Penn State Wrestling News: NLWC Reigns Supreme With 5 Top Seeds as Big10 Championship Week Looms

Before stepping into the Big Ten Conference this month, the Penn State NLWC coach could boast on several things. Expectedly, one of those could be the victorious run the top team has shown in the last wrestling season. 174-category wrestler Carter Starocci had to undergo a niggling injury in the last bout of Penn State NLWC. But coach Cael Sanderson has recently expressed his hopes for the 3x NCAA champion’s ultimate recovery and comeback scenario. Moreover, the Olympic champion coach might find another joyful occasion in a piece of recent news. 

The Big Ten wrestling Championship is about to take place on March 9-10 in Maryland. So, the organizers have made the seed list public beforehand. That list has flaunted another seal on Penn State NLWC’s predominance. 

Regular seniors at Penn State NLWC secure the top seeds 

As themat.com reported on March 4, the Penn State NLWC has five wrestlers in the preliminary top seed in the 2024 Big Ten Wrestling Championships. Keeping Carter Starocci in the list, the Big Ten Conference has displayed Beau Bartlett, Levi Haines, Aaron Brooks, and Greg Kerkvliet as the top seeds in their respective weight classes. On the other hand, the rest of the five wrestling programs have found only one wrestler each in the top seed. 

The Big Ten Conference has published the other seeds as well. On that estimate, Braeden Davis has extended his glorified run further. The prodigy has found his seed in no. 6 in the 125-category. His seed has come before Michigan’s stellar wrestler, Michael DeAugustino. The same applies to Mitchell Mesenbrink. The red-shirt freshman is about to start his first postseason in Penn State NLWC’s jersey. On this brink, his second seeding in 165-category might boost to continue the wrestling flare. Overall, such high acclaim has also brought high stakes for the top seeding wrestling program in the nation. 

The expectations keep brewing from the phenomenal program 

In Maryland this time, the Penn State NLWC will land as the defending champion. Last year, the inflicting injury issues could not deter the program from earning four individual titles. Moreover, coach Cael Sanderson found his milestone by winning 200 matches as the NLWC HC. So factors like those might help the Rec Hall-stationed program to post the fiery performance once again. 

Read more: Penn State Head Coach Cael Sanderson Nears Major Milestone with Two Exciting Challenges on the Horizon

However, the latest release from the Big Ten tends to be preliminary. The final seed list will come on Friday. But the Penn State NLWC does not concern itself with that aspect. As of now, Cael Sanderson is thinking about sending 10 wrestlers to the NCAA Division 1 Championships. Before that, the camp is brimming with the latest news of Carter Starocci’s availability. The news regarding the seeding is icing on the cake.

Also read: Will 4x State Champion, Penn State Commit, Bypass Redshirt Season to Rep NLWC Colors in Debut Season?