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Penn State Wrestling Receives Five Top-Five Seeds At NCAA Championships

Even with a disappointing finish at the Big Ten Championships, Penn State wrestling still managed to qualify seven wrestlers for the NCAA Championships and holds on to an outside shot at challenging heavily favored Iowa for the team title.

Five of the seven wrestlers who qualified for the Nittany Lions have received top-five seeds, including one No. 1 and two No. 2.

Below are each Nittany Lion’s seed and weight:

133 lbs. — No. 5 Roman Bravo-Young
141 lbs. — No. 2 Nick Lee
149 lbs. — No. 19 Jarod Verkleeren
165 lbs. No. 2 Vincenzo Joseph
174 lbs. No. 1 Mark Hall
184 lbs. No. 3 Aaron Brooks
197 lbs. No. 21 Shakur Rasheed

In years past, Penn State has entered the national tournament with a near-fully loaded team of top seeds and ran away with the team title before the championship round. This year, Cael Sanderson finds himself in a bit of an unfamiliar position as Iowa has the depth and firepower, while Penn State will need to maximize production from the wrestlers it does have qualified. That said, Penn State could potentially have as many as five individual national champions (Screw it. Bet the farm on #VintageShak and let’s say six.), and if so, a team title could end not being too far out of reach if a couple things go its way.

However, whatever happens in the team race, you’ll need to watch from home. The NCAA Championships are still scheduled to occur next week, but no fans will be allowed in US Bank Stadium. The three-day tournament will kick off in Minneapolis on Thursday, March 19.

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About the Author

Anthony Colucci

Anthony Colucci was once Onward State’s managing editor and preferred walk-on honors student who majored in psychology and public relations. Despite being from the make-believe land of Central Jersey, he was never a Rutgers fan. If you ever want to know how good Saquon Barkley's ball security is, ask Anthony what happened when he tried to force a fumble at the Mifflin Streak. If you want to hear the story or are bored and want to share prequel memes, follow @_anthonycolucci on Twitter or email him at [email protected]. All other requests and complaints should be directed to Onward State media contact emeritus Steve Connelly.

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