NOTES Penn State Hosts 2021 Big Ten Wrestling Championships
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From: Donghia, Patrick Andrew [email protected] Subject: NOTES: Penn State hosts 2021 Big Ten Wrestling Championships! Date: March 2, 2021 at 10:57 AM To: undisclosed-recipients:; TODAY’S ACTION UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; March 2, 2021 -- The Penn State Nittany Lions (6-0, 6-0 B1G), ranked No. 2 in the latest InterMat Tournament Power Index (TPI), will serve as the host for the 2021 Big Ten Wrestling Championships. The Nittany Lions and the rest off the conference’s 14 teams will take part in the event, which serves as the NCAA qualifier for the Big Ten. Action is set for Saturday and Sunday, March 6-7, in the Bryce Jordan Center. Under current state guidance, spectators will not be permitted to attend the 2021 Big Ten Wrestling Championships at Penn State set for Saturday and Sunday, March 6-7. The Big Ten Network recently announced an increase of its linear coverage of the event, giving fans around the country the chance to see the nation’s best wrestlers throughout the weekend. Saturday’s sessions begin at 10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. while Sunday’s action starts at 12 p.m. followed by the individual championship round at 4 p.m. The network will air whip-around coverage of all four mats during session one on Saturday and air Saturday night’s Big Ten semifinals. All four individual mats for both Saturday sessions will have mat cams available on the Big Ten Network+. Sunday afternoon’s Big Ten Championship finals will also air live on the Big Ten Network. Big Ten Network+ will feature the consolation action occurring before the finals, as well as placing bouts during the title tilts. Penn State claimed a share of the 2021 Big Ten Dual Meet Championship, the seventh regular season crown for the Lions since head coach Cael Sanderson’s arrival in Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions went 6-0 in the conference and shared the title with 5-0 Iowa. Penn State’s Big Ten Championships line-up features six freshmen and a sophomore for a seven-underclassmen contingent ready to compete in the tournament. Senior Nick Lee (141) and juniors Roman Bravo-Young (133) and Brady Berge (157) are Penn State’s upperclassmen. True freshmen Robert Howard (125) and Beau Bartlett (149) will be joined by redshirt freshman Joe Lee (165), Carter Starocci (174), Michael Beard (197) and Greg Kerkvliet (285) in the line-up. The Nittanny Lions are coming off a 6-0 season that saw the team earn a share of its seventh Big Ten Dual Meet Championships with 5-0 Iowa. The Lion line-up features nine ranked wrestlers according to InterMat. Bravo-Young is ranked No. 3 at 133; Nick Lee is No. 2 at 141; Bartlett is No. 10 at 149; Berge is No. 8 at 157; Joe Lee is No. 15 at 165; Starocci is No. 4 at 174; Brooks is No. 1 at 184; Beard is No. 15 at 197 and Kerkvliet is No. 6 at 285. The event serves as the national qualifier for all 14 Big Ten teams. Penn State’s qualifiers will trek to the Enterprise Arena for the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships on Thursday-Saturday, March 18-20. All rankings listed are InterMat/InterMat TPI as of Jan. 12, 2021. Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at @pennstateWREST, on Penn State Wrestling’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here. NCAA AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS BY CONFERENCE Conference 125 133 141 149 157 165 174 184 197 285 PA AQ TOTAL ACC 2 3 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 3 23 10 33 Big 12 4 4 3 4 2 4 3 3 4 4 35 10 45 Big Ten 7 7 7 6 7 7 7 7 5 6 66 10 76 EIWA 2 2 4 3 4 4 4 5 4 3 35 10 45 MAC 3 4 3 3 3 1 2 2 2 2 25 10 35 Pac-12 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 2 1 9 10 19 Southern 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 3 10 13 Pre-Allocation 19 20 20 20 20 19 19 20 19 20 196 Automatic Qualifier 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 70 At-Large 7 6 6 6 6 7 7 6 7 6 64 Total 33 33 33 33 33 33 33 33 33 33 330 Note: The number under each weight class is the number of pre-allocations. Add the automatic qualifier for the conference tournament champion to account for the total qualifying spots