this tournament is to stay alive until the finals where he will almost certainly see all-time great and Olympic Gold Medalist Gable Steveson.
If Kerkvliet can finish second in only his second year, that would be a huge win for both him and the team.
Jameson Kramer is a third-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him email jek5650@psu.edu.
