Penn State Wins 2024 NCAA DI Championship
Just as they have done 10 times before under head coach Cael Sanderson, the Penn State Nittany Lions captured the Division I national title.
This time, though, Penn State made a little extra history in its victory.
The Nittany Lions put eight athletes on the podium including four national champions, two runner-ups and two additional place winners.
FINAL BRACKET | FINAL TEAM SCORES
Carter Starocci and Aaron Brooks headlined the success for the Blue and White, winning their fourth NCAA titles to become the sixth and seventh athletes to do so in NCAA wrestling. Starocci's win came by way of a 2-0 decision against No. 6 Rocco Welsh of Ohio State via an escape point and a stall point, but that was all he needed to finish on top once again. Aaron Brooks followed Starocci's footsteps, becoming the seventh four-time NCAA champ in history and the second for Penn State with his win over Hidlay 6-1.
Heavyweight Greg Kerkvliet added a title at heavyweight, his first, with a 13-4 major decision of Lucas Davison in a match in which he did not give up a single offensive point. He set a tone of total domination.
The Nittany Lions produced another national champ at 157 pounds as No. 1 Levi Haines completed his undefeated season with a strategic 4-0 shutout against No. 2 Jacori Teemer.
Penn State's No. 2 Beau Bartlett and No. 2 Mitchell Mesenbrink finished as runner-ups, as No. 1 Jesse Mendez of Ohio State topped Bartlett 4-1 at 141 pounds, and Mesenbrink fell to Iowa State's No. 4 David Carr at 165 pounds 9-8. Carr's win gave him his second title for the Cyclones, the first of which came in his freshman season at 157 pounds.
The Nittany Lions weren't the only team with historic moments on Saturday night, though. The Virginia Tech Hokies crowned just the second national champion in program history as No. 4 Caleb Henson turned up the offense at 149 pounds and earned a 15-7 bonus-point win over Michigan's No. 6 Austin Gomez, the 2024 Olympic rep for Mexico at 65kg. Henson is not only the second Hokie to finish on top of the podium in program history, but he is also the first national champion in NCAA wrestling history from the state of Georgia. His win is one of four podium finishers for the Hokies as part of their standout weekend in Kansas City.
Arizona State, Cornell and Northern Iowa will also leave the Show-Me State with one champ each. Sun Devil 125-pounder Richard Figueroa earned his first national championship by way of a 7-2 victory against Iowa's Drake Ayala, while Cornell's No. 6 Vito Arujau topped four-time NCAA finalist No. 1 Daton Fix of Oklahoma State at 133 pounds 5-3 for his second title and No. 1 Parker Keckeisen bonused No. 3 Dustin Plott of Oklahoma State at 184 pounds.
2024 NCAA Division I National Championships
March 23 at Kansas City, Missouri
Top 10 Teams
1. Penn State (172.5)
2. Cornell (72.5)
3. Michigan (71)
4. Iowa State (68.5)
5. Iowa (67)
6. Arizona State (64.5)
7. Virginia Tech (64)
8. Ohio State (62)
9. Nebraska (60.5)
10. Oklahoma State (56)
Championship Finals
125 - Richard Figueroa (Arizona State) dec. Drake Ayala (Iowa), 7-2
133 - Vito Arujau (Cornell) dec. Daton Fix (Oklahoma State), 5-3
141 - Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) dec. Beau Bartlett (Penn State), 4-1
149 - Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) maj. dec. Austin Gomez (Michigan), 15-7
157 - Levi Haines (Penn State) dec. Jacori Teemer (Arizona State), 5-0
165 - David Carr (Iowa State) dec. Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State), 9-8
174 - Carter Starocci (Penn State) dec. Rocco Welsh (Ohio State), 2-0
184 - Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) maj. dec. Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State), 14-5
197 - Aaron Brooks (Penn State) dec. Trent Hidlay (NC State), 6-1
285 - Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) maj. dec. Lucas Davison (Michigan), 13-4