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Penn State Wrestling: Preview of the 2023 U.S. Open Wrestling Championships

By Mike Scott

Penn State wrestlers pose for a photo with their national championship trophy in the finals during the sixth session of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, Saturday, March 18, 2023, at BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.230318 Ncaa Final Wr 157 Jpg
Penn State wrestlers pose for a photo with their national championship trophy in the finals during the sixth session of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, Saturday, March 18, 2023, at BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.230318 Ncaa Final Wr 157 Jpg /
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Penn State’s Aaron Brooks reacts after scoring a fall at 184 pounds during the second session of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, Thursday, March 16, 2023, at BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.230316 Ncaa S2 Wr 047 Jpg
Penn State’s Aaron Brooks reacts after scoring a fall at 184 pounds during the second session of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, Thursday, March 16, 2023, at BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.230316 Ncaa S2 Wr 047 Jpg /

The last weight class featuring athletes from the Penn State Wrestling room is 86 kg. This weight class gives us a pair of national champion Nittany Lions with Aaron Brooks and Mark Hall.

Aaron Brooks is a reigning 3-time NCAA Champion and looking to catapult that collegiate success to the next level. Brooks did not compete in freestyle last year, so it is a little unclear what to expect of him at this competition. Though as any Penn State Wrestling fan will tell you, Aaron Brooks is one of the best to represent our storied program and shouldn’t be counted out against anyone.

Mark Hall wrestled for the Nittany Lions from 2017-2020, including a national championship in 2017. Since then, Hall has had some success at the freestyle level and is currently the third-ranked American in this weight class. I am hoping to see a Brooks versus Hall match.

The winner of this weight class would go on to face another Nittany Lion, Olympic gold medalist David Taylor, at Final X.

And if the previously mentioned wrestlers weren’t enough for you, you could also check out the Under-20 tournament which features three current Penn State Wrestlers.

Connor Pierce will be competing at 70 kg and is a current freshman at Penn State. He was redshirted during the season and put up an 8-2 record. While freestyle and collegiate don’t always translate, the US Open could give us a hint of what to expect in the future from the young Nittany Lion.

Jack Kelly will be competing at 86 kg and just finished his second year at Penn State as a redshirt freshman. At Penn State, Kelly is behind Starocci at 174lbs so we haven’t seen too much from him yet. He has a 14-13 record in 2 seasons so far.

The newest member of the Penn State Wrestling Room, Mitchell Mesenbrink, will be competing at 74 kg. Mesenbrink just transferred to the Nittany Lions on Friday and already has a list of freestyle accolades under his belt.

Good luck to all Penn Staters, past and present, this week in Vegas!

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