Penn State's Aaron Brooks Rolls to Another Major Wrestling Title
Aaron Brooks, Penn State's three-time NCAA wrestling champion, continued his dominant 2023 by winning the 86 kg title at the U.S. Open. Brooks delivered one of the top performances last weekend in Las Vegas, going 5-0 and rallying from a huge deficit to claim his first Senior National title. He also set up a match against David Taylor, Penn State's first Olympic gold medalist.
Brooks was among three current or former Lions who won U.S. Open titles and qualified for Final X in June. Former Penn State national champs Nick Lee (65 kg) and Jason Nolf (74 kg) went 5-0 to win their weight classes at the U.S. Open. Final X will determine the U.S. team that will compete in the 2023 World Championships in Serbia.
Brooks, who has won three 184-pound NCAA titles, dominated his first four bouts at the U.S. Open, including a 6-1 semifinal win over former Lion Mark Hall. After falling behind Zahid Valencia 6-0 in the final, Brooks scored 10 unanswered points for the stunning victory. Brooks gets a challenge at Final X, where he will face Taylor, the 2020 Olympic champ and 2022 world champ.
Carter Starocci, who joined Brooks as a three-time NCAA champ, reached the semifinals at 79 kg, falling to fellow three-time champ Alex Dieringer of Oklahoma State. Starocci forfeited out of the consolation round to place sixth. Teammate Beau Bartlett reached the 65 kg finals, where he lost to Lee, his former teammate.
Penn State will host the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials at the Bryce Jordan Center.
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