Penn State Wrestling National Champions
Penn State captures four national titles in 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships
Penn State didn't come away with their ninth team championship in 10 tournaments, but they made an impact on the final night of the tournament. Leading things off was Roman Bravo-Young at 133 pounds in the first national final of the night.
With an epic national title victory over Daton Fix of Oklahoma State, the Nittany Lions could claim another champion. Nick Lee followed it up with an overtime victory of his own to claim a title as well.
With two epic championships in the books, the Nittany Lions followed it up with two more titles from Carter Starocci and Aaron Brooks, completing their epic sweep on Saturday night.
Michael Beard and Greg Kerkvliet also added All-American honors on Saturday with their placement matches.
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Here's how each Penn State All-American wrestler fared during the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Tournament in all of their matches.
1st round vs. No. 31 Sean Carter (Appalachian State): W - 20-5 (tech fall)
Bravo-Young quickly opened things up with a takedown to take a 2-0 lead. After an escape, Bravo-Young would land another takedown followed by the same sequence to take a 6-2 lead after the first. Starting on bottom, Bravo-Young would earn a quick escape to start the second period and take a 7-2 lead. Carter couldn't prevent another takedown attempt and trailed the Nittany Lion 9-2 in the second. Bravo-Young would earn four nearfall points with a turn and took a 13-2 lead. An escape for Carter to start the third cut the lead 13-3. A takedown, escape and another takedown flurry gave "RBY" a 17-4 lead. With the riding time point added in the end, Bravo-Young cruised.
2nd round vs. No. 18 Kyle Burwick (Wisconsin): W - 11-3 (major decision)
Bravo-Young landed the first takedown but Burwick would notch a quick escape, making it 2-1 in favor of the Nittany Lion. He would get one more takedown, making it 4-1 heading to the second. Bravo-Young started the next frame on bottom. It took over 30 seconds, but Bravo-Young reversed Burwick and took a 6-1 lead. Burwick would escape with under a minute to go in the period and cut it to 6-2. Bravo-Young earned another takedown heading into the third to make it 8-2. An escape for Burwick cut the lead 8-3. One more takedown for Bravo-Young put the icing on the cake and he punched his ticket to the quarterfinals.
DAY TWO
Quarterfinals vs. No. 10 Louie Hayes (Virginia): W - 4-1 (decision)
Bravo-Young earned the first takedown in the first period to take a 2-0 lead. The score remained the same after three minutes. Starting on bottom in the second, Bravo-Young earned the escape for a 3-0 lead. Hayes was very defensive, limiting Bravo-Young's attacks in the second. They went neutral to start the third period but Hayes was unable to get his scoring going, but he drew a second stall call to earn a point but it wasn't enough. Bravo-Young clinched All-American status and punched his ticket to Friday night's semifinals.
Semifinals vs. No. 3 Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech): W - 5-3 (decision)
Bravo-Young scored the first takedown just 45 seconds in to take a 2-0 lead. Myers would get an escape to cut the lead in half. Bravo-Young started the second period on top. Myers earned an escape to tie the match 2-2 with riding time not a factor. Bravo-Young fended off a deep shot and the two were tied going to the third where they started in neutral. On a beautiful reattack, Bravo-Young earned another takedown for a 4-2 lead with less than a minute to go in the match. Myers got a late escape but it wasn't enough as Bravo-Young punched his ticket to the national finals.
DAY THREE
Finals vs. No. 1 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State): W - 4-2 (decision in sudden victory)
In the first period, the match remained scoreless after both wrestlers showed tremendous defense. In the second period, Bravo-Young managed to ride out Fix the entire time for two minutes of riding time. In the third, Bravo-Young escaped for a 1-0 lead but managed to be hit with three stalling calls, giving Fix two points. The riding time point tied it up for Bravo-Young 2-2, making it go to sudden victory. With less than 20 seconds to go, Bravo-Young hit a low leg single and switched to a low double to finish the takedown and win his first national title.
1st round vs. No. 31 Julian Flores (Drexel): W - 18-0 (tech fall)
Lee opened things up with a takedown in the first 30 seconds to take a 2-0 lead. Lee earned two separate turns of Flores for nearfall points, putting him up 10-0 in a hurry. After a reset, Lee remained on top and got his third turn of the first period for four nearfall points and took a 14-0 lead. Wrestling near the boundary, Lee managed to get one more turn for four nearfall points and ended the match in a hurry.
2nd round vs. Clay Carlson (South Dakota State): W - 14-3 (major decision)
Lee earned the first takedown of the bout and rode for 22 seconds until Carlson escaped, making it 2-1. Lee would quickly follow up with another takedown to make it 4-1. He followed it up with a two point nearfall and then a Carlson escape, making it 6-2. Lee would start the second period on bottom. Lee quickly built a 10-2 lead with less than a minute to go in the second. Forcing stalling warnings, Lee earned another point. Carlson started the third on bottom. An escape for him cut the lead 11-3. Lee earned another takedown to push lead to double digits.
