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Penn State Wrestling: Beau Bartlett Signs With Pro League, Changes Training Sites

Bartlett, a three-time NCAA All-American with the Nittany Lions, will compete in Real American Freestyle and train with the New York City Regional Training Center.

Mark Wogenrich

Penn State’s Beau Bartlett takes down Iowa's Cullan Schriever in the 141-pound bout during a Big Ten wrestling match at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Penn State’s Beau Bartlett takes down Iowa's Cullan Schriever in the 141-pound bout during a Big Ten wrestling match at the Bryce Jordan Center. / Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Former Penn State wrestler Beau Bartlett, a three-time NCAA All-American with the Nittany Lions, has signed with Real American Freestyle, the new professional wrestling league. Bartlett also announced that he will shift to the New York City Regional Training Center after working with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club in freestyle. Bartlett announced the change in an Instagram post.

Bartlett finished his Penn State career in March by placing third at the NCAA Wrestling Championships in Philadelphia. He was the nation's top-ranked wrestler at 141 pounds entering the Big Ten Championships and seeded second for NCAAs. Bartlett fell to eventual champ Jesse Mendez of Ohio State 2-1 in the NCAA semifinals. Bartlett reached the 2024 NCAA final, in which he also fell to Mendez, and placed third in 2023.

Bartlett now will train in freestyle at the NYRTC, which partners with the Columbia University wrestling programs. According to its website, the NYRTC launched in 2017 and trains at facilities at Columbia and in Hoboken.

Bartlett joined former Penn State teammate, and four-time NCAA champ, Aaron Brooks in signing with Real American Freestyle, which will launch its first season in August. Real American Freestyle calls itself "the first unscripted pro wrestling league for the best athletes in the world."

Originally from Tempe, Arizona, Bartlett competed at Pennsylvania's Wyoming Seminary, where he was a four-time national prep champion.

Real American Freestyle has signed some high-profile names, including Olympic champs Kyle Snyder, Ben Askren and Kyle Dake. Brooks was among the early signees to the league, which has an event scheduled for Aug. 30 in Cleveland.

Penn State wrestling is set to take center stage at Final X, where five current or future Nittany Lions will compete for bid to the 2025 World Wrestling Championships. Among the qualifiers is PJ Duke, a four-time state champion from New York who will be a freshman on Penn State's roster this season.

Duke qualified for Final X by winning the U.S. Team Trials, defeating two NCAA champions in the process. In addition, Snyder and Dake will represent the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club at Final X. USA Wrestling will host Final X on June 14 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

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Mark Wogenrich
MARK WOGENRICH

Mark Wogenrich is the editor and publisher of Penn State on SI, the site for Nittany Lions sports on the Sports Illustrated network. He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs, three Rose Bowls and one College Football Playoff appearance.

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