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Making The Case: Can Penn State Wrestling do what no other team has ever done?

By Chris Snyder

Penn State's Aaron Brooks celebrates after defeating Michigan's Myles Amine for the 184-pound title at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on Saturday, March 19, 2022, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.Syndication The Des Moines Register
Penn State's Aaron Brooks celebrates after defeating Michigan's Myles Amine for the 184-pound title at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on Saturday, March 19, 2022, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.Syndication The Des Moines Register /
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Mar 19, 2022; Detroit, MI, USA; Penn State wrestler Carter Starocci celebrates after defeating Virginia Tech wrestler Mekhi Lewis (not pictured) in the 174 pound weight class final match during the NCAA Wrestling Championships at Little Cesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 19, 2022; Detroit, MI, USA; Penn State wrestler Carter Starocci celebrates after defeating Virginia Tech wrestler Mekhi Lewis (not pictured) in the 174 pound weight class final match during the NCAA Wrestling Championships at Little Cesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /

Making the case for why Penn State Wrestling may pull off a historic feat in the 2022-2023 wrestling season

In our first installment of the “Making The Case” series, I dove into why Levi Haines will be the guy at 157 for the Penn State Wrestling Nittany Lions in the upcoming season. I’d like to think I made a compelling argument, but then again, I’ve also argued ice cream should be a food group.

And if claiming a true freshman is going to crack the starting lineup of a Cael Sanderson led wrestling is a bold statement, then this article is cranking the volume up to 11. Because I’m going to make the argument that this year’s Penn State Wrestling team is going to do what no other team has ever done in the history of NCAA wrestling.

Here goes nothing …

Making The Case: Penn State Wrestling will crown six individual NCAA Champions in the 2022-2023 season

1. Roman Bravo-Young, Carter Starocci, Aaron Brooks, and Max Dean

I do realize that just slapping four names in consecutive order hardly constitutes a true “reason”, but if you know anything about wrestling and if you know anything about these four talented athletes then you should completely understand what I mean.

Roman Bravo-Young – 2x defending NCAA Champion
Carter Starocci – 2x defending NCAA Champion
Aaron Brooks – 2x defending NCAA Champion
Max Dean – 1x defending NCAA Champion (runner-up in 2019)

These numbers speak for themselves.

Not to mention the fact that each of these guys have another full off season under their belt training with the best coaching staff in the country and the best wrestling room in the country. The old adage of “iron sharpens iron” comes to mind and that’s the exact drive that fuels each of them to push harder and to get better each and every day.

Now, am I intimating the rest of the NCAA grapplers at 133, 174, 184, and 197 are going to simply lay down and give the defending champions their crown again this coming season? No, not at all.

Let me make this perfectly clear: Winning an NCAA title in wrestling is an incredibly difficult and grueling task and one in which I can’t fully appreciate because I’ve never been even close to that level in any of my limited athletic accomplishments.

But at the end of the day, if I had to lay down the chips and go all-in, how can you bet against Cael Sanderson, Roman Bravo-Young, Carter Starocci, Aaron Brooks, and Max Dean?

That’s what I thought.

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