DAY TWO
Quarterfinals vs. No. 10 Zach Sherman (North Carolina): W - 11-3 (major decision)
Lee went wild in the first period. He opened up with a takedown, followed by an escape from Sherman, making it 2-1. Lee earned another takedown followed by two nearfall points, making it 6-1 heading to the second. Lee started on bottom to start the period and earned a reversal, making it 8-1. Herman earned an escape, making it 8-2. Another takedown for Lee made it 10-2 in the third. His win punched a ticket to the semifinals, making him a four-time All-American.
Semifinals vs. No. 3 Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers): W - 9-3 (decision)
Rivera scored the first takedown late after a lot of back and forth. He was hit with a stall call due to hanging onto the legs for five seconds. Lee trailed 2-0 after the first and started the second on bottom. He was out immediately to cut it 2-1. Lee drew another stall call to tie the match 2-2. With less than a minute to go in the period, Lee landed a takedown to take a 4-2 lead. Rivera started the third on bottom. He got out for one to cut it to 4-3. Late in the match after a flurry, Lee managed to reattack and get the takedown and two nearfall points to clinch the match. Lee punched his ticket to the finals.
DAY THREE
Finals vs. No. 1 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa): W - 4-2 (decision in sudden victory)
Both wrestles exchanged wild takedown attempts with near scoring but it was tied 0-0 after the first three minutes. In the second period, Eierman led off with an escape for a 1-0 lead. Lee tried more attacks but could not score as the match was 1-0 heading to the third period. Lee and Eierman started neutral in the third and Lee managed to finally hit his first takedown for a 2-1 lead. Eierman got out for one and tied the match 2-2. Neither gave an inch and the two went to sudden victory. Eierman shot first and with re-attacks, Lee managed to land a takedown and got the 4-2 decision to win his first national title.
1st round vs. No. 30 Victor Marcelli (Virginia): W - 10-2 (major decision)
Starocci was attempting to push the pace but no points were scored through the first two minutes. With under a minute left in the period, he finally landed his first takedown to take a 2-0 lead. Marcelli started the second period on top. Starocci would earn an escape to go up 3-0 in the second. He would get one more takedown for a 5-0 lead before Marcelli earned an escape in the third period to cut the lead 5-1. Another takedown in the third gave Starocci a 7-1 lead before Marcelli escaped again. Marcelli gave up another takedown and Starocci took a 9-2 lead.
2nd round vs. No. 14 Hayden Hastings (Wyoming): W - 8-2
Starocci landed the first takedown within the first minute to take a 2-0 lead. An escape and another takedown for Starocci leather gave him the 4-1 lead. In the second period, Hastings earned an escape after starting on bottom to cut the lead 4-2. Starting on bottom in the third, Starocci earned an escape for a 5-2 lead. A late takedown pushed his lead to 7-2.
DAY TWO
Quarterfinals vs. No. 6 Andrew McNally (Kent State): W - 6-3 (decision)
Neither wrestler gave an inch through most of the first period but Starocci finally landed the first takedown with less than a minute to go in the first. He started the second period on bottom. Less than 30 seconds in, Starocci got away from McNally for an escape and a 3-0 lead. McNally got in on a deep shot but some nice scrambling from Starocci prevented the takedown. Starocci added another takedown just before the period expired and had a 5-0 lead going into the third. McNally started the third on bottom. Starocci's ride was tough, building his riding time over two minutes in the final period. McNally finally earned an escape and then a takedown but too late. With the win, Starocci advanced to the semifinals and clinched All-American status.
Semifinals vs. No. 2 Demetrius Romero (Utah Valley): W - 2-0
It was scoreless through the first period as both wrestlers went back and forth with shot attempts and tie ups. Starocci started on bottom to begin the second period and got the escape for a 1-0 lead. Neither wrestler scored any more points after. In the third, Romero went bottom but Starocci built up his riding time. Starocci's ride was dominant as he clinched riding time and punched his ticket to the finals on Saturday night.
DAY THREE
Finals vs. No. 1 Michael Kemerer (Iowa): W - 3-1 (decision in sudden victory)
The first period was scoreless and then Starocci chose to start the second period on bottom. Early in the second period, Starocci earned the escape and took a 1-0 lead. Right near the end of the second period, it appeared Starocci got a takedown right on the boundary but the referees ruled the two wrestlers out of bounds. In the third period, Kemerer earned an escape and tied the match 1-1. The two would not score for the rest of the period and go to sudden victory. In sudden victory, Starocci went in on a re-attack and scored a takedown for the 3-1 victory and his first national championship.
