Recap: Penn State wrestling crowns four NCAA champs, wins team title; Brooks named most dominant, outstanding wrestler

Penn State wrestling is the winner of the 2024 NCAA Championships. The Nittany Lions have eight All-Americans, four champions, two runner-ups, a third-place finisher, and a fifth-place finisher. Carter Starocci and Aaron Brooks are the sixth and seventh four-time NCAA champs ever. And head coach Cael Sanderson, who won his 11th team title, guided his team to a new tournament scoring record with 172.5 points. Penn State cleared the second-place finisher, Cornell, by exactly 100 points. Brooks was also the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler and most dominating wrestler of the season.

In full, Penn State’s 10-man contingent at nationals finished as follows:

125 pounds: Freshman Braeden Davis went 2-2 and did not place.

133 pounds: Redshirt sophomore Aaron Nagao went 2-2 and did not place.

141 pounds: Senior Beau Bartlett went 4-1 and finished second.

149 pounds: Freshman Tyler Kasak went 7-1 and finished third.

157 pounds: Sophomore Levi Haines went 5-0 and won his first NCAA title.

165 pounds: Redshirt freshman Mitchell Mesenbrink went 4-1 and finished second.

174 pounds: Carter Starocci went 5-0 and won his fourth NCAA title.

184 pounds: Graduate senior Bernie Truax went 6-1 and finished fifth.

197 pounds: Senior+ Aaron Brooks went 5-0 and won his fourth NCAA title.

285 pounds: Senior Greg Kerkvliet went 5-0 and won his fourth NCAA title.

Here’s how the finals played out.

Finals matchups and results

Here’s the full finals lineup in the order they will be contested. Updates are added as results come in.

285 pounds: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) md. No. 10 Lucas Davison (Michigan), 13-4

125 pounds: No. 8 Richard Figueroa (Arizona State) d. No. 3 Drake Ayala (Iowa),

133 pounds: No. 8 Vito Arujau (Cornell) d. No. 1 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State), 5-3

141 pounds: No. 1 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) d. No. 2 Beau Bartlett (Penn State), 4-1

149 pounds: No. 4 Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) d. No. 6 Austin Gomez (Michigan), 15-7

157 pounds: No. 1 Levi Haines (Penn State) d. No. 2 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State), 5-0

165 pounds: No. 4 David Carr (Iowa State) d. No. 2 Mitchell Messenbrink (Penn State) 9-8

174 pounds: No. 9 Carter Starocci (PSU) d. No. 6 Rocco Welsh (Ohio State), 2-0

184 pounds: No. 1 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) md. No. 3 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State), 14-5

197 pounds: No. 1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) d. No. 2 Trent Hidlay (North Carolina State), 6-1

Rolling Penn State wrestling updates from the NCAA finals

10:20 — Aaron Brooks beats Trent Hidlay 6-1 in the 197-pound final. He is the seventh four-time NCAA champ. Penn State is the team champ for the third year in a row. It set a new team tournament scoring record with 172.5 points.

10:01 — It’s just about time for Brooks-Hidlay to close out the 2023-2024 season, Brooks’ career, and Penn State’s third straight national title. Brooks, of course, can win his fourth to become the seventh wrestler ever to do so and lift the Lions to a new NCAA scoring record.

9:41 — Penn State 174-pounder Carter Starocci is just the sixth four-time champion in NCAA history. He beats Rocco Welsh of Ohio State 2-0 to win another title at 174 pounds. The Lions now need Aaron Brooks to win at 197 pounds to set the all-time scoring record.

927 — Let’s set the stage: If Carter Starocci and Aaron Brooks win at 174 and 197, they will become the sixth and seventh four-time NCAA champs. And if they do, Penn State will set the all-time scoring record in what will be Brooks’ last match in blue and white and could be Starocci’s. Starocci-Welsh coming up next.

9:25 — David Carr beats Mitchell Mesenbrink 9-8 thanks to 2:06 in riding time in the 165-pound final at the NCAA Championships. He finishes his first season in State College 26-1. Mesenbrink tied the bout at eight in the third but could not overcome Carr’s earlier riding time. Penn State is now 2-3 in the finals with two more to go.

9:06 — Levi Haines is an NCAA champion. He beats Jacori Teemer 5-0 on the strength of an escape, takedown, and 1:36 in riding time to become a first-time winner at 157 pounds. Penn State now has 164.5 team points and two champs. It needs two of its next three finalists to win to break Iowa’s all-time scoring record.

8:54 — They had a pre-planned “halftime” break after 285-149, so that’s why there is a delay here before Haines-Teemer. It should start within the next couple of minutes.

8:42 — No. 4 Caleb Henson of Virginia Tech, a sophomore, beats sixth-year senior No. 6 Austin Gomez of Michigan 15-7 in the 149-pound final. It’s time to Levi Haines to take the mat for Penn State in the 157-pound final opposite No. 2 Jacori Teemer of ASU.

8:25 — With the 141-pound final bout tied at one late in the third period, Beau Bartlett shot on a great single leg attempt but Jesse Mendez scrambled and countered perfectly to get a takedown of his own on the edge and gain control of the Nittany Lion to win 4-1. Bartlett finishes second at NCAAs after finishing third in 2023.

8:11 — After 22 minutes for a seven minute match, Vito Aruja wins another NCAA title while Dalton Fix becomes the answer to an unfortunate trivia question: He is the first wrestler to ever make four finals and never win one. Bartlett-Mendez up next.

7:54 — Beau Bartlett will eventually be on the mat for his final with Jesse Mendez of Ohio State at 141 pounds. But the 133 pound final between Vito Arujau and Dalton Fix has featured both extended blood time and now a video review, so it’ll be a bit later than expected.

7:38 — No. 8 Richard Figueroa of Arizona State, who beat Penn State freshman Braeden Davis earlier in the tournament, tops No. 3 Drake Ayala 7-2 in the 125-pound final.

7:15 — Greg Kerkvliet is Penn State’s first national champion. He scored multiple takedowns en route to a 13-4 major decision over Michigan’s Lucas Davison at 285 pounds. It gives him his first national title and also a big extra point for the Nittany Lions in their pursuit of topping Iowa’s all-time points record of 170. They now have 160.5 points.

7:05 — We will start at 285 with Greg Kerkvliet against Lucas Davison. It starts in moments.