Penn State defends its NCAA wrestling title, clinching its 10th title under Kyle Sanderson
For the tenth time in the past 12 years, the NCAA wrestling title will return to Happy Valley.
Penn State put on an impressive quarterfinals on Friday afternoon and saw seven wrestlers enter Friday night’s semifinals. Five of these semifinalists made it to the Saturday Night Finals.
The Nittany Lions opened the day with a 39.5-point lead over Iowa, the only other team with a shot to lead. They only needed 9.5 points to seal the deal. It fell to one point when Iowa’s Spencer Lee lost a medical before the wrestling began on Saturday morning.
The title win came when Bo Bartlett beat Clay Carlson of South Dakota State, 12-3.
“That’s why I came back to get this title. I’m glad my decision paid off,” Roman Bravo Young said Friday night after his semi-final win.
This marks the program’s 11th overall title, and the 10th under head coach Kyle Sanderson. Penn State collected its first title under Sanderson in 2011, and proceeded to win the next three. After taking a year off the team’s top podium, he won four consecutive titles from 2016-2019.
Now, it looks as if the Nittany Lions may be in the midst of another streak of winning multiple NCAA titles in a row, winning back-to-back crowns.