1st round vs. No. 32 Jhaquan Anderson (Gardner Webb): W - 17-1 (tech fall)
Brooks opened it up with a takedown followed by an escape from Anderson to make the score 2-1. Brooks would land another takedown for the 4-1 lead. Nearfall points gave Brooks an 8-1 lead off a turn as he controlled the first period. A reversal to open things up in the second period gave Brooks a 10-1 lead. Brooks would ride tough on top, forcing stall calls that led to another point. Brooks went on to get the tech fall with a takedown and nearfall points in the third.
2nd round vs. No. 17 Owen Webster (Minnesota): W - 5-0
Webster made him work, but Brooks landed a takedown with less than a minute to go in the first and took a 2-0 lead. He finished the period with a ride. Starting on bottom in the second, Brooks quickly earned the escape for a 3-0 lead. Brooks drew a second stall warning from Webster and earned another point. Webster started the third period on bottom, trailing 4-0. Brooks' tremendous ride built up his riding time and gave him the shutout victory to advance to the quarterfinals.
DAY TWO
Quarterfinals vs. No. 8 Taylor Venz (Nebraska): W - 9-4 (decision)
Brooks opened up with a takedown quickly to take a 2-0 lead over Venz, whom he met in the Big Ten Finals. Venz would get an escape to cut the lead in half and chose bottom to start the second. He opened the period with a reversal and took a 3-2 lead over Brooks. An escape for Brooks followed by a takedown gave him a 5-3 lead. Brooks escaped to start the third and earned another takedown for the 8-3 lead. Venz would get one more escape. Brooks earned his spit in the semifinals and became an All-American.
Semifinals vs. No. 4 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa): W - 6-4 (decision)
Brooks had the first takedown to take a 2-0 lead. Keckeisen would eventually escape and cut the lead 2-1. At the start of the second period, Brooks started on bottom and worked an escape for a 3-1 lead. With another takedown, he took a 5-1 lead. After an escape, it was 5-2. In the third period, Keckeisen worked a reversal but it wasn't enough as Brooks added a riding time point and punched his ticket to the finals.
DAY THREE
Finals vs. No. 2 Trent Hidlay (NC State): W - 3-2 (decision)
The two were scoreless in the first period, keeping it 0-0 going to the second period. In the second, Brooks nailed the reversal and almost had nearfall points. He led 2-0. Hidaly earned the escape to cut it 2-1. Hidaly would start the third period on bottom and got the escape. Drawing more stall calls, Brooks earned a point to go up 3-2. Late in the third period, leading 3-2, Brooks fended off a takedown attempt from Hidlay even as the latter pulled him back in alongside the boundary. NC State challenged the call as it looked like Brooks had his hand to the mat, which would result in a takedown for Hidlay. The call was confirmed as no takedown. Brooks would avoid a takedown and hang on for his first national title, making Penn State go four for four in their finalists.
1st round vs. No. 18 Jacob Koser (Navy): W - 14-4 (major decision)
Beard worked quick and earned the takedown to take a 2-0 lead early in the first. With a turn and nearfall points, Beard built his lead to 6-0 as the first period came to a close. In the second, with Beard starting down, he earned the reversal to take an 8-0 lead. Koser eventually worked his way to an escape to cut the lead 8-1. A takedown for Beard made it 10-1. Starting neutral in the third, Beard earned another take down while Koser got out for one, making it 12-2. Koser added to his total with a takedown, making it 12-4. Beard earned another escape.
2nd round vs. No. 31 Owen Pentz (North Dakota State): W - 17-8 (major decision)
Beard earned the first takedown to take the lead 2-0 before giving up an escape. That same would happen again as Beard led 4-2. The first period continued with flurries as Beard built an 8-4 lead. Pentz earned an escape in the second period starting on bottom to cut the lead 8-5. Another Beard takedown followed by an escape made it 10-6. Beard earned another takedown before the end of the period, making it 12-6. They started in neutral to begin the third period. Another takedown and escape exchange made it 14-7. Must be a takedown party because it happened again, making it 16-8. Bear advanced to the quarterfinals with the win.
DAY TWO
Quarterfinals vs. No. 26 Jake Woodley (Oklahoma): L - 8-3 (decision)
Beard gave up the first takedown but eventually managed to escape and cut the lead 2-1. An escape for Beard in the second tied the match but Woodley landed another takedown to take a 4-2 lead. Woodley started the third period on bottom and earned the escape for a 5-2 lead. Another takedown and escape combo put Woodley up 7-3 late in the match. Beard fell to the wrestleback rounds with the loss.
