Penn State Wrestling: Nittany Lions’ path to Big Ten Championship crown
By Chris Snyder
Previewing the road which lay ahead of each Penn State Wrestling grappler heading into the 2022 Big Ten Wrestling Championships
The 2022 Big Ten Wrestling Championships are mere hours away. So let’s take a look at each Nittany Lion grappler, preview their opening match, and identify a key match in each of their brackets.
Let’s do this.
Can Penn State Wrestling take home another Big Ten Wrestling Championship?
Big Ten Wrestling Championship – Penn State Preview
Drew Hildebrandt
125 lbs.
1. Nick Suriano (MICH)
2. Drew Hildebrandt (PSU)
3. Eric Barnett (WIS)
4. Malik Heinselman (OSU)
5. Devin Schroder (PUR)
6. Drake Ayala (IOWA)
7. Michael DeAugustino (NU)
8. Patrick McKee (MINN)
9. Dylan Shawver (RU)
10. Justin Cardani (ILL)
11. Tristan Lujan (MSU)
12. Jacob Moran (IND)
13. Jeremiah Reno (NEB)
14. Zach Spence (MD)
Opening Match: 1st Round Bye
Drew will be sitting in a recliner and sipping cucumber water during the first round matches as his No. 2 seed gives him a bye.
Key Match: Semifinals – possible matchup against Wisconsin’s Eric Barnett
Obviously, a lot has to happen for this matchup to take fruition. Namely, Barnett winning his first two matches and Hildebrandt winning his opening match. But, these two grapplers have faced each other in the past, a 9-4 decision win by Hildebrandt back in December 2019.
Barnett appears to have turned a corner this year with his success on the mat, so Drew may have his hands full if they do end up locking horns in the semis.
Roman Bravo-Young
133 lbs.
1. Roman Bravo-Young (PSU)
2. Austin DeSanto (IOWA)
3. Lucas Byrd (ILL)
4. RayVon Foley (MSU)
5. Dylan Ragusin (MICH)
6. Brock Hudkins (IND)
7. Chris Cannon (NU)
8. Joe Olivieri (RU)
9. Matt Ramos (PUR)
10. Dominick Serrano (NEB)
11. Kyle Burwick (WIS)
12. Jake Gliva (MINN)
13. King Sandoval (MD)
14. Dylan Koontz (OSU)
Opening Match: 1st Round Bye
As you will see fairly quickly, this will be a recurring theme for the majority of the Nittany Lion grapplers.
Key Match: Finals – a possible matchup against either Austin DeSanto or Lucas Byrd
RBY has won the last four matches against DeSanto, however, Austin gave him all he could handle in their dual meet in Iowa City (3-2 decision by RBY). And even though Bravo-Young has wrestled 82 matches in his college career and Lucas Byrd has wrestled 55, these two have never toed the line against each other in college. Strange, right?
In any case, Byrd is having a spectacular year and if he can get by DeSanto in the semifinals it could be a fantastic, and long overdue, match against Bravo-Young in the finals.