Four Penn State Wrestlers Earn No. 1 Seedings At NCAA Championships
After five Nittany Lions took home individual titles in last week’s Big Ten Championships in College Park, Maryland, the newly released seeds for the NCAA Championships perfectly reflected the blue and white squad’s dominance.
The NCAA released all 33 seeds for the respective 10 weight classes in college wrestling during a selection show on Wednesday night, and a Nittany Lion wrestler was featured in all 10 weight classes.
No. 1 Braeden Davis: 125 Pounds
Braeden Davis, a true freshman, has a 20-2 record so far this season after securing a Big Ten title last week and beating then-No. 5-ranked Eric Barnett of Wisconsin in the finals.
No. 10 Aaron Nagao: 133 Pounds
Aaron Nagao holds a 14-5 record on the season, finishing third at the Big Ten Championships with an emphatic pin in the third-place match over Jacob Van Dee of Nebraska.
No. 2 Beau Bartlett: 141 Pounds
Beau Bartlett, now 20-1, suffered his first loss of the season last week in the Big Ten Championships at the hands of Ohio State Buckeye Jesse Mendez. Bartlett held the No. 1 rank at 141 pounds for the majority of the season.
No. 7 Tyler Kasak: 149 Pounds
The second true freshman in the lineup, Tyler Kasak holds a record of 17-4 on the season, also achieving a third-place finish in the conference tournament after a pin over Ethan Miller of Maryland.
No. 1 Levi Haines: 157 Pounds
The NCAA runner-up at 157 pounds last season, Levi Haines is one of four undefeated wrestlers on the roster and holds a record of 18-0. The sophomore defended his Big Ten title with another first-place victory last weekend.
No. 2 Mitchell Mesenbrink: 165 Pounds
After transferring to Penn State this season, Mitchell Mesenbrink has put on a show. At 22-0 this season, Mesenbrink won his first Big Ten title in his first outing after a massive comeback victory over Dean Hamiti.
No. 9 Carter Starocci: 174 Pounds
Carter Starocci, now 12-2 after two medical forfeits, didn’t wrestle at the Big Ten Championships due to an injury suffered against Edinboro in the Nittany Lions’ last regular-season dual. However, the three-time national champion had no problem receiving an at-large bid for the NCAA Championships.
No. 6 Bernie Truax: 186 Pounds
Bernie Truax was a runner-up at this year’s conference tournament. The graduate transfer is 14-4 on the season.
No. 1 Aaron Brooks: 197 Pounds
Penn State’s third four-time Big Ten champion and Big Ten Wrestler of the Year, Aaron Brooks is 17-0 as he aims to become Penn State’s first four-time national champion.
No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet: Heavyweight
At 15-0, Greg Kerkvliet recently won his first Big Ten title and will search to also win his first national title in two weeks.
This year’s NCAA National Championship will take place in Kansas City, Missouri. The first session of action will begin at noon on Thursday, March 21.
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