Penn State Wrestling: 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships – Session V Recap

Recapping action in the penultimate session of the 2023 NCAA Championships for the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestlers in the consolation bracket

Well, here we are. It’s already the final day of the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships. It seems just like yesterday that the action commenced in the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma for Penn State Wrestling.

And yes, I do realize it was actually two days ago, but you get the point. I honestly wish the NCAA Wrestling Championships lasted two weeks instead of three insane days.

Earlier this morning the Penn State Wrestling Team officially locked up the 2023 NCAA Team Title. This marks the program’s 11th team title and 10th in the past 12 NCAA Championships. What Cael Sanderson and the Nittany Lions have accomplished recently is hard to fathom. But I can assure you the Penn State faithful have enjoyed watching every moment!

Iowa was the only team who could have mathematically caught Penn State, but they needed to win every single match by pin to have a chance. And after it was announced Spencer Lee would medically forfeit his next match, the Nittany Lions sealed it.

And before we recap the action in this morning’s session and before we turn the page to tonight’s finale, I would like to talk about something from yesterday. Unless you live under a rock or willfully do not have internet, I’m sure by now you’ve heard or seen what happened to Spencer Lee in his semifinals match against Purdue’s Matt Ramos.

I still can’t believe what I watched.

No matter what you think about Lee, his accomplishments on the mat were simply astonishing and he is without a doubt, one of the best collegiate wrestlers to ever slap on a singlet. Period.

Spencer Lee is an absolute warrior, and just like everyone else who’s reached the mountain top, he’s had to overcome tremendous adversity to get to the level he’s gotten to.

And now that I’ve had some time to reflect on what went down on the mat yesterday, I can say for sure I am definitely not happy with the outcome, but I’m also not sad. Did Spencer Lee deserve to end his collegiate career riding into the sunset with four NCAA titles?

Yeah, he did. But that’s not what happened.

Was it possible Lee was a little too confident this year in his abilities? As evident by the number of times he got caught in matches on his back?

Sure, it’s possible.

Ramos did it to him in the Big Tens. Noto got four swipes in the quarterfinals. And Ramos caught him in yesterday’s match.

But here’s my point. Watching a legend like Spencer Lee go out like that will be something I’ll remember for a long, long time. So was watching Gable Steveson leave his shoes on the mat in last year’s NCAA’s. And witnessing greatness year after year at Penn State with the likes of David Taylor, Zain Retherford, Bo Nickal, and the list goes on.

I find zero joy in Lee’s loss; however, I am incredibly happy for how amazing college wrestling is. What happened yesterday epitomizes exactly what makes wrestling special and for that I will always be grateful.

Okay, sorry about that. Moving on.

Session V Recap – Consolation Bracket

141
No. 6 Beau Bartlett (PSU) vs. No. 11 Clay Carlson (SDSU)

Result: Beau Bartlett major dec. over Clay Carlson 12-3

No. 6 Beau Bartlett (PSU) vs. No. 10 Lachlan McNeil (UNC) – 3rd Place Match

Result: Beau Bartlett dec. over Lachlan McNeil 4-1

149
No. 12 Shayne Van Ness (PSU) vs. No. 4 Caleb Henson (VT)

Result: Shayne Van Ness dec. over Caleb Henson 5-3

No. 12 Shayne Van Ness (PSU) vs. No. 3 Kyle Parco (ASU) – 3rd Place Match

Result: Shayne Van Ness dec. over Kyle Parco 7-2

197
No. 9 Max Dean (PSU) vs. No. 10 Jacob Cardenas (COR) – 7th Place Match

Result: Max Dean dec. over Jacob Cardenas 4-2

It’s probably not exactly the finish Dean would have wanted, but he still finished the season on top!

Well, that’s it for today’s session. Rest up, hydrate, and get ready for tonight’s action which starts at 7:00 p.m. EST and will be broadcast on ESPN and ESPN+.