Penn State heading to title
The Penn State wrestling team entered the semifinals of Friday’s NCAA Division I Wrestling Tournament at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., with six entries, including four who boasted an unblemished record.
Coach Cael Sanderson’s squad finished the evening with all six entries advancing to Saturday night’s finals, which clinched the team title for the Nittany Lions.
Carter Starocci and Aaron Brooks headed the list of Penn State’s semifinal winners. Both earned a fourth consecutive trip to the finals and have a chance to become the sixth and seventh wrestlers in NCAA history to win four titles.
Starocci ( 16- 2) was seeded No. 9 at 174 pounds after defaulting twice in the Big Ten Tournament with a knee injury. His road to the finals included two wins against previous NCAA champions.
In the quarterfinals, Starocci faced top seed Mekhi Lewis, a two-time finalist and champ in 2019, and posted a 4-0 victory. In the semifinals, Starocci faced Michigan’s Shane Griffith, a two-time NCAA finalist who won in 2021, and recorded a 2-0 victory.
Starocci’s opponent in the title match is Ohio State’s Rocco Welsh (26-4), a true freshman from Waynesburg, who advanced to the finals as a No. 6 seed with a 4-1 overtime victory against Columbia’s Lennox Wolak.
Brooks (21-0), a No. 1 seed, earned his fourth trip to the finals and first at 197 pounds with a 17-2 technical fall win against Missouri’s Rocky Elam.
Brooks, a three- time champ at 184 who moved up to 197 this year, will face North Carolina State’s Trent Hidlay in the finals for the second consecutive year.
Beau Bartlett, the No. 2 seed at 141 pounds, became Penn-State’s first finalist with a 5-1 semifinal win against North Carolina’s Lachlan McNeil.
Bartlett (23-1), a bronze medalist in 2023, will face Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez (29-2). Bartlett’s only loss was to Mendez in the Big Ten tournament finals.
Levi Haines (22-0), the top seed at 157, followed with an overtime pin of Virginia Tech’s Bryce Andonian, the No. 12 seed. Haines rallied from a 4-1 deficit to tie the bout at 5-5. He caught Andonian with a double-leg takedown and capped the comeback with a pin.
Mitchell Mesenbrink (250), a true freshman seeded No. 2 at 165, advanced to the finals for the Nittany Lions with a 17-9 win against Iowa’s Mike Caliendo..
Greg Kerkvliet (19-0), the top seed at 285, capped Penn State’s impressive semifinal showing with an 8-1 win against Arizona State’s Cohlton Schultz, the No. 4 seed.
With six wrestlers in the finals, Penn State has a chance to break the NCAA record for the most individual titles in a season. The Nittany Lions share the record with Iowa and Oklahoma State.