Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) controls Austin DeSanto (Iowa) in NCAA semifinals. Photo by Larry Slater.

DETROIT, Mich. – Penn State entered the NCAA Championships semifinal round with six wrestlers and a 10.5- point lead over host Michigan in Little Caesars Arena. When the session was over, five Nittany Lions advanced to the finals, and the lead over Michigan extended to 23.5 points.

Penn State finalists are No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young (133), No. 1 Nick Lee (141), No. 1 Carter Starocci (174), No. 2 Aaron Brooks (184) and No. 1 Max Dean (197). The only PSU wrestler in the semifinals to lose was No. 4 Greg Kerkvliet (285), who fell to 2020 Olympic champion Gable Steveson of Minnesota. Penn State has no other wrestlers in consolations, finishing with six All-Americans.

Michigan earned two finalists, No. 1 Nick Suriano (125) and No, 1 Myles Amine (184) but had three wrestlers lose in the semifinals. Michigan also has six All-Americans, with four athletes competing on Saturday morning looking to add as many points as possible.

The top five teams after day two were Penn State with 108 points, Michigan with 84.5 points, Arizona State with 63.5 points, Iowa with 62 points and Nebraska with 54 points.

There will be nine wrestlers attempting to add another NCAA title to their resume, Suriano, Bravo-Young, Lee, Starocci, Brooks, Yianni Diakomihalis of Cornell (149), Shane Griffith of Stanford (165), Mehki Lewis of Virginia Tech (174) and Gable Steveson of Minnesota (285). Diakomihalis will be going for a third NCAA title, with previous titles in 2018 and 2019.

A summary of the semifinals follows:

125 pounds

No. 1 Nick Suriano (Michigan) dec. No. 4 Brandon Courtney (Arizona State), 4-1
Suriano was in control during a 4-1 win over Brandon Courtney of Arizona. Suriano scored a first-period takedown, earned an escape, plus a riding time point, only giving Courtney an escape. He has reached his third NCAA final, winning a title for Rutgers at 133 pounds in 2019.

No. 3 Pat Glory (Princeton) dec. No. 2 Vito Arujau (Cornell), 13-5

Arujau scored the first takedown and led 2-1 at the end of the first period. In the second period, Glory was able to get a reversal, then broke open the match with a four-point near fall to lead 7-2. Arujau rallied with a reversal, plus a point on a hands-locking call, to close it to 7-5. Glory escaped late in the second period to make it 8-5. The third period was all Glory, with a takedown and turn, plus riding time to expand the margin of victory. It was their third meeting of the year, with Glory winning the first bout and Arujau the second bout. Princeton secured its first finalist since 2002.

133 pounds

No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) dec. No. 5 Austin DeSanto (Iowa), 3-2
Bravo-Young will get the chance to defend his title, earning a rematch with Daton Fix of Oklahoma State. Neither athlete could score in the first period, and both earned escapes from the bottom to make it 1-1 in the third period. Bravo-Young completed a takedown with just eight seconds left to secure the win. DeSanto got an escape in the last seconds to no avail.

No. 2 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 3 Michael McGee (Arizona State), 5-1
Fix reached his third NCAA final, controlling McGee from the opening whistle. Fix scored a first-period takedown, secured a second period escape, and after McGee escaped in the third period, Fix got the final takedown. Fix will seek a first NCAA title, as well as avenge last year’s finals loss to Bravo-Young.

141 pounds

No. 1 Nick Lee (Penn State) dec. No. 4 Real Woods (Stanford), 3-2
Lee also gets a chance to repeat as NCAA champion, after a controlled victory over Woods. Lee scored the first-period takedown, which was the difference. Woods escaped before the end of the first period to make it 1-1. Both wrestlers got escapes from the bottom. Woods was not able to get a third-period takedown.

No. 15 Kizhan Clarke (North Carolina) dec. No. 6 Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh), UTB 2-2
In a tight match all the way, Clarke won the ultimate tiebreaker with riding time advantage. Neither could score in the first period, then both got escapes when on bottom. Nobody scored in sudden victory, but Clarke had the edge in riding time to win. Clarke’s victories came over seeds No. 18, No. 2, No. 10 and now No. 6.

149 pounds

No. 1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) dec. No. 4 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State), 6-3
Diakomihalis will get to go for his third NCAA title, with his last NCAA finals way back in 2019. Diakomihalis scored the opening takedown in the first period, with Sasso getting an escape to make it 2-1. Diakomihalis scored another takedown to make it 4-2 after the first period. In the second, Yianni got the escape to lead 5-1 in the second period. In the third, Sasso got an escape, then Diakomihalis was hit for

No. 10 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) dec. No. 11 Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech), 5-4
This was one of the more entertaining and hard-fought semifinals, with lots of scrambles and drama. Lovett scored the opening takedown, with Andonian scoring a reversal, where back points were not given but possible. In the second period, Andonian got a reversal, and Lovett scored his own reversal in the third period. The difference was Lovett’s riding time advantage, which he had clinched early in the match.

