Penn State’s wrestling season is coming to a close, with only two events remaining.
This week, the Nittany Lions head to Northwestern University for the Big Ten Championships in Evanston, Illinois. It’s the last stop of the year before the NCAA Championships in Philadelphia March 20-22.
Here’s a look at how we think the Big Ten Championships could play out:
125 POUNDS: LUKE LILLEDAHL (NO. 4)
Nate Cobler: Lilledahl enters his first Big Ten Championships as the No. 4 seed. However, he isn’t a typical No. 4 seed with how much success he’s had this season. He has the ability to wreck the bracket and make the finals while taking out the top seed in Purdue’s Matt Ramos. Lilledahl had a questionable loss this year in the dual with Ohio State, where he was leading and ended up getting pinned. Cael Sanderson and Co. always has their guys ready for the postseason, so look to see a focused Lilledahl looking to repeat what Braeden Davis did a year ago winning this weight class as a true freshman. Lilledahl’s predicted finish: 1st Predicted champion: Lilledahl
Jon Sauber: Ramos should be the favorite at the weight, but he also hasn’t faced any of the other top five wrestlers in the Big Ten in the class. He has wins over Indiana’s Jacob Moran and Ohio State’s Brendan McCrone, who sit just outside the top five, but his lack of track record against the others means this class is more up in the air than you’d expect for one with a 23-0 wrestler at the top. Lilledahl will have a legitimate chance to win the conference title, and would likely take on Ramos in the quarterfinals if both get there. The Nittany Lion has a chance to make waves with a win there — one I think he gets — and head into nationals with some confidence even without a first place finish. Lilledahl’s predicted finish: 2nd Predicted champion: Rutgers’ Dean Peterson.
133 POUNDS: BRAEDEN DAVIS (NO. 4)
Cobler: The question here is how healthy is Davis. He missed the duals with Iowa and Michigan, but came back for the Big Ten closers with Ohio State and Illionis. Davis didn’t wrestle in the season finale, but Sanderson said during Monday’s media day that Davis is as healthy as he has been since getting injured in the season-opening dual against Drexel. As the No. 4 seed, it’s not ideal as Davis falls on the same side of the bracket as the No. 1 seed in Iowa’s Drake Ayala. It was a bout fans wanted to see in that dual with the Hawkeyes, but didn’t come to fruition. Davis’ predicted finish: 3rd Predicted champion: Ayala
141 POUNDS: BEAU BARTLETT (NO. 1)
Cobler: This is probably one of the most loaded weight classes in the conference, with Bartlett leading the pack. He didn’t get to this point until late in the season though. He topped Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez in the dual, which was similar to last year. The downfall though was Mendez got Bartlett in the other two meetings after that, which were the Big Ten and NCAA finals. However, Bartlett seems like he may have figured out Mendez, so it’s just a matter of if the two will match up in the Big Ten finals again. Bartlett’s predicted finish: 1st Predicted champion: Bartlett
