Penn State Wrestling: Here’s the seeding for each wrestler in the NCAA Championships

Penn State Wrestling is searching for its tenth national championship in the last 12 years. 

Fresh off of its Big Ten title, Penn State Wrestling received the seeding information for its nine wrestlers headed to the NCAA Championships.

The defending champs will send a representative from every weight class expect 125. This group includes four national champions from last year and multiple other high-level wrestlers.

This year’s NCAA championships will take place in Tulsa from Mar. 16-18.

Here’s what the bracket will look like for each Nittany Lion:

133- Roman Bravo-Young (1 Seed)

A two-time national champ, Roman Bravo-Young will look to make it three in a row in Tulsa. The redshirt senior is a perfect 16-0 on the season and just wrapped up an individual Big Ten title last week, earning the No.1 seed at 133. The Penn State wrestling great will face the winner of 32/33 match in his first match.

141- Beau Bartlett (6 Seed)

Junior Beau Bartlett earned himself the No. 6 seed at 141 for his efforts in the Big Ten Tournament. With a record of 22-2 on the season, Bartlett is one of the most battle tested Nittany Lions this season. He will face the No. 27 seed Shannon Hanna of Campbell in the first round.

149- Shayne Van Ness (13 Seed)

Coming off a fourth-place finish in the Big Ten Tournament, redshirt freshman Shayne Van Ness will be the No.13 seed at 149. He is 19-6 on the season and 9-6 against wrestlers in the field. He will face theNo. 20 seed Johnny Lovett of Central Michigan.

157- Levi Haines (2 Seed)

Freshman phenom Levi Haines earned the No. 2 seed at 157 after winning the Big Ten title this past weekend. The breakout star is 21-1 this season and has the makings of the next great one for Penn State Wrestling. He will face the No. 31 seed Ashton Eyler from Lock Haven.

165- Alex Facundo (13 Seed)

Representing the Nittany Lions at 165 will be Alex Facundo at the No. 13 seed. The redshirt freshman is 19-4 on the season, but all four losses came to wrestlers in the field. He will face the No. 20 seed, Holden Heller from Pitt.

177- Carter Starocci (1 Seed)

Star junior Carter Starocci earned the No. 1 seed at 177 after going 19-0 this season with a Big Ten title. He is looking for his third consecutive NCCA title to start his career. The Erie, PA native will face the winner of 32/33 seed matchup.

184- Aaron Brooks (3 Seed)

Despite winning his third consecutive Big Ten championship on Sunday, and going 12-1 this year, Aaon Brooks will be the No. 3 seed at 184. The senior is looking to win his third straight NCAA championship. He will face the No. 30 seed, Matthew Waddell of Chattanooga in round one.

197- Max Dean (9 Seed)

If there’s a massive surprise in the seeding, it’s the fact that the defending champ at 197, senior Max Dean, is the No. 9 seed. Dean did lose his Big Ten title match on Sunday, but still went 20-3 on the year. The round to a second national title will obviously be tougher this go around. He faces Levi Hopkins, the No. 24 seed, from Campbell in the opener.

285- Greg Kerkvliet (3 Seed)

After coming up short in the Big Ten championship match, Greg Kerkvliet will be the No. 3 seed at 285. The junior is 15-2 on the season and is looking to improve on his fourth-place finish last year. He faces the No. 30 seed, Hayden Copass of Purdue in the first round.

Cael Sanderson and Penn State Wrestling have to feel good about their chances of securing another team national championship title. There are a couple unfavorable seedings, but this is a resilient group that went 16-0 this season and ran through the Big Ten tournament.