Penn State qualifies five for Big Ten tournament finals; where are Lions in team race after Saturday?

A wild first day for Penn State and everyone else is in the books at the Big Ten wrestling tournament.

The Nittany Lions qualified five of their 10 starters for Sunday’s finals. Two other members of head coach Cael Sanderson’s team are also still alive for medals. Two others are hoping to wrestle their way to NCAAs, while a third will need an at-large bid to make it to Detroit.

Here’s where things stand after two sessions in Lincoln, Neb.

Five Penn State wrestlers clinch finals spots

Entering the tournament, it was expected that Penn State would place at least four wrestlers into the finals. At a minimum, however, at least six were possible if not expected.

Roman Bravo-Young is back there at 133 pounds after beating Dylan Ragusin of Michigan, 4-0. There, he will again square off with Iowa’s Austin DeSanto, who is the No. 2 seed.

Nick Lee will wrestle after him at 141 pounds. He punched his ticket by topping Jakob Bergeland by technical fall, 16-1, in 5:06. Next up is another familiar foe in Hawkeye Jaydin Eierman, who is the two seed.

Before moving on to the rest of the finalists, we’ll note that Brady Berge lost his semifinal bout at 157 pounds to Michigan’s Will Lewan, 3-1, in sudden victory. A lack of offense cost Berge in that one, but he’s in the consolation semifinals. So, too, is heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet after he lost to Iowa’s Anthony Cassioppi 6-4 in sudden victory. The Penn State wrestler led 4-2 late in the third but gave up a reversal that kept him from securing a riding time point. He then lost in overtime.

Back to the finals: Carter Starocci, Aaron Brooks and Max Dean are all in it for Penn State.

Starocci won his semifinal bout at 174 pounds by medical default after Iowa’s Michael Kemerer opted not to wrestle so that he could save his injured shoulder for the NCAA tournament. Starocci faces Micigan’s Logan Massa.

As for Brooks, he dominated Nebraska’s Taylor Venz in a 7-2 win. He draws Michigan’s Myles Amine in the 184-pound finals.

Finally, Dean won his first semifinal at Penn State 5-2 over Michigan State’s Cameron Coffey. It sets up a showdown with top-seeded Nebraska wrestler Eric Schultz at 197.

What about the rest of the Lions?

—Drew Hildebrandt lost his first consolation bracket match. The two seed looked anything but one on Saturday. He now has to wrestle back for ninth place on Sunday to earn an automatic NCAA berth.

—Beau Bartlett also is wrestling for a spot in nationals Sunday at 149. He faces Michigan’s Kanen Storr for the seventh and final Big Ten allocated spot.

–Penn State 165-pounder Creighton Edsell can finish ninth at best. He will need an at-large bid to advance. Finishing ninth gives him the best chance of doing so.

–Kerkvliet and Berge have qualified for NCAAs. They wrestle for placing on Sunday.

–So, going into Sunday, seven Lions are in for nationals.

Where is Penn State in the team race?

All 10 Michigan wrestlers will finish in the top eight of their respective weight classes. Four are in the finals.

It’s why the Wolverines lead the team race with 116 points. Penn State is second with 111.5, and Iowa is third with 109. Those three teams are the only ones with a chance to win the conference team title. Michigan is a heavy favorite. Penn State will need to win almost all of its matches and get some help elsewhere to clinch its first Big Ten title since 2019.