Takedown Report

Big Ten Championships Results & News

Penn State Wins Big Ten Wrestling Title
Nittany Lions capture second-straight Big Ten crown
FINAL RESULTS
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Penn State won the 2024 Big Ten Wrestling Championships title on Sunday with a team score of 170.5. The Nittany Lions earned their eighth Big Ten Championship crown overall and second consecutive title. Penn State won five individual titles from Braeden Davis (125), Levi Haines (157), Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), Aaron Brooks (197) and Greg Kerkvliet (285).
Michigan finished in second place with 123.5 points, followed by third-place Nebraska with 118 points. Iowa claimed fourth place with 110.5 points and Ohio State rounded out the top five with 89 points.  Penn State’s Aaron Brooks was named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Year and the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Championships, while teammate Mitchell Mesenbrink received the Big Ten Freshman of the Year honor. Cael Sanderson was named Big Ten coach of the Year for the second consecutive year and eighth overall.  Penn State freshman Braeden Davis claimed the Big Ten Championship at 125 pounds, following an 8-1 decision over Minnesota’s Patrick McKee. At 133 pounds, Rutgers’ Dylan Shawver earned his first-ever Championship with a 23-8 tech fall win over Michigan’s Dylan Ragusin. 
At 141 pounds, Jesse Mendez claimed first place with a 4-1 decision over Penn State’s Beau Bartlett. Nebraska’s Ridge Lovett topped Michigan’s Austin Gomez, 5-4, to win the 149-pound title. At 157, Levi Haines earned a 4-1 sudden victory vs. Michigan’s Will Lewan for his second-straight 157-pound title.  Mesenbrink earned the title at 165 in a 13-11 comeback victory over reigning Big Ten Champion Dean Hamiti of Wisconsin. Edmond Ruth of Illinois earned the Big Ten title at 174 pounds.  At 184, Isaiah Salazar of Minnesota earned an 8-1 sudden victory over Penn State’s Bernie Truax, Salazar’s first title of his career. 
Now a four-time Big Ten Champion, Brooks earned a 19-3 tech fall win over Iowa’s Zach Glazier to win the title at 197. The Nittany Lions capped the evening with a win from Greg Kerkvliet at 285 over Ohio State’s Nick Feldman.  The complete list of Big Ten individual awards and All-Big Ten honorees can be found below, while the full results are in the link above. 
BIG TEN WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS INDIVIDUAL AWARDS  
Wrestler of the Year: Aaron Brooks, Penn State
Freshman of the Year: Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State
Coach of the Year: Cael Sanderson, Penn State
Outstanding Wrestler of the Championships: … story at … https://bigten.org/news/2024/3/10/penn-state-wins-big-ten-wrestling-title.aspx
And …

