Update: Penn State, led by four champions, wins Big Ten Championships, with Ohio State in second

Penn State claimed the 2019 Big Ten Championships crown with four individual champions.Photo by Richard Immel.


MINNEAPOLIS – Penn State senior Anthony Cassar made the most of his first and only trip to the Big Ten Championships, stunning the pro-Minnesota crowd with a last-second defeat of undefeated Gopher Gable Steveson.


A match that was slow to the draw picked up with a rapid pace in the third period. Steveson broke a 1-1 gridlock with a fierce takedown late in the bout, but Cassar held strong, managing an escape and subsequent takedown of his own to take a 4-3 lead with short time remaining. The Nittany Lion rode Steveson out to take the heavyweight crown.


“I haven’t been able to put this Penn State singlet on and wrestle at Big Tens or nationals, and that’s been hard. I’ve been close numerous times, but I was able to do it today,” Cassar said. “So, I was just grateful to God, and it’s disrespectful to him and everyone who supports me if I don’t give my best out there, so that’s what I did.”


Cassar was one of four Penn State wrestlers to claim an individual Big Ten title in front of a sold-out Williams Arena crowd totaling 11,947. Past NCAA champions Bo Nickal, Jason Nolf and Mark Hall added to the Penn State title haul with impressive wins in the finals. The trio all defeated No. 2 seed’s in their respective championship contests.


Nickal became a three-time Big Ten champion with a convincing 10-3 win over defending champion Kollin Moore of Ohio State at 197 pounds. Nickal has now won a Big Ten title at 174 pounds, 184 pounds and 197 pounds. He will look to finish out his Nittany Lion career with a third NCAA title in Pittsburg two weeks from now.


Nolf and Hall both earned Big Ten title number two. It was a 12-4 major decision over Nebraska All-American Tyler Berger for Nolf in the 157-pound finals. Hall took down Michigan All-American Myles Amine in the 174-pound finals for the second-consecutive year.


“It’s a very tough tournament, as you know. Our guys wrestled well,” said Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson, the Big Ten Coach of the Year. “You don’t get too discouraged if we’re not at our best or too excited if we win, because the big win is in a week and a half, but I think that these guys will show up then as well.”


The team race was a moot point entering the championship session. Penn State finished with 157.5 team points, well ahead of runner-up Ohio State who totaled 122.5 points. Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska rounded out the top five teams.


The Big Ten Conference announced Nickal and Nolf as Co-Wrestlers of the Year following the tournament. Nolf was also awarded Co-Outstanding Wrestler of the Championships alongside Iowa’s Alex Marinelli.


The Bull, as he is affectionately known by Hawkeye fans, was relentless in a 9-3 thumping of two-time NCAA champion Vincenzo Joseph in the 165-pound final. Marinelli pushed the pace from the onset, forcing Joseph into several errant offensive attacks. A six-point sequence early in the second period was the lynchpin for Marinelli in this one.


“The match was won by my attacks, not (Joseph’s),” Marinelli said. “I don’t care what he has, I care what I have. That was the game plan. I don’t really know what’s going on, but that was the game plan.”


Joseph wasn’t the only reigning NCAA champion to fall on Sunday evening in Minneapolis. Iowa’s Spencer Lee was upended for the second time this season by emerging Northwestern star Sebastian Rivera in sudden victory, 6-4.


Ohio State and Rutgers each netted a pair of individual champions.


Buckeyes Myles Martin and Joey McKenna stood atop the podium at 184 pounds and 141 pounds, respectively. Martin received a forfeit from Penn State’s Shakur Rasheed to earn his first conference title. McKenna went back-to-back with a 9-2 win over Cinderella Chad Red of Nebraska at 141 pounds.


Jersey boys Nick Suriano and Anthony Ashnault both won championship bouts over Ohio State opponents. Suriano controlled Luke Pletcher to a 4-1 decision at 133 pounds. Ashnault staved off Micah Jordan for the second time this season, winning a tight 8-6 bout at 149 pounds. Ashnault became a three-time Big Ten champion with the win.


Complete results from the 2019 Big Ten Championships can be found on Trackwrestling.com. Video archives of each match can be found on Flowrestling.com.

