Victory Bell Rings
Fansided

Penn State Wrestling: Nittany Lions’ path to Big Ten Championship crown

By Chris Snyder

Penn State's Drew Hildebrandt gets ready before wrestling at 125 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 029 Jpg
Penn State's Drew Hildebrandt gets ready before wrestling at 125 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 029 Jpg /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next
Aaron Brooks, Penn State Wrestling
Penn State’s Aaron Brooks is introduced before wrestling 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 054 Jpg /

Carter Starocci

174 lbs.
1. Carter Starocci (PSU)
2. Logan Massa (MICH)
3. Mikey Labriola (NEB)
4. Michael Kemerer (IOWA)
5. Ethan Smith (OSU)
6. Bailee O’Reilly (MINN)
7. Gerrit Nijenhuis (PUR)
8. Troy Fisher (NU)
9. Dominic Solic (MD)
10. DJ Shannon (ILL)
11. Andrew McNally (WIS)
12. Nick South (IND)
13. Connor O’Neill (RUT)
14. Nate Jimenez (MSU)

Opening Match: 1st Round Bye

Carter Starocci will probably hang out with Nick Lee and his tuxedo t-shirt for the first round while drinking a Mai Tai*.

Key Match: Quarterfinals – possible matchup against Michael Kemerer

The reason this could be a potential key match is two-fold.

First off, how will Kemerer’s shoulder and body hold up in having to wrestle back-to-back matches in a short span. Will his lingering injury be an issue?

Secondly, when these two are healthy the difference has been tissue paper thin. If Kemerer gives Starocci an epic battle like last time, and Carter pulls out the win, how will he hold up for the finals match?

* – 100% not the case

Aaron Brooks

184 lbs.
1. Aaron Brooks (PSU)
2. Myles Amine (MICH)
3. Kaleb Romero (OSU)
4. Taylor Venz (NEB)
5. Abe Assad (IOWA)
6. Layne Malczewski (MSU)
7. John Pozanski (RU)
8. Kyle Cochran (MD)
9. DJ Washington (IND)
10. Isaiah Salazar (MINN)
11. Christopher Weiler (WIS)
12. Zach Braunagel (ILL)
13. Max Lyon (PUR)
14. Jack Jessen (NU)

Opening Match: 1st Round Bye

My guess is that during his bye, Brooks has a sparring match against David Taylor just to get the blood flowing. There’s nothing like going head to head against an Olympic gold medalist for a warm up.

Key Match: Finals – Myles Amine

Let’s face it, Aaron Brooks and Myles Amine are the two best at 184 in not only the Big Ten, but also the entire nation. And a Brooks/Amine Part 2 will not disappoint.

Home/Penn State Wrestling