Joseph Cress/USA Today Sports
Penn State's Aaron Brooks to Pursue Another World Wrestling Title
Aaron Brooks, a three-time NCAA wrestling champ at Penn State and U.S. Senior National Team member, returns to the international stage this fall at the U23 World Championships in Finland. Brooks will wrestle for the 86 kg freestyle title, marking his third trip to world-championship event. Brooks returns to the international stage after meeting fellow Penn State star David Taylor in the Final X championship series in June.
Brooks seeks his third international medal after winning a U17 world championship in 2017 and a silver medal at the 2018 U20 World Championships. Brooks is competing in his first U23 world event. At Penn State, Brooks is a three-time NCAA champion, having dominated the field at 184 pounds at the 2023 NCAA Championships. He went 17-1 during the regular season with 12 bonus-point victories, including five technical falls. Brooks is eligible to return to Penn State this season and pursue a fourth NCAA title, a milestone no Penn State wrestler has achieved.
After NCAAs, Brooks, won the U.S. Open in thrilling form. Trailing Zahid Valencia 6-0 in the final, Brooks scored 10 unanswered points for the stunning victory and a berth in Final X. Taylor, a fellow three-time NCAA champion at Penn State, won the best-of-three series to secure the 86 kg spot on the U.S. Senior National Team for the 2023 World Wrestling Championships. As the 86 kg runner-up, Brooks earned a spot on the U.S. Senior National Team.
The U23 World Championships are scheduled for Oct. 23-29 in Tampere, Finland. FloWrestling will stream the event live in the U.S.
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