4 Penn State wrestling takeaways from the semifinal round of the NCAA Championships

Penn State has five finalists at the NCAA Championships for the fifth time in the last six years. The Nittany Lions won all but two of their semifinal matches during session four inside of the BOK Center Friday night in Tulsa, Okla, and have eight All-Americans overall.

Roman Bravo-Young (133 pounds), Carter Starocci (174), and Aaron Brooks (184) are defending champs who are back in the first-place match in their respective weight classes. Levi Haines and Greg Kerkvliet, then, will be making their first finals appearance at the national tournament at 157 and 285 pounds, respectively.

Here are our takeaways heading into the tournament’s final day.

The team race is Penn State’s to lose

Despite a perfect quarterfinal round and a strong showing in the semifinal round, Penn State has not yet clinched this year’s NCAA team title. However, the Lions are on the one-yard line, and it’s first and goal, to steal some football terminology.

At the end of session four, Iowa is the only team not yet mathematically eliminated. And, the Lions have a massive lead in the maximum points available category. Simply put, head coach Cael Sanderson’s side would have to have the worst final day at nationals of his tenure, and that would have to be combined with everything going right for the Hawkeyes.

In all likelihood, this will be wrapped up during the morning session, which starts at 11 a.m. on ESPNU. But, if it somehow isn’t, it quickly will be won during the evening finals session, which starts at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

Penn State currently leads Iowa 116.5 to 77.

Haines has one more mountain to climb

It was no secret that many inside the Penn State wrestling room felt Levi Haines was a special talent. No matter, the Nittany Lions waited until January to fully pull the 157-pound freshman’s redshirt. It turned out to be a brilliant, if not unexpected, decision.

Haines beat Nebraska’s Peyton Robb in the Big Ten title bout two weeks ago. The two both wrestled their way to meet again in one of Friday night’s semifinals. And, the Penn State standout came out on top again. He topped the Cornhusker 5-2 thanks to an escape and takedown in the third period to reach the margin of victory.

Now, Haines has a new challenge: Top-seeded Austin O’Connor of North Carolina. The Nittany Lion hasn’t faced a challenge he couldn’t top yet this year. We’ll see if he can do so one more time and reach his sport’s pinnacle in year one.

Three other Nittany Lions are still alive

It won’t just be the finalists wrestling on Saturday, of course. The medal round will be held in the morning. Three Nittany Lions will be on the mat. Junior Beau Bartlett has a rematch with Clay Carlson of North Dakota State in a 141-pound consolation bout with hopes of advancing to the third place match. Redshirt freshman Shayne Van Ness, then, will be in a 149-pound consolation semifinal opposite No. 4 Caleb Hensen of Virginia Tech with similar hopes.

Last but not least, 197-pound senior Max Dean will wrestle his final college match for seventh place. He will face 10th-seeded Jacob Cardenas of Cornell.

Full session four results for the Nittany Lions

All bouts were semifinal matches unless otherwise noted:

125 pounds: No competitor

133 pounds: No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young, Penn State d. No. 4 Michael McGee, Arizona State, 6-4 (sudden victory)

141 pounds: No. 2 Andrew Alirez, Northern Colorado d. No. 6 Beau Bartlett, PSU, 6-2

149 pounds:  No. 1 Yianni Diakomihalis, Cornell d. No. 12 Shayne Van Ness, Penn State, 8-3

157 pounds: No. 2 Levi Haines, PSU d. No. 3 Peyton Robb, Nebraska, 5-3

165 pounds: No competitor

174 pounds: No. 1 Carter Starocci, Penn State d. No. 4 Chris Foca, Cornell, 6-0

184 pounds: No. 3 Aaron Brooks, PSU d. No. 2 Trent Hidlay, North Carolina State, 6-3

197 pounds: No. 9 Max Dean, Penn State d. No. 11 Jaxon Smith, Maryland, 3-2 (consolation fourth round)

197 pounds: No. 2 Bernie Truax, Cal Poly d. No. 9 Max Dean, PSU, 8-6 (sudden victory) (consolation fifth round)

285 pounds: No. 3 Greg Kerkvliet, PSU d. No. 2 Wyatt Hendrickson, Air Force, 4-2

Who is the first Saturday opponent for each Penn State wrestler?

All are championship bouts unless otherwise noted:

125 pounds: No competitor

133 pounds: No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young, Penn State vs. No. 3 Vito Arujau, Cornell

141 pounds: No. 6 Beau Bartlett, PSU vs. No. 11 Clay Carlson, South Dakota State (consolation semifinal)

149 pounds: No. 12 Shayne Van Ness, Penn State vs. No. 4 Caleb Hensen, Virginia Tech (consolation semifinal)

157 pounds: No. 2 Levi Haines, PSU vs. No. 1 Austin O’Connor, North Carolina

165 pounds: No competitor

174 pounds: No. 1 Carter Starocci, Penn State vs. No. 2 Mikey Labriola, Nebraska

184 pounds: No. 3 Aaron Brooks, PSU vs. Parker Keckeisen, Northern Iowa

197 pounds: No. 9 Max Dean, Penn State vs. No. 10 Jacob Cardenas, Cornell (seventh place match)

285 pounds: No. 3 Greg Kerkvliet, PSU vs. No. 1 Mason Parris, Michigan