Wrestling Roars to 2024 Big Ten Championship
Nittany Lions claim 8th conference crown under Sanderson, crown five champions
COLLEGE PARK, MD.–  The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (12-0, 8-0 B1G) won the 2024 Big Ten Championship, winning the team’s eighth conference crown since the arrival of head coach Cael Sanderson. Five Nittany Lion wrestlers won individual Big Ten titles as well. Penn State won the team race with a school record 170.5 points, far outdistancing second place Michigan’s 123.5.  
Penn State has qualified nine individuals for the 2024 NCAA Championships in Kansas City on March 21-23 with the tenth in the mix or an at-large bid, announced Tuesday by the NCAA selection committee. All rankings listed are InterMat as of Feb. 27, 2024.
This is Penn State’s eighth conference championship, having also won in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2019 and 2023. Penn State now has 64 Big Ten Champions spread among 35 individuals. Penn State’s five champions ties the school record, also set in 2011. Penn State swept the Big Ten post-season awards as well. Cael Sanderson was named Big Ten Coach of the Year for the eight time. Mitchell Mesenbrink was named … story at … GOpsusports.com/Penn-state-wrestling-roars-to-2024-big-ten-championship
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Penn State wins 2024 Big Ten wrestling championships
Dominant. That’s the only way to describe the Penn State wrestling team’s performance this weekend at the 2024 Big Ten championships. The Nittany Lions put seven of their ten athletes in the conference finals and won five of those bouts. They outscored second place Michigan by over 40 points and likely qualified all ten wrestlers for the NCAA tournament (pending an at-large bid decision for three-time NCAA Carter Starocci who injury defaulted out). This is a program with historic talent, and that talent was on full display in College Park. 
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Davis kicked things for Penn State off with a strong victory in the 125-pound finals match against McKee in which he scored three back points, a takedown, an escape and a riding time point. Levi Haines, Mitchell Mesenbrink, Aaron Brooks and Greg Kerkvliet followed with titles of their own at 157, 165, 197 and 285 pounds. Nittany Lion All-Americans Beau Bartlett and Aaron Nagao picked up a silver and bronze respectively while true freshman Tyler Kasak secured bronze at 149 pounds. 
FINAL RESULTS: Brackets | Team Score 
Rutgers, Ohio State, Nebraska, Illinois and Minnesota … story at … NCAA.com/Penn-state-wins-2024-big-ten-wrestling-championships
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Penn State’s Haines keeps cool under pressure to win second Big Ten title
By Clay Sauertieg For the Gettysburg Times
Biglerville High School product Levi Haines has wrestled in plenty of big matches. From PIAA state finals to Big Ten and NCAA championship finals, Haines has seen it all. So when his 2024 Big Ten wrestling finals match with Michigan’s Will Lewan went to sudden victory overtime on Sunday in Maryland, Haines remained poise en route to a 4-1 victory. “I was just kind of doing my thing,” Haines said of the situation. “Sometimes wrestling matches are closer than we want them to be. But that’s just the way it is sometimes, you’ve got to wrestle your way out of those positions.”
It was the third time Haines and the notoriously stingy Lewan have wrestled in Haines two seasons at Penn State. The first was a 3-1 sudden victory win at the Bryce Jordan Center in 2023. While the second saw Haines take a narrow 2-1 win on a stalling call … story at … Gettysburgtimes.com/sports/article
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Cael Sanderson Discusses Carter Starocci Injury Default Decision
Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson discussed the decision for three-time NCAA champion Carter Starocci to injury default from the Big Ten Championships.
Mar 10, 2024 by David Bray
Penn State three-time NCAA champion Carter Starocci went 0-2 at the 2024 Big Ten Championships after a reported leg injury forced him to injury default from both of his matches. Starocci had apparently hoped to compete at this weekend’s event.
Nittany Lion head coach Cael Sanderson spoke with Nate Cobler of the Centre Daily Times. “He wanted to wrestle the whole tournament and was planning on wrestling the tournament. It is really tough for him. He’s having a hard time about this. He’d wrestle if both of his legs were hurt,” Sanderson said. “He’s just so competitive. He’s pretty upset, but there’s just no reason, when he meets the criteria to get an at-large (bid), to put himself in a position to set himself back.  “He’s not happy, with me, but that’s why he’s Carter Starocci.” Read Cobler’s full Centre Daily Times Article here.
Starocci, along with 197 lbs teammate Aaron Brooks, has the opportunity to become a four-time NCAA champion in two weeks, something only five previous wrestlers haver accomplished. Starocci is also the only wrestler with the opportunity to compete next season for a fifth NCAA title, assuming he wins his fourth in Kansas City. … story at … Flowrestling.org/Cael-sanderson-discusses-carter-starocci-injury-default-decision
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Wolverines Claim Runner-Up Finish at Big Ten Championships Behind Nine Placewinners
By: Leah Howard
» Michigan took second place at the Big Ten Championships with 123.5 points and nine total placewinners, including eight top-four finishers; it was the second-highest Big Ten point total in program history.
» Dylan Ragusin (133 pounds), Austin Gomez (149), Will Lewan (157) and Shane Griffith (174) all dropped their championship matches, including one in overtime and another by one point.
» Nine Wolverines earned automatic qualifying for the NCAA Championships.
Site: College Park, Md. (XFINITY Center)
Event: Big Ten Championships (Day 2 of 2)
U-M Standing: 2nd Place of 14 Teams (123.5 points) … story at … Mgoblue.com/Wolverines-claim-runner-up-finish-at-big-ten-championships-behind-nine-placewinners

March 19, 2024 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized