DETROIT — In a city famous for its highly efficient automobile assembly lines, a similar machine resurfaced Saturday.
Before the night session of the 2022 NCAA wrestling championships commenced, Penn State already had clinched its ninth national title in 11 years under head coach Cael Sanderson. By the end of the Saturday night session, the Nittany Lions had racked up a team score of 131.5 and a program-tying five individual national champions.
The blue and white had crowned five national champions one other time, in 2017. Once again, it was a collective of high-performing individuals leading Sanderson’s squad to glory.
“Winning as a team is a lot more fun,” Sanderson said. “You go in as an individual, but if your team doesn’t do well, it’s just a different experience. We have a great group of kids and they’re competitors. They step up in these big moments and they did this weekend.”
Roman Bravo-Young got the blue and white’s first individual title and his second overall in the 133-pound weight class. Oklahoma State’s Daton Fix pushed Bravo-Young to the brink in a rematch of last year’s final, with the score knotted up at 2-2 entering the final frame.
But Bravo-Young started off the third with a key escape to take a 3-2 lead that would prove to be the final result. As for whether Bravo-Young, a senior, will use his final year of eligibility in his quest for a three-peat, it’ll come down to finances.
“Penn State donors, whatever the rule is, you guys get me some deals with some companies, I’ll come back, no doubt,” Bravo-Young said. “Money talks.”
Shortly after Bravo-Young’s win, the Nittany Lions’ Nick Lee took the mat against upstart Kizhan Clarke of North Carolina, who was the lowest seed of any wrestler in a championship bout at No. 15. The top-seeded wrestler in the 141-pound division prevailed despite Clarke quickly going ahead 2-0.
Lee bounced back and rattled off nine consecutive points to secure his second national championship.
“I wasn’t asleep,” Lee said. “He’s a good wrestler, so he got that takedown, good technique and everything. But I think I just stayed calm and did my thing.”
In the 174-pound championship, No. 1-seeded Carter Starocci of Penn State sparred with second-seeded Virginia Tech’s Mekhi Lewis in perhaps the night’s most entertaining match.
Lewis recorded the first takedown, which was confirmed via video replay. But Starocci clawed back and ultimately came out on top 5-5 via riding time.
“He wasn’t really looking to generate offense, just trying to keep it close. That’s his style,” Starocci said. “That’s something that I’ll improve on, I’ll work on … they won’t get close next time.”
Immediately after in the 184-pound division, the Nittany Lions’ Aaron Brooks sought to exact revenge on Michigan’s Myles Amine. After beating Brooks, 6-4, in overtime in the Big Ten championships, Amine failed to provide a serious threat this time around.
Brooks scored the first takedown of the match and never let Amine escape in the second period. In the final frame, Brooks got a reversal to go ahead, 4-0. Amine scored three points in his comeback bid, but it was Brooks who emerged with his second national title.
“We got in a scramble. I didn’t want to risk him splitting my legs and getting back points,” Brooks said. “Once I saw we were in a funky position, ten seconds left, it felt like freestyle, belly out, let it ride off into the sun.”
To cap off Penn State’s perfect five-for-five night, 197-pounder Max Dean took a 3-2 win against Iowa’s Jacob Warner. A transfer from Cornell who didn’t wrestle because the Ivy League canceled its 2020-21 season, joining on with the Nittany Lions’ winning tradition with his first national title was especially important for Dean.
“I’m just lucky to be here because of their perspective on life, I think that’s why they are so successful,” Dean said. “Going with [Penn State], adding them to my support system, you’d be silly not to.”
Around the area
Though he didn’t wrestle in the championship bracket on Saturday, Pitt’s Cole Matthews finished in fifth in the 141-pound division to secure All-American honors. Matthews’ finish ties him with his former Reynolds High School coach, Tyler Nauman, for the best finish at 141 pounds in Pitt history.
Iowa’s Michael Kemerer, a Franklin Regional High School graduate, bounced back from a quarterfinal loss to N.C. State’s Hayden Hidlay to finish in fourth. West Virginia’s Peyton Hall placed 7th for the 165-pound weight class while Rutgers’ Greg Bulsak, a South Park High graduate, closed out his collegiate career with an 8th-place finish at 197 pounds.
Andrew Destin: adestin@post-gazette.com and Twitter @AndrewDestin1.
First Published: March 20, 2022, 2:47 a.m.
