Penn State wrestling NCAA finals bout-by-bout recap: Lions have historic night in Detroit

Penn State wrestling has already won the NCAA Championship as a team.

Now, five Nittany Lions will go for individual titles tonight.

Head coach Cael Sanderson’s team already has six All-Americans. Besides the five who take the mat tonight, heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet scored a massive victory in the team race during Saturday’s consolation semifinal, as he beat Michigan’s Mason Parris. The Lion then injury defaulted out of the third-place match opposite Lehigh’s Jordan Wood to finish fourth. It marks an improvement from last season when he finished seventh.

Three other Penn State wrestlers qualified for NCAAs but exited the tournament on Friday morning. Drew Hildebrandt (125), Beau Bartlett (149), and Brady Berge (157) all scored team points, however, to help the Lions top second-place Michigan while blowing out the rest of the field.

With all that background out of the way, it’s time to take a look at each finals match before it happens. Each section below will preview the bout ahead and then contain updates once it has concluded, so refresh this page later to see how Penn State performs. Finals start at 7 p.m. on ESPN but PSU won’t take the mat until Roman Bravo-Young does at 133 pounds.

133 pound final: No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young, Penn State vs. No. 2 Daton Fix, Oklahoma State

Roman Bravo-Young is a two-time NCAA champ.

The Nittany Lion beat Daton Fix in the finals again. With the bout tied at two after two, Penn State’s Bravo-Young picked down and escaped for the 3-2 lead he’d ultimately win by.

Bravo-Young had the lone takedown in the match, which came in the first period.

141 pounds: No. 1 Nick Lee, PSU vs. No. 15 Kizhan Clarke, North Carolina

Nick Lee is a two-time NCAA Champion. He beat Kizhan Clarke of North Carolina 10-3 with a whopping 4:30 in riding time.

There were some fireworks early, as Cinderella story Clarke actually scored the first takedown. But, Lee scored one of his own before the end of the first period. He then scored two in the second and had the riding time point assured before that frame ended. Leading 7-2 heading into the third, the wrestlers started neutral and Lee scored the only takedown. Clarke escaped late, but Lee earned the riding time point to reach the margin of victory.

The Lions are now 2-for-2 in the finals.

174 pounds: No. 1 Carter Starocci, Penn State vs. No. 2 Mekhi Lewis, Virginia Tech

Lewis had the only shot of the first period, and Starocci fended it off well enough to force a stalemate. Neither wrestler came close to scoring after that in the first. The Penn State wrestler picked down to start the second and escaped in 10 seconds for a 1-0 lead. But, Lewis shot super quick and appeared to take down Starocci at the edge of the mat. The official initially said Lewis didn’t score before the pair went off the edge, but that was changed upon review, giving the Hokie a 2-1 lead. Starocci eventually escapes after 40 seconds to tie the bout at two with about a minute left in the second. There is no more scoring.

With the match tied at two after two, Lewis is down to start the third. He escapes in 15 seconds for a 3-2 lead. Starocci then dives in on a single and drives through with a double for two on the edge and a 4-3 lead as they go off the edge. Lewis escapes with 49 seconds left to tie the bout at four. Starocci shoots in on a single with 19 seconds left but he can’t finish it. We’re off to sudden victory, where each wrestler came close to scoring but neither did after some tremendous defensive wrestling. Off to ultimate tiebreaker.

Starocci is down first and out after six seconds. He leads 5-4. Lewis escapes late but Starocci has more riding time in ultimate tiebreaker, so he is again a national champion at 174 pounds. He wins, 6-4.

184 pounds: No. 1 Myles Amine, Michigan vs. No. 2 Aaron Brooks, PSU

Brooks scores the opening takedown to lead the match 2-0 with about a minute left in the first period. Remember, this is the rubber match between these two this season. Each has won one so far. The period ends with Brooks amassing 1:09 in riding time. Amine takes down to start the second. Brooks rides for 1:44 before Amine is called for stalling. He rides out the entire period and has 3:07 in riding time to end the period, which means the riding time point is assured.

Brooks chooses down to start the third, and quickly reverses Amine for a 4-0 lead. The Wolverines does eventually escape to 4-1. Brooks later countered an Amine shot and that led to a wild scramble that leads to Amine getting a takedown, but it won’t matter. Brooks, with a riding time, beats Amine and defends his national title with a 5-3 victory.

197 pounds: No. 1 Max Dean, Penn State vs. No. 6 Jacob Warner, Iowa

There was no score in the first period. Warner takes down to start period two and is out in about 10 seconds for a 1-0 lead. There is no more scoring. Dean takes down to start the third and is out to tie the bout at one with 1:40 left to wrestle in the third. Dean then counters a bad Warner shot and takes him down with 30 seconds left as they go off the edge. Warner escapes with eight second left but that’s it. Dean wins, 3-2, and he is a national champion.

Full list of finals matches

125 pounds: No. 1 Nick Suriano, Michigan wins by decision over No. 3 Pat Glory, Princeton, 5-3

133 pounds: No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young, Penn State wins by decision over No. 2 Daton Fix, Oklahoma State, 3-2

141 pounds: No. 1 Nick Lee, Penn State wins by decision over No. 15 Kizhan Clarke, North Carolina, 10-3

149 pounds: No. 1 Yianni Diakomihalis, Cornell wins by decision over No. 10 Ridge Lovett, Nebraska, 11-5

157 pounds: No. 2 Ryan Deakin, Northwestern wins by decision over No. 5 Quincy Monday, Princeton, 9-2

165 pounds: No. 2 Keegan O`Toole, Missouri vs. No. 5 Shane Griffith, Stanford, 6-5

174 pounds: No. 1 Carter Starocci, Penn State wins by decision over No. 2 Mekhi Lewis, Virginia Tech, 6-5, in ultimate tiebreaker

184 pounds: No. 2 Aaron Brooks, Penn State, wins by decision over No. 1 Myles Amine of Michigan, 5-3

197 pounds: No. 1 Max Dean, Penn State vs. No. 6 Jacob Warner, Iowa

285 pounds: No. 1 Gable Steveson, Minnesota vs. No. 2 Colton Schultz, Arizona State