Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1492675
6 6 M A R C H 2 0 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Penn State heads to the Big Ten Wrestling Tournament March 4-5 at Michigan's Crisler Center fresh off its latest conference regular- season title. Now, head coach Cael Sanderson's team aims to collect another trophy at the tournament. A year ago, the Nittany Lions finished second to Michigan. This year, Penn State is primed to take back the top spot. While seeding information will not be re- leased until early March, at least four Penn State wrestlers figure to hold the No. 1 spots. Here's a sneak preview of how each weight class looks for the Lions: 125 pounds: Redshirt freshman Gary Steen has had a tough go of it this season, but he will still qualify for Big Tens and projects as the 12th seed in the 14-man bracket. It is Iowa senior Spencer Lee's weight class to lose. The NCAA has not released tournament allot- ments yet. In 2022, the Big Ten sent its top 10 wrestlers to nationals in this weight class, and it could do so again this year. So, if Steen finishes in the top 10 at the league tourney, he might just earn a chance help PSU in Tulsa, Okla., site of this year's national tournament. 133 pounds: Super senior Roman Bravo-Young will be the top seed as he seeks his third con- secutive conference crown. His top challenger is likely to be Ohio State freshman Jesse Mendez, who fell to Bravo-Young 8-2 during a Feb. 3 dual meet in Columbus. Regardless of who he faces, Bravo-Young will be expected to take first again. 141 pounds: Junior Beau Bartlett projects as either the No. 2 or 3 seed behind bracket favor- ite Real Woods of Iowa. (Nebraska sophomore Brock Hardy is the other member of the Big Ten's top three at 141.) Woods beat Bartlett 4-1 in January and earned a 6-4 decision over Hardy earlier this year. Expect the Hawkeye to win, while Bartlett finishes either second or third and easily advances to nationals. 149 pounds: Redshirt freshman Shayne Van Ness will appear in his first Big Ten Tournament as the likely five seed. To take the top spot, he will have to avenge regular-season losses to Iowa senior Max Murin and Ohio State senior Sammy Sasso, while also dealing with the pos- sibility of facing expected top seed Austin Go- mez of Wisconsin or probable three seed Yahya Thomas of Northwestern. There is a clear and obvious path for Van Ness to advance, but up- sets will be required to finish in the top three. 157 pounds: Freshman Levi Haines enters his first conference tournament on a tear. At Big Tens, he figures to be the No. 3 seed behind Nebraska junior Peyton Robb, who was an All- American last year, and Purdue senior Kendall Coleman. Haines will be expected to reach the NCAA tourney, and he could even be a dark horse pick to win his first conference crown. 165 pounds: Despite upsetting Michigan's Cameron Amine during the regular season, Penn State redshirt freshman Alex Facundo still figures to be seeded behind the 2022 Big Ten runner-up in the conference tournament. In fact, he's likely to slot in at No. 4 behind Wis- consin's Dean Hamiti, who beat Facundo earlier this year, and Iowa's Patrick Kennedy, who was unavailable when the Hawkeyes visited the Lions. A top-four finish is expected, and that would punch his ticket to NCAAs for the first time. 174 pounds: Top-seeded junior Carter Starocci will be looking for his second consecu- tive Big Ten title. Nebraska's Michael Labriola will be his top challenger as the two seed. Starocci already dispatched the likely three seed, Ohio State senior Ethan Smith, 11-5 in dual meet action earlier this year. Expect Starocci to roll to another first-place finish. 184 pounds: Senior Aaron Brooks will head to Ann Arbor as the top seed. He'll likely see expected two seed Kaleb Romero of Ohio State, whom he beat 3-2 in the regular season, in the final. After falling to Michigan's Myles Amine in overtime in the Big Ten 184-pound title match a year ago, Brooks is expected to capture his second conference crown. 197 pounds: Senior Max Dean will be the No. 1 seed in search of his second consecutive conference title. Illinois junior Zach Braunagel, whom Dean hasn't faced in college, and Iowa senior Jacob Warner, who fell to the Nittany Lion in last year's NCAA final and lost 2-0 during this year's dual meet, will be the biggest threats as the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds, respectively. Dean has all the tools to win again, but he must be active in every match. 285 pounds: Projecting as the No. 2 seed, Penn State junior Greg Kerkvliet seeks his first conference crown. He will likely face three seed Tony Cassioppi of Iowa in the semifinals, while four seed Lucas Davidson of Northwestern takes on Mason Parris, a senior from Michigan, in the other semifinal. Those seeds match each wres- tler's national ranking by FloWrestling. Expect Kerkvliet to have a rematch with Parris, who bested him earlier this season. We'll go out on a limb and predict that Kerkvliet will finally earn Big Ten gold. Penn State Seeks Return To Top Of The Big Ten Podium G R E G P I C K E L | G R E G. P I C K E L @ O N 3 . C O M Senior Max Dean will be looking for his second consecutive 197-pound title when Penn State heads to Michigan for the Big Ten Tournament. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE