Former Penn State wrestling star Aaron Brooks will go for bronze after heartbreaking Olympic semifinal loss

Former Penn State wrestling star and Team USA member Aaron Brooks’ dream of winning Olympic gold ended in the final seconds of his 86-kilogram semifinal match opposite Magomed Ramazanov of Bulgaria. Ramazanov controlled Brooks for two exposure points with five seconds left to wrestle to gain the points needed to erase a 3-2 deficit and win, 4-3. Brooks will wrestle for bronze on Friday.

After a scoreless first two minutes, Ramazanov was put on the 30-second activity clock. He did not score, giving Brooks a 1-0 lead. Then, right before the break, the four-time NCAA champ blasted through a double leg on the edge to take a 3-0 lead after the first three minutes.

Early in the second period, a tremendous scramble nearly led to a Brooks takedown, but Ramazanov countered brilliantly, and neither wrestler scored. Brooks dropped on a single with 1:40 to wrestle but Ramazanov countered for a takedown to cut the deficit to 3-2 and threw legs in and nearly took Brooks to his back. But, the Team USA wrestler held on for a stalemate and no scoring.

“That shows the heart of Aaron Brooks there,” NBC analyst Jordan Burroughs said.

Ultimately, though, it was not enough. In the final 20 seconds, Brooks shot on a single. Ramazanov countered and earned the exposure points with seconds to wrestle to secure the upset.

Recapping Brooks’ first Thursday session in Paris

Brooks had a tidy 2-0 start to his day, which is what led him to the semifinals. Tied 1-1 at the break of an 86-kilogram quarterfinal bout with ​Hayato Ishiguro​, he went on to catch the Japanese wrestler with multiple clean and converted shots in the second half to build a 7-1 lead with a minute to go before ultimately winning by technical superiority, 11-1. It avenges a 2018 World Juniors loss Brooks took against Ishiguro.

In his opener, Brooks beat No. 1 seed Azamat Dauletbekov of Kazakhstan 4-3. The bout was not as close as the final score indicated. After giving up a step-out point to trail 1-0 early, the Penn State alum went on to convert a pair of single-leg shots into takedowns for a 4-1 lead. He was penalized two points for fleeing late in the match but was never in danger of losing as Dauletbekov rarely shot and struggled to get his offense going.

What’s the latest on Penn State alum Roman Bravo-Young

Former Penn State wrestler and Team Mexico member Bravo-Young lost his first-round match at 57 kilograms to Aarsen Harutyunyan of Armenia, 13-3. At that point, his only path to earning a medal via Harutyunyan making the gold medal match, which would have pulled him back into bronze medal contention via repechage. He would not automatically advance to the third place match, though. Instead, he would need to win one on Friday morning to qualify for it.

All of that is now irrelevant, though. Harutyunyan lost his quarterfinal bout, which eliminated ‘RBY’ from the tournament.

Nittany Lion Wrestling Club look ahead

Bravo-Young and Brooks are the first of five NLWC members who compete this week. Penn State alum Zain Retherford starts his tournament on Aug. 10 alongside Nittany Lion Wrestling Club member Kyle Snyder. They compete at 65 kilograms and 97 kilograms, respectively. On Friday, NLWC member Kyle Dake starts the 74-kilogram tournament. You can learn more about their medal outlooks via the Penn State wrestling show from Blue-White Illustrated. You can watch this week’s Penn State wrestling show in the video player above and also on YouTube. Or, you can listen at your favorite destinations for audio like SPOTIFY and APPLE.