available at each weight for each conference tournament (i.e ACC 125 has 2 pre-allocations plus 1 AQ to account for 3 total NCAA spots available at that weight). MATCH NOTES, MARCH 3, 2021 EDITION #2 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (6-0, 6-0 B1G) WT NAME EL HT/HS REC 125 Robert Howard Fr. Cranford, N.J./Bergen Catholic 2-1 (2-1 vs. B1G this year; 2-1 vs. B1G career; 0-0 in B1G tourney) 133 #3 Roman Bravo-Young Jr. Tucson, Ariz./Sunnyside 6-0 (6-0 vs. B1G this year; 25-7 vs. B1G career; 6-3 in B1G tourney) 141 #2 Nick Lee Sr. Evansville, Ind./Home schooled 6-0 (6-0 vs. B1G this year; 45-7 vs. B1G career; 8-2 in B1G tourney) 149 #10 Beau Bartlett Fr. Tempe, Ariz./Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) 7-1 (7-1 vs. B1G this year; 7-1 vs. B1G career; 0-0 in B1G tourney) 157 #8 Brady Berge Jr. Mantorville, Minn./Kasson-Mantorville 5-0 (5-0 vs. B1G this year; 11-4 vs. B1G career; 2-1 in B1G tourney) 165 #15 Joe Lee R-Fr. Evansville, Ind./Mater Dei 4-2 (4-2 vs. B1G this year; 4-2 vs. B1G career; 0-0 in B1G tourney) 174 #4 Carter Starocci Fr. Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep 6-1 (6-1 vs. B1G this year; 6-1 vs. B1G career; 0-0 in B1G tourney) 184 #1 Aaron Brooks So. Hagerstown, Md./North Hagerstown 6-0 (6-0 vs. B1G this year; 15-1 vs. B1G career; 3-0 in B1G tourney) 197 #15 Michael Beard R-Fr. Pottstown, Pa./Malvern Prep 3-1 (3-1 vs. B1G this year; 3-1 vs. B1G career; 0-0 in B1G tourney) 285 # 6 Greg Kerkvliet Fr. Grove Heights, Minn./Simley 2-0 (2-0 vs. B1G this year; 2-0 vs. B1G career; 0-0 in B1G tourney) Rankings listed are InterMat Indiv./Team Ranking InterMat TPI (3/2/21) PENN STATE WINS SHARE OF 2021 REGULAR SEASON TITLE Penn State claimed a share of the 2021 Big Ten Dual Meet Championship, the seventh regular season crown for the Lions since head coach Cael Sanderson’s arrival in Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions went 6-0 in the conference and shared the title with 5-0 Iowa. Sanderson’s arrival in Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions went 6-0 in the conference and shared the title with 5-0 Iowa. SIX NITTANY LION FRESHMEN MAKE REC HALL DUAL DEBUTS IN 44-0 SHUTOUT OF MARYLAND Penn State closed out the 2021 dual meet season by shutting out Maryland 44-0 on Feb. 22. The Lions featured a line-up that had seven underclassmen; one sophomore and six freshmen. All six freshmen won in their Rec Hall dual debuts. Greg Kerkvliet saw his first action of the season, getting a pin in both the dual meet and extra bouts. Beau Bartlett also went 2-0, winning in the dual and extras at 149. Robert Howard won at 125; Joe Lee won at 165; Carter Starocci won at 174 and Michael Beard won at 197. PENN STATE ROLLS OVER OHIO STATE IN COLUMBUS Carter Starocci took down #3 Kaleb Romero and Michael Beard’s pin sealed the deal in Penn State’s 28-12 win over #11 Ohio State in Columbus on Feb. 19. Starocci used a rideout in the tie-breaker to down Romero 2-1 and Beard pinned Gavin Hoffman at the 1:20 mark. Penn State won seven of ten bouts, getting victories from Roman Bravo-Young (133), Nick Lee (141), Brady Berge (157), Starocci (174), Aaron Brooks (184), Beard (197) and Seth Nevills (285). SANDERSON GETS 200TH CAREER COACHING WIN AS PENN STATE DOWNS #2 MICHIGAN ON THE ROAD Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson earned his 200th career collegiate coaching victory on Feb. 14, 2021, when the Nittany Lions notched an 18-13 victory at #2 Michigan. Sanderson’s victory total includes three seasons at Iowa State. His full and up-to-date coaching record can be found on page three off these notes. STAROCCI TAKES DOWN #2 MASSA IN PENN STATE’S WIN AT MICHIGAN; NAMED B1G WRESTLER OF THE WEEK Freshman Carter Starocci used a four-point turn in the tie-breaker period to take down sixth-year senior Logan Massa of Michigan in Penn State’s dual victory over the Wolverines. Starocci and No. 2 Massa ended regulation and sudden victory tied 1-1 before the Lion freshman used the back points to break away for a 7-1 (tb) win at 174. Starocci earned Big Ten Wrestler of the Week (2/16) honors for his efforts. FRESHMAN ROBERT HOWARD WINS COLLEGIATE DEBUT Nittany Lion freshman Robert Howard made his Penn State and collegiate debut in Penn State’s dual meet at Michigan on Feb.