Penn State Wrestling: Did we learn anything from the Big Ten Championships?

Revisiting storylines from the prior season and seeing if the results at the 2022 Big Ten Championships answered or confirmed them for Penn State Wrestling

With all of the excitement from the 2022 Big Ten Wrestling Championships in the rearview mirror, we thought now would be a good time to revisit some ongoing storylines from the season to see if the results from this past weekend lead to any answers.

Now, keep in mind, before we dive into these, the storylines I’m highlighting are from various points in the season. So, there may be some headlines where your initial reaction will be “Of course we know the answer! Why are you even asking this?”.

But there’s a reason I’m bringing some of these up again. And I’ll explain as we go along.

What did we learn about Penn State Wrestling and the Big Ten last weekend?

Penn State Storylines – Did the Big Ten Championships answer anything?

Does Penn State have holes in the lineup at 149, 157, and 165?

And this is exactly what I was just referencing.

Of course, most Penn State fans would agree that having auto-qualifiers into the NCAA Championships at both 149 and 157 would not constitute a “hole in the lineup”, even for a program as talented as the Nittany Lions.

But, earlier in the season this was a major concern as Beau Bartlett was 5-2 in his first seven matches, which included a loss to unranked Manzona Bryant.

Couple this with the fact Penn State trotted out a combination of Joey Blumer, Tony Negron, Joe Lee, and Terrell Barraclough at 157. And the Nittany Lions didn’t win their first match at this weight until Negron’s major decision over a Maryland grappler on January 7, 2022.

Creighton Edsell started the year strong up until he ran into the buzz saw of Austin Yant (NIU), Julian Ramirez (Cornell), and Anthony Valencia (ASU) in back-to-back-to-back matches.

It looked like there might be a real possibility the Nittany Lions could be in trouble and no one from these weight classes would go to NCAA’s.

This narrative change dramatically in January when Brady Berge declared he was coming back for one more run in the blue and white. But when he hit the mat it wasn’t at his normal weight of 157, instead, he was going at 165.

Which meant the glaring hole at 157 continued and it meant Edsell wouldn’t be able to build on his resume. And in the meantime, Bartlett continued to wrestle hard, but he hit a tough stretch in the season where he went 2-4 in six consecutive matches against some of the Big Ten’s best at 149.

Then came the rumors that Berge would be dropping back down to 157. Which could potentially be huge as it gave Penn State a competitive wrestler at 157 and it freed up Edsell to occupy 165 once again. But no one really knew for sure how this would play out until all three grapplers took to the mats in Lincoln.

Could Bartlett do enough to qualify? How would Berge fair against the best in the Big Ten at 157? Can Edsell build a resume worthy of an at-large bid or possibly secure an automatic bid to the NCAA’s?

And based on their individual performances in the Big Ten Championships, I feel confident Beau Bartlett, Brady Berge, and Creighton Edsell proved the Nittany Lions were formidable at their weights.

The NCAA selection committee? Not so much.

Does Penn State have holes in the lineup at 149, 157, and 165?
Answer: No