Victory Bell Rings
Fansided

No. 1 Penn State Wrestling vs. No. 6 Ohio State preview: key matches, predictions

By Chris Snyder

STATE COLLEGE, PA - FEBRUARY 5: A view of the crowd in the arena during a match between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Ohio State Buckeyes on February 5, 2016 at Recreation Hall on the campus of Penn State University in State College, Pennsylvania. Penn State won 24-14. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA - FEBRUARY 5: A view of the crowd in the arena during a match between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Ohio State Buckeyes on February 5, 2016 at Recreation Hall on the campus of Penn State University in State College, Pennsylvania. Penn State won 24-14. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
Penn State Wrestling
Penn State’s Aaron Brooks reacts after scoring a decision at 184 pounds during a NCAA Big Ten Conference wrestling dual against Iowa, Friday, Jan. 28, 2022, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.220127 Penn St Iowa Wr 058 Jpg /

Key Matches vs. Ohio State

165 – No. 11 Brady Berge vs No. 4 Carson Kharchla

I want to preface something first regarding this matchup. I’m not going to say “there’s zero chance of it happening” but I highly doubt Berge will win against Kharchla.

The real reason I have this match listed among the “key matches” is to see how Brady bounces back from his poor showing last Friday against Alex Marinelli. Because he did not have his best that night.

And he will need to be ready to go this Friday as his opponent (Kharchla) has already faced and beat Marinelli in a 3-2 decision back on January 21st. I would love to see Berge come out relaxed, loose, and aggressive against Carson.

If he gets stuck at times, so be it. But at least go down swinging.

174 – No. 1 Carter Starocci vs No. 7 Ethan Smith

This will be the first matchup between Starocci and Smith as Ethan wrestled the last two seasons down at 165. Smith was an All-American last season where he took home a fifth-place finish in the NCAA Championships.

What’s intriguing about this matchup is the fact Starocci just wrestled one of the greatest low-scoring matches I have ever seen when he took down Michael Kemerer 2-1 in overtime last Friday night. Couple this with Smith not skipping a beat in bumping up to 174 this year and it’s the perfect recipe for an electric matchup.

Yes, Smith does have four losses on the year but they are to No. 5 Mikey Labriola, No. 3 Mekhi Lewis, No. 2 Michael Kemerer, and No. 6 Logan Massa. And all of them were close.

I have a feeling this is going to be yet another low-scoring match where a single takedown can be the margin between a win for one grappler and a loss for the other.

184 – No. 1 Aaron Brooks vs No. 6 Kaleb Romero

Basically, everything I said about the Starocci/Smith matchup applies here as well.

Romero bumped up to 184 this season and has looked impressive against some top tier opponents. His sole loss came at the hands of No. 2 Myles Amine in a thrilling 3-1 decision in sudden victory. And if Romero can push Amine to the limits, then you better believe he can do the same to Aaron Brooks.

But Brooks has been about as steady as any wrestler on the Penn State roster this season. Time and time again teams have lined up the best grappler on their squad (which just so happens to be at 184) and time and time again Brooks knocks then down.

Either way, this should be a fun one to watch on Friday!

Side Note: I know what you’re thinking. And no, I did not forget about Beau Bartlett. But this week he’s facing the No. 2 ranked wrestler at 149 (Sammy Sasso) who made the finals last season in the NCAA Championships. This just doesn’t fit into a “key matchup” type of matchup.

Home/Penn State Wrestling