Penn State wrestling sends 9 to Big Ten Championships semifinal round

Penn State wrestling flexed its muscle in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Championships Saturday afternoon. The Nittany Lions dominated the field, sending nine wrestlers to Saturday evening’s semifinals. Which Penn State wrestlers will be moving onto the semifinals and what are the team standings?

Penn State wrestling sends nine to the Big Ten semifinals

After a strong opening round Saturday morning, Penn State wrestling put together a dominant performance in the Big Ten quarterfinals, with an impressive nine wrestlers heading to the semifinals. The Nittany Lions picked up bonus points in four of their 10 matches and are pulling away from the field in the team standings.

The only Nittany Lion not advancing to the semifinal round of the Big Ten Championships is star Carter Starocci, who injury defaulted out of his match against Andrew Sparks of Minnesota. An unfortunate, but expected, outcome, Starocci will have to medically forfeit one more time before his weekend his officially finsished.

Big Ten Championships team standings:

No. 1: Penn State — 83.5

No. 2: Michigan — 70.5

No. 3: Iowa — 57

No. 4: Nebraska — 46

No. 5: Minnesota — 34.5

Quarterfinals recap:

125: No. 6 Braeden Davis (PSU) def No. 3 Eric Barnett (WISC) by 8-7 SV decision

Eric Barnett got the takedown early and was dominant in the top position for the first period. However, Braeden Davis used a flurry of scoring to lead 5-4 after the second. He even had an opportunity for the fall late in the period. Since Barnett had the riding time, Davis had to try and ride him out. Both wrestlers ended up exchanging reversals, and with the riding time, it went to sudden victory.

Braeden Davis attacked early and ended up getting Barnett to commit an illegal hold call, pulling off the first upset of the tournament for Penn State wrestling. The bracket at 125 pounds is opened up for the Nittany Lions, as both No. 1 Matt Ramos (Purdue) and No. 2 Drake Ayala (Iowa) both were upset in the first round. Braeden Davis will face No. 7 Michael DeAugustino (MICH) in the semifinals.

133: No. 5 Aaron Nagao (PSU) def No. 4 Jacob Van Dee (NEB) by 4-3 decision

Aaron Nagao also pulled off an upset at 133, where he took down No. 4 Jacob Van Dee in a tight 4-3 decision. Nagao scored early and, despite giving up a takedown to Van Dee in the final seconds of the third, held on for the victory. Aaron Nagao will take on No. 1 Dylan Ragusin (MICH) in the semifinals.

141: No. 1 Beau Bartlett (PSU) def No. 8 Jordan Hamdan (MSU) by 4-2 decision

Beau Bartlett wrestled a lot like we saw all season: patient. He waited for his opportunity, picked up a second-period takedown to open the scoring, and never let Jordan Hamdan get to his offense. Beau Bartlett will now face No. 5 Sergio Lemley (MICH) in the semifinals.

149: No. 4 Tyler Kasak (PSU) def No. 5 Dylan D’Emilio (OSU) by 3-2 decision

There was not much offensive showing through the first two periods of this dual. Dylan E’Emilio picked up an escape, but not before Tyler Kasak was able to grab 1:17 of riding time in the period. Kasak then opened the third period on fire and was able to get the reversal in just eight seconds to take a 2-1 lead. D’Emilio would then get the escape to tie it at two.

A late third-period scramble on the edge of the mat resulted in no takedowns awarded, but the riding time point gave Tyler Kasak the 3-2 victory. He will now face a rematch against No. 1 Ridge Lovett (NEB) in the semifinals.

157: No. 1 Levi Haines (PSU) def No. 9 Trevor Chumbley (NU) by 12-0 major decision

Levi Haines picked up a first-period takedown and never looked back. The top-ranked 157-pounder in the country cruised to a 12-0 major decision victory. In the semifinals, Haines will face No. 4 Jared Franek (IOWA).

165: No. 2 Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU) def No. 10 Blaine Brenner (MINN) by fall (3:59)

As we have come to expect, Mitchell Mesenbrink started aggressively, securing a first-period takedown. The redshirt freshman continued to pour on the scoring before eventually getting Blaine Brenner to his back, picking up the pin at the 3:59 mark of the match. Mesenbrink will now face No. 3 Michael Caliendo (IOWA) in the semifinals.

174: No. 9 Andrew Sparks (MINN) def No. 1 Carter Starocci (PSU) by medical forfeit

As predicted, Carter Starocci injury defaulted out of the Big Ten Championships. It will end his 64-match win streak, but it may be the best decision when looking ahead to the NCAA Championships in a few weeks. Starocci will pick up two losses from this tournament and will get a wildcard bid to the NCAAs. The question now remains on where he is seeded for that tournament.

184: No. 3 Bernie Truax (PSU) def No. 6 Layne Malczewski (MSU) by 7-2 decision

Bernie Truax picked up a first-period takedown before letting Layne Malczewski escape to lead 3-1 after one period. An identical second period, plus a Truax escape in the third, resulted in a comfortable 7-2 win for the graduate senior. Truax will face No. 2 Lenny Pinto (NEB) in the semifinals.

197: No. 1 Aaron Brooks (PSU) def No. 8 Evan Bates (NU) by 19-3 tech fall decision

After an issue with Aaron Brooks’ headgear in the opening 30 seconds caused a stoppage, Evan Bates took his opportunity on a second chance and went for an aggressive takedown. But the defense of Brooks only resulted in the Nittany Lion flipping the script for three points of his own.

Brooks rolled from there, picking up multiple takedowns and near fall points on his way to an easy 19-3 tech fall victory. Brooks will take on No. 5 Silas Allred (NEB) in the semifinals.

285: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) def No. 8 Bennett Tabor (MINN) by 15-0 tech fall decision

Greg Kerkvliet opened the scoring with a takedown within the first 15 seconds of the match. The Penn State heavyweight showed why he is the top-ranked wrestler in the country at 285, as he dominated and led 10-0 after the first period. Kerkvliet would pick up a 15-0 tech fall victory before the end of the second period. Kerkvliet will face Yaraslau Slavikouski (RUT) in the semifinals.

Nittany Lions look to continue momentum in Big Ten Championships semifinal round

With Penn State wrestling jumping out to a commanding lead, the team race could be decided in the semifinals tonight. The Nittany Lions face Michigan in multiple matches including No. 6 Braeden Davis vs. No. 7 Michael DeAugustino at 125, No. 1 Dylan Ragusin vs. No. 5 Aaron Nagao at 133, and No. 1 Beau Bartlett vs No. 5 Sergio Lemley at 141.

Penn State wrestling will look to extend its lead in the semifinal round of the Big Ten Championships, starting at 7 p.m. Saturday night on the Big Ten Network. All consolation bracket matches can be found on BTN+.

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