Blood round vs. No. 13 Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State): W - 9-1 (major decision)
Beard worked his way for the first takedown of the match for a 2-0 lead. He worked a turn as well to get four nearfall points and 6-0 lead heading into the second period. No score change in the second as Beard maintained his lead and accumulated over four minutes of riding time heading to the third. An escape for Sloan gave him a point, but Beard landed another takedown and had over five minutes of riding time. Beard clinched All-American status.
Consolation quarterfinals vs. No. 7 Rocky Elam (Missouri): L - 5-0 (decision)
Beard failed to find his offense in the first period as they finished scoreless. Elam got the escape and then a takedown in the second period to take a 3-0 lead. Elam pushed it to a 5-0 lead with nearfall points. He kept the lead through the third period and got the win, dropping Beard to the 7th place match.
7th place match vs. No. 8 Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming): W - 10-8 (decision, sudden victory)
Early in the first period, Beard landed a takedown and managed to take Buchanan to his back for nearfall points. He took a 4-0 lead. He eventually drew stalling calls to go up 5-0. Buchanan hit a reversal to cut the lead 5-2. At the start of the second period, Beard gave up an escape and then a takedown as the match was tied 5-5. Late in the second, Beard hit a reversal to go up 7-5 but Buchanan got a quick escape to make it 7-6. Beard escaped to start the third period but Buchanan landed a late takedown to tie it 8-8 and send it to sudden victory. In overtime, Beard attacked and finished off a beautiful takedown for the win and 7th place finish.
1st round vs. No. 24 Johnathan Birchmeier (Navy): W - 18-0 (tech fall)
Kerkvliet kept the Penn State train rolling with a takedown and nearfall points to go up 6-0. While on top late in the first, he added another tilt to take a 10-0 lead. This one was over quick as he added to more four point nearfalls for the tech fall in the first period.
2nd round vs. No. 8 Jordan Wood (Lehigh): W - 12-2 (major decision)
Kerkvliet showcased why he was a hot prospect. His offense was on fire for multiple takedowns against Wood as he built up a 9-2 lead heading into the third period. Wood had no answer and Kerkvliet notched another takedown late for good measure to take an 11-2 lead.
DAY TWO
Quarterfinals vs. No. 1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota): L - 9-4 (decision)
Steveson worked fast in this much anticipated matchup between two former top recruits in their respective years. He had a 2-0 lead fast over Kerkvliet. While Steveson managed a ride through most of the first period, he was unable to easily turn Kerkvliet. The score remained the same heading to the second period. Steveson began the second period on bottom and earned the escape for a 3-0 lead. Kerkvliet was very sound defensively throughout the second period but couldn't turn it into offense. Steveson eventually found his way to another takedown for a 5-0 lead early in the third period after the two started neutral. Kerkvliet got the escape for his first point but Steveson followed with another takedown and a Kerkvliet escape, making it 7-2 in favor of the Minnesota stud. With the loss, Kerkvliet dropped to the wrestleback rounds.
Blood Round vs. No. 29 Austin Harris (Oklahoma State): W - 13-5 (major decision)
Kerkvliet came out like a man possessed in a match for All-American status. He built up a 4-2 lead after the first period with two takedowns. With another takedown and escape, Kerkvliet had a 6-3 lead on Harris in the second period. In the third period, it was more of the same as Kerkvliet worked his explosive offense to go up 12-5 and he earned the riding time point. With the win, Kerkvliet clinched All-American status for the first time in his career.
Consolation quarterfinals vs. No. 4 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State): L - 14-8 (decision)
Kerkvliet opened up with a takedown but gave up an escape, making it 2-1. But, Schutlz would battle back from there, going up 4-2. A reversal tied things up for Kerkvliet 4-4. However, he found himself down 7-4 after one once Schultz earned an escape and another takedown. An escape and takedown gave Schultz a 10-4 lead in the second period and he held onto the lead going to the third. The two exchanged takedowns but SChutlz got the better of Kerkvliet in the third to hang on for a 14-8 victory. Kerkvliet dropped to the 7th place match.
7th place match vs. No. 1 Tate Orndorff (Ohio State): W - 13-1 (major decision)
Kerkvliet earned the early takedown and started accumulated riding time for a 2-0 lead. Orndorff would get an escape to cut the lead in half going to the second period. At the start of the second, Kerkvliet started on bottom and earned a reversal to go up 4-1. Then he earned nearfall points and drew a stall call to go up 7-1. The two wrestlers started in neutral in the third period where Kerkvliet quickly earned another takedown to go up 9-1. More nearfall and an absurd 6:10 of riding time got him the 7th place finish.
Penn State Wrestling National Champions
Source: https://247sports.com/LongFormArticle/Penn-State-NCAA-Wrestling-Tournament-recap-Roman-Bravo-Young-national-champion-Daton-Fix-Aaron-Brooks-Nick-Lee-162755955/
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