Penn State goes 20-0 in first round of tournament

TribLive

Three-time defending national champion Penn State went 20-0 and a pair of brothers from Mt. Lebanon stole the show on the first day of the NCAA wrestling championships Thursday in Philadelphia.

The undefeated day for the Nittany Lions included the 100th career victory for 174-pounder Carter Starocci, an 18-2 technical fall over Lehigh’s Caden Rogers in the first round. Starocci is attempting to become the first wrestler to win five NCAA titles.

One of Pitt’s eight wrestlers in the field advanced to the quarterfinals, Mt. Lebanon grad Mac Stout at 197, and he did so in one of the day’s marquee matches.

Stout, a sophomore, defeated his older brother Luke, a Princeton senior, 4-2, in the second round. A takedown early in the second period was the difference. It was the first match between brothers in the history of the NCAA tournament.

“I wish I never had to wrestle my brother, but I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for him,” Mac Stout told FloWrestling after the match. “I finally got one back after all these years he was shoving my head in the mat. It sucks. I wish I never had to wrestle him. … I’m confident we’ll rejoin on the podium together. He’s going to battle back. The next best thing.

“It’s a weird feeling. We scrap in the room all the time. It’s different, though, you know? I don’t know. It’s just a weird feeling. He’s my best friend. I talk to him every day. I knew that regardless of the outcome, we’d still be best friends after the match. It’s over with now. Hopefully, I think it’ll help me be able to wrestle more freely now and forget about that whole thing on my shoulders.

Pitt’s Reece Heller (184) and Mt. Pleasant grad Dayton Pitzer (285) lost in the second round.

West Virginia’s Jett Strickenberger (125) and Peyton Hall (165) made the quarterfinals.

After sending all 10 of its qualifiers — one in every weight class — to the quarterfinals, Penn State is well positioned to win its 12th championship in 14 years under coach Cael Sanderson. The Nittany Lions could be a threat to eclipse the scoring record they posted last year.

Nebraska is in second place with 28 points and Oklahoma State is in third with 27.

Nebraska sent five wrestlers through to the quarterfinals. Oklahoma State, under first-year coach David Taylor, sent six wrestlers to the quarterfinals, the second- most behind Penn State.

“I thought we wrestled pretty well,” Taylor said. “It’s the national tournament. There’s ups and downs, but I thought we did pretty well.”

Iowa, Minnesota and Ohio State are tied for fourth with 18 points. Minnesota’s Gable Steveson, the 2021 Olympic gold medalist seeking his third national title at heavyweight, won two matches Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals.

Thursday’s biggest upset saw Rutgers’ Dean Peterson pin defending 125-pound champion Richard Figueroa of Arizona State in the second round.