157 pounds

No. 5 Quincy Monday (Princeton) dec. No. 8 Will Lewan (Michigan), 3-2
Monday’s victory gave Princeton two finalists for the first time in history. The key to the match was Monday’s takedown in the first period, which Lewan answered with an escape. Monday got a second period escape, and Lewan got an escape in the third period. No other takedowns were scored. Monday has now reached an NCAA finals, just like his father Kenny, who made three finals for Oklahoma State (including a 1984 title).

No. 2 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) maj. dec. No, 3 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State), 10-2
Teemer came out quickly and took down Deakin to lead 2-0, but Deakin took over from there, getting an escape and a takedown to lead 3-2 after one period. In the second period, Deakin got an escape and a takedown, and another point on a stalling penalty to lead 7-2. In the third period, which started in neutral, Deakin added another takedown and riding time for the major decision.

165 pounds

No. 5 Shane Griffith (Stanford) dec. No. 1 Evan Wick (Cal Poly), 7-5
In a rematch of the Pac-12 finals, Griffith turned the tables on Wick with last-minute heroics, and earned the right to defend his 2021 NCAA title. The first period was active, with Griffith scoring two takedowns, with Wick responding with escapes, to lead 4-2, but a Wick takedown late in the period tied it at 4-4. Griffith scored a second period escape, and then Wick tied it up with a third-period escape. With just one second on the clock, Griffith finished a takedown for the stunning 7-5 win. A challenge by Cal Poly was not successful.

No. 2 Keegan O`Toole (Missouri) dec. No. 6 Cameron Amine (Michigan), 4-0
O’Toole scored the only takedown in the match in the first period and rode out Amine in the second period. In the third, Amine chose neutral, and there was no takedown. O’Toole added a riding time point.

174 pounds

No. 1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) dec. No. 4 Hayden Hidlay (NC State), 10-3
Starocci came out strong, scoring two first-period takedowns, sandwiched around a Hidlay escape, to lead 4-1 at the end of the first period. In the second, Starocci escaped, then added another takedown for a 7-1 lead. Hidlay got an escape with seven seconds left in the second period to make it 7-2. In the third, Hidlay escaped, but Starocci added another takedown and picked up riding time for the seven-point win.

No. 2 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) pin No. 3 Logan Massa (Michigan), 6:16
The first period had no takedowns. Lewis escaped to lead 1-0 after two periods. In the third period, Massa escaped to tie it at 2-2, but Lewis responded with a takedown, putting Massa to his back and finishing off the fall with 42 seconds left in the match. Lewis won his first NCAA title in 2019, Virginia Tech’s first and will have to beat the returning champion

184 pounds

No. 1 Myles Amine (Michigan) dec. No. 5 Bernie Truax (Cal Poly), SV-1 3-1
Amine needed to go to sudden victory to reach his first NCAA finals, after competing in a bronze-medal match in his four previous NCAA Championships (4-3-3-3). There was no takedown in the first period, and the wrestlers traded escapes in the next two period to make it 1-1 at the end of regulation. Amine fired up the home crowd with a takedown in sudden victory.

No. 2 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) dec.. No. 3 Trent Hidlay (NC State), SV-1 6-4
In a rematch of the 2021 NCAA finals won by Brooks, this one went to overtime. Brooks scored a takedown and Hidlay escaped to make it 2-1 at the end of the first period. In the second, Brooks escaped to make it 3-1. After a Hidlay escape in the third, he added a takedown to take a 4-3 lead over Brooks, who escaped quickly to knot it up at 4-4. In sudden victory, Brooks finished off a takedown and made his second straight NCAA finals. He gets the chance to avenge a loss to Amine in the Big Ten finals.

197 pounds

No. 1 Max Dean (Penn State) dec. No. 21 Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State), 9-3
Dean makes his second career NCAA finals, after placing second earlier in his career at Cornell. He scored a first-period takedown, then added an escape and takedown in the second period to lead 5-0. Hoffman closed it to 5-2 by scoring a takedown in the third period, but Dean escaped and took Hoffman down to make it 8-2. Hoffman escaped with just 13 seconds left. Riding time made it 9-3.

No. 6 Jacob Warner (Iowa) dec. No. 2 Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming), 6-4
There was no first period takedown, but the second period was more active. Warner escaped and Buchanan took him down, with Warner getting out again for a 2-2 tie at the end of two periods. In the third period, with Warner on top, he turned Buchanan for four points and a 6-2 lead. Buchanan got an escape, and a stalling point against Warner for the final 6-4 margin. Warner becomes the only Iowa wrestler in this year’s finals.

