Penn State Wrestling disappoints in 2022 Big Ten Championships – Session II Results
By Chris Snyder
Semifinal Matches
133
No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young (PSU) vs. No. 5 Dylan Ragusin (MICH)
Result: Roman Bravo-Young dec over Dylan Ragusin 4-0
RBY punches his ticket to the finals of the 2022 Big Ten Wrestling Championships by pitching a shutout in the semifinal match.
Bravo-Young snagged a late takedown in the first period and a full second period ride out to move on.
Was this the normal high scoring RBY match Penn State fans were used to seeing?
No. But RBY didn’t need it and a win is a win in tournament wrestling.
141
No. 1 Nick Lee (PSU) vs. No. 5 Jakob Bergeland (MINN)
Result: Nick Lee tech fall over Jakob Bergeland 17-1
Nick Lee went to WORK in the first period on Bergeland. After securing his second takedown of the period he turned his opponent multiple times to open up a 12-1 lead with two minutes and 30 seconds of riding time going into the second period.
The onslaught continued in the second period and mercifully the match ended early in the third period as Lee turned the reversal and earned the technical fall.
157
No. 3 Will Lewan (MICH) vs. No. 10 Brady Berge (PSU)
Result: Will Lewan dec over Brady Berge 3-1 SV
Following a scoreless first period, the two wrestlers traded escapes in both the second and third period to knot the score at 1-1.
Action late in the third period continued as both grapplers looked to find any openings. However, none were there to be found and the match headed to sudden victory.
And in the opening seconds of sudden victory, a scrambled ensued at the center of the mat as Lewan was able to secure Berge’s ankle. Will spun this into a takedown and the win over Brady to head to the finals.
Berge still has work to do in the consolation bracket with a possible third-place finish up for grabs.
174
No. 1 Carter Starocci (PSU) vs. No. 4 Michael Kemerer (IOWA)
Result: Carter Starocci injury forfeit over Michael Kemerer
Okay, this was a bit of a surprise here but I guess not entirely unforeseen.
As I noted in the Big Ten Championship preview, I was curious how Kemerer’s body would hold up when forced to wrestle three matches in a single day. And now we have the answer.
He’s trying to preserve all of his energy and focus on the NCAA’s as he didn’t even take to the mat against Starocci.
184
No. 1 Aaron Brooks (PSU) vs. No. 4 Taylor Venz (NEB)
Result: Aaron Brooks dec over Taylor Venz 7-2
Aaron Brooks continued putting on a clinic in this year’s Big Ten Championships by cruising past Nebraska’s Taylor Venz.
These two have quite a bit of history against each other. And while Venz handed Brooks his only loss of his Penn State career, it’s been one-sided from there.
Tomorrow night’s final at 184 is going to be must see tv for sure.
197
No. 2 Max Dean (PSU) vs. No. 3 Cameron Caffey (MSU)
Result: Max Dean dec over Cameron Caffey 5-2
Max Dean used a beautiful first period takedown and some vigorous action from the top position to grind out the majority of the period.
Caffey attempted to put up some offense of his own but Dean was simply too much to handle as he successfully avenged his lone loss from prior in the season.
This was a huge match for the Nittany Lions and could have big implications for how the Big Ten Championships shake out.
285
No. 2 Tony Cassioppi (IOWA) vs. No. 3 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU)
Result: Tony Cassioppi dec over Greg Kerkvliet 6-4 SV
These two titans of the sport used the entire first period to feel each other out.
Kerkvliet started the second period in the down position and used a fantastic move to pull the reversal and jump out to a 2-0 lead. Cass later snuck out for the escape to make the score 2-1.
Then following an escape in the third period by Cassioppi to even the score at 2-2, Kerk secured another takedown to take the lead 4-2. But just as everyone thought the match was over, Cassioppi pulled the reversal with only having 59 seconds of riding time secured by Kerk.
The match then went into sudden victory and Kerkvliet got caught. Cassioppi pulled off the takedown early in sudden victory and punched his ticket to the finals.
*sigh*