Penn State wrestling at Big Tens: Time, TV info for semifinals; who will each Lion face?
Penn State wrestling has nine semifinalists at the Big Ten Championships. The No. 1 Nittany Lions advanced everyone but multi-time NCAA champ Carter Starocci. The 174-pounder continues to recover from a knee injury he suffered at the end of his bout against Brody Evans of Edinboro in late February. He stepped on the mat for one second in his quarterfinal bout with Andrew Sparks of Minnesota and then injury defaulted. The Penn State star did so again in the first round of consolations.
“He is making great progress,” Lions radio broadcaster Jeff Byers said on the Penn State Sports Network. “The knee is in better shape right now than when he walked off the mat in Rec Hall with the help of wrestlers and coaches. The progress has been significant. He has lobbied strongly for the opportunity to compete this weekend. But at the end of the day, the ultimate goal is the NCAA Tournament, and that is the ultimate objective, to go out and win a fourth individual national title.
“It would seem that his best path to do that is to not really compete here and get the knee as healthy as he can for the NCAA Championships.”
Starocci will not be the No. 1 seed at nationals. But, he should fall somewhere between the Nos. 3-6 seed. And, if healthy, that should not greatly impede his chance to win a fourth consecutive NCAA title.
Information for the semifinals can be found below.
Big Ten tournament schedule
Maryland is hosting the two-day event. The schedule is as follows (all times eastern):
Saturday
7 p.m. – Session 3 (Semifinals)
Sunday
Noon – Session 4 (Consolation Semifinals, 7th-Place Matches)
4:30 p.m. – Session 5 (1st-, 3rd- and 5th- Place Matches)
How to follow Penn State wrestling at the Big Ten tournament
The Big Ten tournament will be a mixture of live television coverage and streaming. Penn State matches will be part of Big Ten Network’s over-the-air coverage of sessions one, three, and five. BTN+ will stream matside coverage for all sessions. It is also the exclusive home to watch sessions two and four.
The Penn State Sports Network will be on the air with the prematch show at 9:45 p.m. Longtime broadcaster Jeff Byers will be on the call. ET. Click here to access the free LionVision feed.
You can also follow along live and chat with other Penn State wrestling fans on Blue-White Illustrated’s The Wrestling Room forum. Access it by clicking here for live updates.
Who does each Nittany Lion have in the semifinals?
Here’s the breakdown:
125 pounds: No. 6 Braeden Davis, Penn State vs. No. 7 Michael DeAugstino, Michigan State
133 pounds: No. 5 Aaron Nagao, PSU vs. No. 1 Dylan Ragusin, Michigan
141 pounds: No. 1 Beau Bartlett, Penn State vs. No. 5 Sergio Lemley, Michigan
149 pounds: No. 4 Tyler Kasak, PSU vs. No. 1 Ridge Lovett, Nebraska
157 pounds: No. 1 Levi Haines, Penn State vs. No. 5 Jared Franek, Iowa
165 pounds: No. 2 Mitchell Mesenbrink, PSU vs. No. 3 Mike Caliendo, Iowa
184 pounds: No. 3 Bernie Truax, PSU vs. No. 2 Lenny Pinto, Nebraska
197 pounds: No. 1 Aaron Brooks, Penn State vs. No. 4 Silas Allred, Nebraska
285 pounds: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet, PSU vs. No. 4 Yaraslau Slavikouski, Rutgers
