Penn State wrestling: Nittany Lions claim 10th title in program history
It has become a common theme — Penn State winning NCAA wrestling titles.
It has also has been common for the Nittany Lions to clinch those titles before the finals, which start at 7 p.m.
On Saturday, it was no different, as Penn State earned the program’s 10th overall title.
Since they have five finalists, along with some losses from Michigan’s wrestlers in the consolation matches, it sealed the deal. It also didn’t hurt that Penn State’s Greg Kerkvliet beat the Wolverines’ Mason Parris.
Penn State has won nine of the last 11 contested NCAA Championships — 2020’s championships were canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Here’s a look at how Kerkvliet finished and the matchups for the finalists:
Greg Kerkvliet, 285 Pounds
Record for tournament: 4-2
Finish: 4th
Recap: Kerkvliet got his day started in the consolation semifinals after suffering a loss to Minnesota’s Gable Steveson in the semifinals on Friday night.
He took on Michigan’s Mason Parris with a shot of putting even more of a strangle hold on the team race for the Nittany Lions.
Kerkvliet had no problems with Parris, much like in the teams’ dual in January. The sophomore picked up a takedown midway through the first period, but Parris escaped to make it 2-1 after one period.
Kerkvliet started from the bottom position in the second period, and escaped six seconds in. He tacked on a takedown with 35 seconds remaining to lead 5-1. In the third period, Kerkvliet rode Parris out for the entire period to secure a 6-1 victory.
Kerkvliet, who finished seventh last year, took on Lehigh’s Jordan Wood for third. However, Kerkvliet never made the call, and Wood won by forfeit.
Roman Bravo-Young, 133 Pounds
Record for tournament: 4-0
Current round: Finals
Finals opponent: No. 2 seed, Oklahoma State’s Daton Fix
Nick Lee, 141 Pounds
Record for tournament: 4-0
Current round: Finals
Finals opponent: No. 15 seed, North Carolina’s Kizhan Clarke
Carter Starocci, 174 Pounds
Record for tournament: 4-0
Current round: Finals
Finals opponent: No. 2 seed, Virginia Tech’s Mekhi Lewis
Aaron Brooks, 184 Pounds
Record for tournament: 4-0
Current round: Finals
Finals opponent: No. 1 seed, Michigan’s Myles Amine
Max Dean, 197 Pounds
Record for tournament: 4-0
Current round: Finals
Finals opponent: No. 6 seed, Iowa’s Jacob Warner
NCAA Championships
Saturday at Detroit
Team key: Air Force (AF), Appalachian State (AS), Arizona State (ASU), Army West Point (A), Binghamton (BH), Bloomsburg (BB), Bucknell (BN), Buffalo (B), Cal Poly (CP), Campbell (CB), Central Michigan (CM), Chattanooga (CT), Clarion (C), Cleveland State (CS), Columbia (CU), Cornell (CN), Cal State Bakersfield (CSB), Drexel (DX), Duke (D), Edinboro (E), Franklin & Marshall (FM), Gardner-Webb (GW), George Mason (GM), Harvard (HV), Hofstra (H), Illinois (ILL), Indiana (IND), Iowa (I), Iowa State (ISU), Kent State (K), Lehigh (L), Lock Haven (LH), Maryland (MD), Michigan (MICH), Michigan State (MSU), Minnesota (MINN), Missouri (M), Navy (N), Nebraska (NEB), North Carolina (NC), North Carolina State (NCSU), North Dakota State (NDSU), Northern Colorado (NCU), Northern Illinois (NI), Northern Iowa (NIU), Ohio (O), Ohio State (OSU), Oklahoma (OK), Oklahoma State (OKSU), Oregon State (OS), Penn State (PSU), Pennsylvania (PENN), Pittsburgh (PITT), Princeton (PT), Purdue (P), Rider (RD), Rutgers (R), Sacred Heart (SH), SIU Edwardsville (SIE), South Dakota State (SDSU), Stanford (S), The Citadel (TC), Utah Valley (UV), Virginia (V), Virginia Tech (VT), West Virgina (WV), Wisconsin (W), Wyoming (WY)
Team scores: 1. Penn State 111.5, 2. Michigan 91, 3. Iowa 74, 4. Arizona State 66.5, 5. Nebraska 59.5, 6. Northwestern 53.5, 7. Virginia Tech 52.5, 8. Cornell 50.5, 9. North Carolina State 49, 10. Missouri 45.5
Consolation Finals
285: Jordan Wood, L, med. forfeit, Greg Kerkvliet, PSU
Consolation Semifinals
285: Kerkvliet, PSU, dec. Mason Parris, MICH, 6-1
This story was originally published March 19, 2022 1:27 PM.
Nate Cobler is a part-time reporter covering all things wrestling, either Penn State or Centre County’s high schools, for the Centre Daily Times. He’ll also cover other sports too. When he isn’t writing about sports, he is helping people become homeowners as a Loan Originator with a local mortgage broker.
