Where is each Penn State wrestler in the Big Ten preseeds?
Penn State wrestling is ready for the postseason. The No. 1 Nittany Lions will have 10 entries in the Big Ten tournament this Saturday and Sunday in College Park, Md. Already the conference’s regular season champions, head coach Cael Sanderson’s team aims to lock up another Big Ten postseason title while putting its wrestlers in the best position possible for NCAAs.
“We just want to make sure that our kids know that we’re ready to go and we’re confident,” Sanderson said last week. “Most of the work has been done. So, now it’s just about just getting ready to compete. And I think this group is very, very competitive. We’ve talked about that over the years and that the bigger the match, the more excited they are. So, yeah, it’s more about just kind of leading them to that final link to where they can just kind of trust what they’ve been doing, and themselves, and just know they’re ready to go, which they are.”
The Big Ten released pre-seeds on Monday. They are not finalized but close to it and offer a glimpse at the path that each Penn State standout could take to a title. The Lions have a total of five No. 1 seeds. Here’s the full breakdown:
125 pounds (9 from Big Ten go to NCAAs): Braeden Davis, No. 6
133 pounds (7 from Big Ten go to NCAAs): Aaron Nagao, No. 5
141 pounds (11 from Big Ten go to NCAAs): Beau Bartlett, No. 1
149 pounds (9 from Big Ten go to NCAAs): Tyler Kasak, No. 4
157 pounds (9 from Big Ten go to NCAAs): Levi Haines, No. 1
165 pounds (10 from Big Ten go to NCAAs): Mitchell Mesenbrink, No. 2
174 pounds (8 from Big Ten go to NCAAs): Carter Starocci, No. 1
184 pounds (8 from Big Ten go to NCAAs): Bernie Truax, No. 3
197 pounds (7 from Big Ten go to NCAAs): Aaron Brooks, No. 1
285 pounds (7 from Big Ten go to NCAAs): Greg Kerkvliet, No. 1
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Penn State Big Ten seeds takeaways
Obviously the biggest question is whether or not Starocci will wrestle like a No. 1 seed. He suffered an injury at the end of his technical fall win over Brody Evans of Edinboro last Sunday which has had his availability for the postseason in question ever since. Sanderson says he’ll go and they’ll step in if needed. So, time will tell.
We also learned that, as expected, Mesenbrink and Wisconsin’s Dean Hamiti are the top two seeds. They have been right behind each other in the rankings all season and the conference tournament will offer a chance for the Penn State 165-pound redshirt freshman to leapfrog the Badger should they both meet in the final with the Nittany Lion leaving it victorious. We’re also interested to see if Beau Bartlett meets Iowa’s Real Woods in the finals at 141 pounds and if he can beat him handily like he did back in February if so. And, Nagao checked in at No. 5 and Davis is perhaps slightly lower than expected at No. 6.
Blue-White Illustrated will have a full tournament preview later this week.
