Penn State wrestler Aaron Brooks crowned U23 World Champion

Penn State wrestling is still a few weeks away from its quest to three-peat as National Champions. But one Nittany Lion has already made some noise on the international stage. Penn State wrestler Aaron Brooks represented the Nittany Lions and Team USA well yesterday by winning the Under-23 (U23) World Championship.

Aaron Brooks wins U23 World Championship

Aaron Brooks has already established himself as one of the most dominant wrestlers in NCAA history. Now, he has taken his talents to the international stage, winning the 86 kg U23 World Championship in Albania this week.

Brooks went 5-0 in the tournament on his way to becoming a World Champion. The Penn State wrestler took down defending champion Tastsuya Shirai from Japan 10-0 in the final.

Brooks was on the offensive early, getting a takedown within the first minute of the match. After multiple ankle picks, he was able to quickly get Shirai to his back and ultimately get the technical fall within two minutes and 39 seconds.

While winning the U23 World Championship is an impressive feat, Brooks will have another international opportunity if he can make it through the Olympic team trial. The only difference, he will have to get through defending world champion and former Penn State wrestling alum David Taylor to do so.

Penn State wrestler is thinking four

Aaron Brooks has an opportunity to do something that only 5 wrestlers have done in NCAA history, win 4 individual national championships. Brooks would join his coach Cael Sanderson as one of those four-time champions.

Brooks currently sits at 67-3 for his college career and has 3 titles in the 184-pound weight class. This year, he is moving up to 197 pounds and will enter the season ranked No. 1 in the weight class.

Penn State wrestling opens the 2023-24 season with the Journeymen Collegiate Classic on November 12 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

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