Category: Wrestling

Best photos of Aaron Brooks at the U.S. wrestling Olympic trials

Check out some of the best photos of Aaron Brooks winning his spot on the U.S. national wrestling team heading to the Olympics this summer.

It was a monumental weekend in Happy Valley for Penn State wrestling star [autotag]Aaron Brooks[/autotag]. Brooks scored one of the most surprising upsets of the weekend’s U.S. national wrestling trials to earn a spot on the national team heading to the Paris 2024 Olympics this summer when he topped fellow former Nittany Lion, and defending gold medalist, [autotag]David Taylor[/autotag] on the mat in a best-of-three series.

Brooks is coming off a fourth consecutive NCAA title and will now have a shot at Olympic gold. Taylor will still be on the U.S. National Team as the trials runner-up, but his path to defending his gold is trickier than most anticipated.

Here are some of the best photos from Brooks’ run to the U.S. trials victory this weekend in the Bryce Jordan Center. Next stop, Paris!

Penn State wrestling alums to represent Team USA at Paris 2024 Summer Olympics

It should be no surprise that the U.S. national wrestling team heading to the Olympics this summer will have these former Nittany Lions leading the way.

Penn State wrestling will be well-represented at this summer’s Olympic games in Paris, France. On Saturday, the United States wrestling team trials were held in the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, home to Penn State’s dominant national championship wrestling program, and some familiar faces battled on the mat for spots in the Olympics.

The biggest storyline was [autotag]Aaron Brooks[/autotag] pulling an upset of Olympic gold medalist [autotag]David Taylor[/autotag] in a battle of former Nittany Lion standouts in the 84 kg trials.

While Brooks cemented his spot on the roster, Taylor will also be on the U.S. National Team as well as the trials runner-up.

Taylor and Brooks will be joined in Paris by some fellow Penn State products. [autotag]Kyle Dake[/autotag] (74 kg) came out on top of former Nittany Lion [autotag]Jason Nolf[/autotag] for a spot on the team, but Nolf will also be on the Team USA roster after finishing in second place.

A fifth member of the Penn State wrestling family will be making plans to head to Paris as well. [autotag]Kyle Snyder[/autotag] (97 kg) picked up a win in his trials over Isaac Trumble to secure a spot on the U.S. national team.

A handful of others from the Penn State family kept their Olympic dreams alive as well. [autotag]Zain Retherford[/autotag] (65 kg) will have a chance to qualify for the Paris Games in May. [autotag]Nick Lee[/autotag], who lost to Retherford, earned a spot on the U.S. team thanks to his second-place finish. [autotag]Mitchell Mesenbrink[/autotag] (74 kg) took third place in the trials and earned a spot on the U.S. national team.

The Paris 2024 Olympics are set to begin on July 26 in Paris, France. Wrestling events will begin on August 5 and run through August 11. The world is about to get a dose of Penn State wrestling up close and personal.

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Penn State wrestling clinches 11th NCAA national title under Cael Sanderson

Death, taxes, and Penn State winning a national championship in college wrestling.

Add another national title to the books for Penn State’s wrestling program. The Nittany Lions clinched the NCAA team national championship with a strong showing in the semifinals on Friday, going a perfect 6-0 in semifinal matches at the NCAA national championships.

Penn State sits in first place with 148.0 points after Friday’s semifinal matches. Michigan is in second place with a point total of 65.5, and Iowa is in third with 65.0 points. This marks Penn State’s third consecutive team national title under head coach Cael Sanderson, and its 11th in the past 13 seasons. This is Penn State’s 12th all-time national championship for the wrestling team.

[autotag]Beau Bartlett[/autotag] (141 lb), [autotag]Levi Haines[/autotag] (157 lb), [autotag]Mitchell Mesenbrink[/autotag] (165 lb), [autotag]Carter Starocci[/autotag] (174 lb), [autotag]Aaron Brooks[/autotag] (197 lb), and [autotag]Greg Kerkvliet[/autotag] (285 lb) all will compete for individual national titles on Saturday.

Penn State has also had eight wrestlers named all-americans, bringing the school’s all-time total to 254.