285 pounds

No. 1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) dec. No. 4 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State), 8-3
In a battle of prep stars from Minnesota, the match was close early on. Steveson scored a first-period takedown and Kerkvliet escaped to make it 1-1 after one period. In the second, Kerkvliet escaped, and was tied at 2-2 with the defending NCAA champion (and defending Olympic champion). In the third, Steveson got an escape, then added two takedowns (with a Kervliet escape in between) and secured riding time for a five-point win. Steveson has said this will be his last NCAA Championships in his interview, so he comes back Saturday night for one more big show.

No. 2 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) dec. No. 6 Jordan Wood (Lehigh), TB-1 5-3
Wood and Schultz had another battle that went to the very end. Neither athlete scored in the first period, and they traded escapes in the second and third periods to end at 1-1 in regulation. Nobody could score in sudden victory either. In the tiebreaker, Wood got an escape to go up 2-1. Schultz was down and quickly scored a reversal, followed by a Wood escape for a 3-3 tie (with Schultz having more riding time). Wood got in deep on a shot and lifted Schultz, but when then landed, Schultz scrambled and got the winning takedown. A Lehigh challenge was unsuccessful.

2022 NCAA DIV I. WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Detroit, Mich., March 18

Finals Pairings
125 - No. 1 Nick Suriano (Michigan) vs. No. 3 Pat Glory (Princeton)
133 - No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) vs. No. 2 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State)
141 - No. 1 Nick Lee (Penn State) vs. No. 15 Kizhan Clarke (North Carolina)
149 - No. 1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) vs. No. 10 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska)
157 - No. 2 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) vs. No. 5 Quincy Monday (Princeton)
165 - No. 2 Keegan O`Toole (Missouri) vs. No. 5 Shane Griffith (Stanford)
174 - No. 1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) vs. No. 2 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech)
184 - No. 1 Myles Amine (Michigan) vs. No. 2 Aaron Brooks (Penn State)
197 - No. 1 Max Dean (Penn State) vs. No. 6 Jacob Warner (Iowa)
285 - No. 1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) vs. No. 2 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State)

Team Standings
1 Penn State 108.0
2 Michigan 84.5
3 Arizona State 63.5
4 Iowa 62.0
5 Nebraska 54.0
6 Northwestern 49.0
7 Virginia Tech 48.0
8 Cornell 45.0
9 Missouri 42.0
9 Ohio State 42.0
11 Minnesota 41.0
12 NC State 40.5
13 Oklahoma State 38.5
14 Oregon State 38.0
14 Princeton 38.0
16 North Carolina 32.0
16 Wisconsin 32.0
18 Stanford 31.5
19 Iowa State 28.5
20 Northern Iowa 24.0
20 Rutgers 24.0

Semifinal results

125 pounds
No. 1 Nick Suriano (Michigan) dec. No. 4 Brandon Courtney (Arizona State), 4-1
No. 3 Pat Glory (Princeton) dec. No. 2 Vito Arujau (Cornell), 13-5

133 pounds
No. 1 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) dec. No. 5 Austin DeSanto (Iowa), 3-2
No. 2 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 3 Michael McGee (Arizona State), 5-1

141 pounds
No. 1 Nick Lee (Penn State) dec. No. 4 Real Woods (Stanford), 3-2
No. 15 Kizhan Clarke (North Carolina) dec. No. 6 Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh), UTB 2-2

149 pounds
No. 1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) dec. No. 4 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State), 6-3
No. 10 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska) dec. No. 11 Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech), 5-4

157 pounds
No. 5 Quincy Monday (Princeton) dec. No. 8 Will Lewan (Michigan), 3-2
No. 2 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) maj. dec. No, 3 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State), 8-2

165 pounds
No. 5 Shane Griffith (Stanford) dec. No. 1 Evan Wick (Cal Poly), 7-5
No. 2 Keegan O`Toole (Missouri) dec. No. 6 Cameron Amine (Michigan), 4-0

174 pounds
No. 1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) dec. No. 4 Hayden Hidlay (NC State), 10-3
No. 2 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) pin No. 3 Logan Massa (Michigan), 6:16

184 pounds
No. 1 Myles Amine (Michigan) dec. No. 5 Bernie Truax (Cal Poly), SV-1 3-1
No. 2 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) dec. No. 3 Trent Hidlay (NC State), SV-1 6-4

197
No. 1 Max Dean (Penn State) dec. No. 21 Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State), 9-3
No. 6 Jacob Warner (Iowa) dec. No. 2 Stephen Buchanan (Wyoming), 6-4

285 pounds
No. 1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) dec. No. 4 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State), 8-3
No. 2 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) dec. No. 6 Jordan Wood (Lehigh), TB-1 5-3

Updated: Penn State puts five into the finals to lead Michigan by 23.5 points after day two of NCAA Championships

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