NCAA Wrestling Tournament 2023: Max Dean reacts to capping off Penn State wrestling career

Max Dean finished on top in the final bout of his career with Penn State. A 4-2 win over Cornell’s Jacob Cardenas gave Dean a 7th place finish in 2023 after winning an NCAA wrestling title last season.

Dean was emotional following his final match. It didn’t end the way he wanted to in his final go ‘round, but the Nittany Lion reflected on a great career.

Watch below to see Dean following his final win.

An emotional Max Dean after finishing 7th in 2023. Won the national title with PSU in ‘22 after transferring from Cornell. 4x All-American. Hats off to an incredible career. @On3sports x @PennStateOn3 pic.twitter.com/1ZweQOKgxC

— Nick Kosko (@nickkosko59) March 18, 2023

Dean came back after a 2-0 deficit against Cardenas. It was a wild tournament to say the least for the defending national champion.

He came in as the No. 9 seed after finishing second to Nebraska’s Silas Allred in the Big Ten finals. After a first round win, Dean fell to Allred again in the Round of 16.

But then he went to work. Dean took down Ohio State’s Gavin Hoffman in the wrestlebacks 6-0 followed by a win over Maryland’s Jaxon Smith.

After that 3-2 victory, Dean clinched All-American status for the fourth and final time. He fell to Cal Poly’s Bernie Truax 8-6 in sudden victory in the consolation quarterfinals to fall to the 7th place match.

Dean finished his career 128-24 with Cornell and Penn State, was a two-time finalist (one with each school) and a national champion last year with Penn State.

More on the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships

The 2023 NCAA Wrestling Championships were held March 16-18 at the BOK Center in Tulsa (Okla). The tournament consists of 330 wrestlers in total across 10 weight classes. Each weight class features wrestlers seeded No. 1 through No. 33.

Over the course of the three-day tournament, wrestlers can achieve national champion status by going 5-0 in their bracket, through Saturday night’s finals. The top eight placewinners in each bracket are considered All-Americans.

Losing one match does not eliminate a wrestler from competition. The consolation bracket is designed to determine the remaining spots on the podium (third through eighth place).

Since there are 33 wrestlers in each weight, the competitors seeded No. 32 and 33 compete in a “pigtail bout” prior to the first round to determine who matches up against the No. 1 seed in Round 1.

Losing the pigtail drops the wrestler to the consolation bracket where there is still an opportunity to finish as high as third place in the weight class.

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The 2024 NCAA Wrestling Tournament is set to take place in Kansas City (Mo.).