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Nebraska wrestler Ridge Lovett wins Big Ten individual title

Nebraska’s Ridge Lovett won his first Big Ten title on Sunday afternoon.

Nebraska Cornhuskers wrestler Ridge Lovett is officially a Big Ten champion.

The 141-pound junior out of Post Falls, Idaho on Sunday defeated Michigan’s Austin Gomez in a tightly contested 5-4 decision.

It’s the first individual title for Lovett in his collegiate career. He previously finished fourth at the 2022 Big Ten Championships and second place at the 2022 NCAA Championships.

Lovett’s Big Ten title improved his record to 24-1 this season. On Saturday, he also defeated Penn State’s Tyler Kasak and Indiana’s Graham Rooks to earn his spot in the 141 finals.

Lovett was the only Cornhusker competing for a Big Ten title on Sunday in College Park, Maryland.

Now, with a Big Ten title under his belt, Lovett will look towards the NCAA Championships in Kansas City later this month. Joining Lovett in Kansas City will be teammates Caleb Smith (125), Jacob Van Dee (133), Brock Hardy (141), Peyton Robb (157), Antrell Taylor (165), Lenny Pinto (185), Silas Allred (197), and Nash Hutmacher (285).

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Ohio State wrestler Jesse Mendez wins Big Ten Championship

A bit of an unexpected Big Ten title for Mendez over the No. 1 seed! #GoBucks

One of the Ohio State wrestlers is bringing home a Big Ten Championship at the 141 lb. weight class. Jesse Mendez, the No. 2 seed, sprung an upset of No. 1 seed Beau Bartlett of Penn State to take home the title, with a 4-1 decision in dramatic fashion.

The entire match was basically a stale mate with both wrestlers getting one point for an escape until Mendez was able to get a very late take down with a urgent move that seemed to surprise the undefeated Nittany Lions’ grappler. It was so late in the contest that Bartlett had little to no chance of making up the differential and Mendez held on easily to win his first Big Ten championship.

Mendez will now head to nationals to try and bring home the biggest prize of a national championship. Congrats are very much in order.

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Jesse Mendez, Nick Feldman to wrestle for Big Ten title Sunday

Let’s cheer on these two Buckeyes that have a shot at a Big Ten title on the mat Sunday. #GoBucks

It hasn’t been a banner performance for the Ohio State wrestling team at the Big Ten Championships, but the team does have two wrestlers that will be competing for a Big Ten title on Sunday

At 141 lbs., No. 2 seed Jesse Mendez took care of business with a  6-3 win over No. 3 seed Real Woods of Iowa thanks in large part to a last second take down. He will face No. 1 seed Beau Bartlett of Penn State.

In the heavyweight class, redshirt Nick Feldman took down Michigan’s Lucas Davison 8-6 as the No. 2 seed over No. 3. He will take on No. 1 seed Greg Kerkvliet, also of Penn State.

Both matches are set to take place during session IV at 4:30 PM ET. As a team, Ohio State sits in fifth place with a chance to make up some ground with several matches on Sunday.

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Watch: Girl wrestler becomes 1st to win Arizona state championship against boys

Arizona high school wrestler Audrey Jimenez become the first girl to win an Arizona state title against boys, and then followed with a Pan-Am medal.

A senior high school wrestler in Tucson, Arizona, made history last week as she became the first girl to win the state’s top title while competing against boys.

Audrey Jimenez of Sunnyside High School (Tucson, Ariz.) won the Division I title at 106 pounds against male competitors, defeating four opponents to help the team win its seventh straight boys’ team championship.

Jimenez, who won three straight girls individual championships, filed an appeal with the Arizona Interscholastic Association to wrestle on the boys side this year. She and Everest Leydecker of Desert Vista (Phoenix) were given the go-ahead to compete against boys.

“For me, wrestling against the boys is going to test me a little bit more,” Jimenez told the Arizona Republic in December. “Either way, wrestling against the boys or the girls, I’m happy to represent Sunnyside.”

See highlights of her victory here:

According to FloWrestling, Sunnyside won with 312 points and had 13 total placers, eight of whom were champions.

Just days later, she was back on the mat in the Pan-American Championships, securing third place against Canadian Katie Dutchak.