2019 Big Ten Championships

At Minneapolis, Minn., March 9-10

Note: The Big Ten has 78 automatic NCAA qualifiers


Team Standings

1. Penn State 157.5

2. Ohio State 122.5

3. Iowa 107.5

4. Minnesota 101.5

5. Nebraska 96.5

6. Michigan 76.5

7. Wisconsin 76

8. Northwestern 53.5

8. Rutgers 53.5

10. Purdue 42

11. Illinois 39.5

12. Indiana 31

13. Michigan State 29.5

14. Maryland 13


Final Results


125 pounds (9 NCAA qualifiers)

1st – Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern) dec. Spencer Lee (Iowa), 6-4 SV1

3rd – Sean Russell (Minnesota) dec. Elijah Oliver (Indiana), 6-0

5th – Travis Piotrowski (Illinois) med. for. RayVon Foley (Michigan State), 0:00

7th – Drew Mattin (Michigan) fall Devin Schroder (Purdue), 2:11


133 pounds (8 NCAA qualifiers)

1st – Nick Suriano (Rutgers) dec. Luke Pletcher (Ohio State), 4-1

3rd – Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) dec. Austin DeSanto (Iowa), 6-2

5th – Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) med. for. Stevan Micic (Michigan), 0:00

7th – Ben Thornton (Purdue) dec. Dylan Duncan (Illinois), 3-1


141 pounds (9 NCAA qualifiers)

1st – Joey McKenna (Ohio State) dec. Chad Red (Nebraska), 9-2

3rd – Nick Lee (Penn State) maj. dec. Mitch McKee (Minnesota), 12-4

5th – Kanen Storr (Michigan) dec. Tristan Moran (Wisconsin), 7-4

7th – Max Murin (Iowa) dec. Michael Carr (Illinois), 3-1


149 pounds (6 NCAA qualifiers)

1st – Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) dec. Micah Jordan (Ohio State), 8-6

3rd – Pat Lugo (Iowa) dec. Cole Martin (Wisconsin), 11-6

5th – Thomas Thorn (Minnesota) med. for. Brady Berge (Penn State), 0:00

7th – Shayne Oster (Northwestern) dec. Malik Amine (Michigan), 8-6


157 pounds (9 NCAA qualifiers)

1st – Jason Nolf (Penn State) maj. dec. Tyler Berger (Nebraska), 12-4

3rd – Alec Pantaleo (Michigan) dec. Kaleb Young (Iowa), 5-3

5th – Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) maj. dec. Steve Bleise (Minnesota), 10-1

7th – Ke-Shawn Hayes (Ohio State) dec. John Van Brill (Rutgers), 5-3


165 pounds (9 NCAA qualifiers)

1st – Alex Marinelli (Iowa) dec. Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State), 9-3

3rd – Logan Massa (Michigan) dec. Evan Wick (Wisconsin), 2-1

5th – Isaiah White (Nebraska) dec. Te`Shan Campbell (Ohio State), 3-2

7th – Bryce Martin (Indiana) dec. Tyler Morland (Northwestern), 8-3


174 pounds (8 NCAA qualifiers)

1st – Mark Hall (Penn State) dec. Myles Amine (Michigan), 3-2

3rd – Devin Skatzka (Minnesota) dec. Mikey Labriola (Nebraska), 4-2

5th – Dylan Lydy (Purdue) dec. Ethan Smith (Ohio State), 5-3

7th – Drew Hughes (Michigan State) med. for. Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin), 0:00


184 pounds (8 NCAA qualifiers)

1st – Myles Martin (Ohio State) med. for. Skakur Rasheed (Penn State), 0:00

3rd – Emery Parker (Illinois) dec. Taylor Venz (Nebraska), 5-1

5th – Cash Wilcke (Iowa) med. for. Nick Gravina (Rutgers), 0:00

7th – Max Lyon (Purdue) dec. Mason Reinhardt (Wisconsin), 8-1


197 pounds (5 NCAA qualifiers)

1st – Bo Nickal (Penn State) dec. Kollin Moore (Ohio State), 10-3

3rd – Jacob Warner (Iowa) dec. Eric Schultz (Nebraska), 7-5 SV1

5th – Christian Brunner (Purdue) dec. Beau Breske (Wisconsin), 6-0

7th – Brad Wilton (Michigan State) dec. Jake Kleimola (Indiana), 9-5


285 pounds (7 NCAA qualifiers)

1st – Anthony Cassar (Penn State) dec. Gable Steveson (Minnesota), 4-3

3rd – Youssif Hemida (Maryland) dec. Trent Hilger (Wisconsin), 3-2

5th – Conan Jennings (Northwestern) inj. def. David Jensen (Nebraska), 6:35

7th – Mason Parris (Michigan) dec. Jacob Aven (Purdue), 7-3