Penn State Is Perfect Again at the NCAA Wrestling Championships
Penn State won its 10th NCAA Wrestling national championship Saturday afternoon, then turned the evening finals into a three-hour recruiting show.
The Lions delivered a perfect finals performance for the second consecutive year, going 5-0 in the championship bouts at the NCAA Wrestling Championships. Roman Bravo-Young (133 pounds), Nick Lee (141), Carter Starocci (171) and Aaron Brooks (184) each defended their 2021 titles.
Then Max Dean (197) capped the night by winning his first NCAA title. Dating to the 2019 NCAA tournament, Penn State has won 10 consecutive NCAA finals in which they wrestled. That year, Bo Nickal stamped the tournament, and his career, with a victory in Pittsburgh. On Saturday in Detroit, the Lions were as dominant as ever.
And then they pitched the program.
"You want to win, you want to grow and get better at wrestling? You come to Penn State," Bravo-Young said straight into the ESPN camera after winning his title. "That's a fact. The results speak for themselves."
Penn State became just the second program to win five individual titles twice, joining the Iowa teams if 1986 and '97. The Lions also won five titles in 2017, when most of these wrestlers were watching on television.
Penn State had clinched the team title during Saturday's medal round, its 10th in school history and ninth under Sanderson. Greg Kerkvliet (285) essentially sealed the title with a 6-1 consolation-round victory over Michigan's Mason Parris. Kerkvliet, a two-time All-American, gamely wrestled the bout despite an injury that forced him to default from the third-place bout. He finished fourth.
After falling to Michigan at the Big Ten tournament, Penn State dominated the field at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. The Lions crowned six All-Americans and generated bonus points in 12 of their 28 wins before the medal finals.
"It's different winning the team title in your hotel room," Lee said after winning his second title. "But our team really worked for it. We did a lot between last year and this year to make sure that was our title this year."
Penn State has been on a dominant run under Sanderson since the 2010-11 season, the head coach's second year at Penn State. The Lions have won nine of the 11 NCAA team titles contested (2020's tournament was canceled) and have produced 75 All-Americans.
Penn State is 32-13 in NCAA finals since 2011 and has claimed 53 titles overall. Here's a look at Saturday's championship finals.
133: Roman Bravo-Young dec. Daton Fix 3-2
Bravo-Young scored the first and only takedown 20 seconds into the bout to win his second consecutive national title against Oklahoma State's Fix. He punctuated the bout with a leaping dodge of a Fix shot, potentially a theatrical end to his college career.
Bravo-Young (22-0) has hinted several times this season at answering the "Will he or won't he return" question and teased it once again after the final.
"For you Penn State fans, three does sound good, too, but you never know," Bravo-Young told ESPN after the final.
Penn State's Roman Bravo-Young celebrates his 3-2 victory over Oklahoma State's Daton Fix in the 133-pound final at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.
Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen
141: Nick Lee dec. Kizhan Clarke 10-3
Clarke, the 15th-seeded wrestler from North Carolina who earned an at-large bid, threw everything he had at Lee early. Clarke scored the first takedown and nearly collected another, with back points, before Lee expertly eluded it. After that, the bout belonged to Penn State's two-time champ.
Lee (22-0) hit four takedowns to deliver Penn State's second title of the night. Lee has won 10 consecutive NCAA tournament bouts dating to the fifth-place match in 2019. He finished his career as Penn State's first five-time All-American.
"It doesn't feel like me winning," Lee said. "It feels like the whole community — our staff, our fans, my family — I just feel like we all won."
174: Carter Starocci dec. Mekhi Lewis 6-5 (OT)
Starocci knows how to win in overtime. He did it last year against Iowa's Michael Kemerer, scoring a sudden-victory takedown, and outlasted Virginia Tech's Mekhi Lewis in a thrilling overtime final.
Starocci got the quick escape in the first overtime, then grabbed the riding-time advantage in the second overtime period, which clinched the victory.
Each wrestler scored a takedown, with Starocci scoring his in the third period to take a 4-3 lead. Lewis then escaped to force overtime.
Starocci-Lewis was the marquee matchup of the night, pairing wrestlers seeking their second titles: Starocci was the defending champ, and Lewis defeated Penn State's Vincenzo Joseph in 2019.
Starocci's second title continued quite a Penn State run at 174. The Lions have made the final at seven consecutive NCAA championships, winning four titles. Starocci will chase No. 3 next year.
"I'm hunting everybody again," he said on ESPN.
184: Aaron Brooks dec. Myles Amine 5-3
Motivated by his loss to Michigan's Myles Amine in the Big Ten final, Brooks wrestled with ferocity at nationals. He scored three major decisions, scored a sudden-victory takedown in the semifinals and punctuated a phenomenal tournament with a 5-3 win over Amine.
Amine was the first wrestler to beat Brooks since the 2019-20 season, and Brooks wrestled as though he wanted revenge. He scored the first takedown, added another in the third period and generated more than 3 minutes of riding time to claim his second NCAA title.
Brooks continued Penn State's recent national dominance at 184. The Lions have won seven NCAA titles at the weight class since 2011, following Quintin Wright, Ed Ruth and Bo Nickal.
197: Max Dean dec. Jacob Warner 3-2
Dean stamped the Lions' evening with a third-period takedown that clinched his 3-2 victory over Iowa's Jacob Warner and the team's fifth title of the night.
Dean was wrestling in his first NCAA tournament since 2019, when he reached the finals while at Cornell. He transferred to Penn State this season looking for a new road to the title. He found it in State College.
"I'm just thinking about all the people that stood by me, and Penn State for taking me in," Dean said on ESPN. "They didn't have to do that. I could have quit. It would have been so easy. ... I'm the luckiest guy in the world."
How Penn State clinched the national championship before the finals began
Penn State goes 5-1 in NCAA wrestling semifinals, crowns six All-Americans
Michigan stuns Penn State at Big Ten championships
Lions complete another undefeated regular season under Cael Sanderson
AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.