It was a remarkable way to tie a bow on a dynamic high school wrestling career. Jimenez, a top wrestling recruit, could have graduated early but chose to stay for her senior season in hopes of competing in the boys division, according to FloWrestling. Her decision and hard work paid off.

Who are the 4 Iowa football commits competing in the state wrestling tournament?

Iowa football continues to look at wrestling for recruits, with Trent Cakerice, Drew Campbell, Cody Fox and Mason Knipp competing in the state championship.

Defense. Toughness. “Punting is winning.” Iowa’s football team thrives on physicality, and for that, it’s unsurprising that head coach Kirk Ferentz takes a page out of the Hawkeyes’ dominant wrestling program in his recruiting efforts.

“The theory I developed was that if a guy was a great wrestler, it didn’t mean he was going to be a great football player, but rarely was he a bad football player,” Ferentz said.

Four Hawkeyes football commits in the class of 2024 are participating in the Iowa state wrestling tournament, and the Des Moines Register did a deep dive on the quartet.

Trent Cakerice, a two-star defensive lineman from Grundy Center, told the outlet he’s focusing on strength and calculated attacks. He has a 38-4 record. On the gridiron, he recorded 56.5 tackles, eight tackles for loss and seven sacks.

Drew Campbell of Cedar Falls told the Register that wrestling helps him in football.

“Leverage is a great thing to have in wrestling. It teaches you feel in football and mentally in a wrestling match you can’t give up, so it teaches you to never give up on a play,” he said.

Last football season, the three-star defensive lineman recorded 64.5 tackles, 21.5 tackles for loss and six sacks.

East Buchanan’s four-star lineman Cody Fox served on both lines last season, playing offensive guard for a dynamic rushing team and recording 62.5 tackles, nine tackles for loss and two sacks on defense. He was recruited as an offensive lineman, for which he is ranked four stars and in the top 20 of his class.

Mason Knipp, at Columbus Catholic, also played on both sides of the ball. Despite being unranked, he played a role in the rushing attack that amounted for 2,022 yards and had 78 tackles, 36.5 tackles for loss and 11 sacks on defense.

Read more about the athletes at the Des Moines Register.

Ohio State wrestling falls to No. 1 Penn State

In case you missed it, it was just too much Penn State. #GoBucks

There was hope for the young Ohio State wrestling team to pull off the shocker, but in the end, there was just too much talent on the mat for No. 1 Penn State in a 28-9 loss for the Buckeyes.

Ohio State got just two of the ten victories in the dual-meet set up, a 12-10 decision at at 141 pounds for Nic Bouzakis, and then a pin for Ryder Rogotzke at 184 pounds. Penn State controlled the rest of the meet and was never really threatened, winning five decisions, getting two major decisions, and one technical fall.

It was the first Big Ten loss for the No. 6 ranked OSU wrestlers and continued quite the run for the Penn State program who is currently on a two-year national title streak and looks like the team to beat again this year.

Ohio State must now pick itself up and get ready to face No. 14 Rutgers in Piscataway, New Jersey on Sunday.

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Ohio State heavyweight Nick Feldman named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week

After a thrilling and dramatic upset win last weekend, OSU’s Nick Feldman received this Big Ten honor. #GoBucks

What a week it was for the Ohio State wrestling team. Down quite a few key players going into a matchup with Michigan, the Buckeyes fell down by ten points in the dual-meet on two separate occasions only to battle back and force a winner-take-all final heavyweight match between OSU’s Nick Feldman and Michigan’s No. 4 ranked Lucas Davison.

It was a close battle, but Feldman got a late takedown to pull off the 4-3 upset and give the Buckeyes a 20-19 dual-meet win over arch-rival Michigan this past weekend.

And now, for all of his efforts, Feldman was named the Big Ten’s Wrestler of the Week on Tuesday. It’s the fourth time this season a wrestler wearing a Scarlet and Gray singlet took home the weekly award.

Things get very difficult for the 12-1 Buckeyes on Friday as they travel to Happy Valley to take on No. 1 Penn State Friday. They’ll need the same type of effort and more to have any shot of staying with the best program in America right now.

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