Penn State wrestling’s favorite time of year, the postseason, gets underway next week at Northwestern University. And after one of the greatest regular seasons Penn State wrestling history, the program could produce not only the best postseason in its history but also in the history of the sport. So let’s get started.

Big Ten Wrestling Championships

• When: March 8-9

• Where: Welsh Ryan Arena, Evanston, Ill.

• What’s at stake: Big Ten team and individual titles as well as placement and seeding for the NCAA Wrestling Championships

Penn State, which won its fifth consecutive Big Ten regular-season title, will compete for its third straight Big Ten Tournament title. Why the lag? Well, Big Tens for some reason have been a tweener event for Penn State. Coach Cael Sanderson has won 11 NCAA titles at Penn State but eight Big Ten titles. The Nittany Lions have finished second at Big Tens three times (in 2017, 2018 and 2022) before winning the NCAA team title the same year. Last year Penn State changed that narrative, winning the Big Ten team title by scoring a school-record 170.5 points without national champ Carter Starocci, who was injured.

Penn State could surpass that total this year, since no Big Ten team won more than three individual bouts against Penn State during the regular season. Further, Sanderson said after the team’s season-ending match vs. American that the Nittany Lions generally were healthy. That’s the overwhelming focus for next week’s training.

Tyler Kasak, the No. 1 wrestler at 157 pounds, returned from missing two matches with a concussion to score a first-period pin against American. However, 133-pound starter Braeden Davis did not wrestle vs. American for “precautionary” reasons, Sanderson said. As Penn State seeks to qualify 10 wrestlers to nationals for the second consecutive year, Davis’ health will be a key storyline.