IOWA WINS

 BIG TEN TOURNAMENT OVER NEBRASKA AND OHIO STATE

Alex Marinelli of Iowa won the 165 pound Big Ten Championship and led the Hawkeyes to the team victory .

                                       CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS

125- Spencer Lee (Iowa) maj.dec. Devin Schroeder (Purdue) 16-2

133- Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern) dec. Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) 6-2

141- Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) dec. Nick Lee (Penn State) 6-5

149- Pat Lugo (Iowa) dec. Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) 2-1

157- Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) dec. Kendall Coleman (Purdue) 7-2

165- Alex Marinelli (Iowa) dec. Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) 3-2

174- Mark Hall (Penn State) dec. Michael Kemerer (Iowa) 8-5

184- Aaron Brooks (Penn State) dec. Cameron Coffey (Michigan State) 3-2

197- Kollin Moore (Ohio State) dec. Eric Schultz (Nebraska) 4-1

285- Gable Steveson (Minnesota) dec. Mason Parris (Michigan) 8-6

OSW AWARD:

Sebastian Rivera (133) - Northwestern

MAT NOTES:

     Iowa won their 36th Big Ten title before a capacity crowd at the RAC, held on the campus of Rutgers University, New Jersey. Iowa has also won 23 NCAA crowns and are in prime position to add their 24th NCAA title in two weeks at the 90th annual NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Minnesota. The Hawkeyes were paced by two-time NCAA champion Spencer Lee (18-0), a junior at 125, senior Pat Lugo (21-1) at 149 and junior Alex Marinelli (20-1) who defeated nemesis and two-time titlist Vincenzo Joseph (15-1) of Penn State with a close 3-2 verdict in the 165-pound final.

     Defending NCAA team champion Penn State settled in fourth place and had 2018 NCAA champion Mark Hall (24-1) at 174 and Aaron Brooks (15-1) at 184 pounds win championships. Hall is a former six-time Minnesota state champion while Brooks garnered four state crowns in Maryland. Another Nittany Lion, Shakur Rasheed (9-6), a returning All-American, had to injury default and finished in fourth place at 197 pounds. The Ohio State Buckeyes crowned two Big Ten champions Luke Pletcher (26-1), who edged rival Nick Lee (20-1) with a power double leg takedown in the third period and held on for a close 6-5 victory at 141. Also winning was unbeaten and three-time AA Kollin Moore (27-0) who coasted through the 197-pound bracket, both are returning All-Americans and should be top-seeded at the 2020 NCAA meet.

     Northwestern junior MOW Sebastian Rivera (12-2), a New Jersey native, converted two low single takedowns and edged NCAA champion Seth Gross (27-2) of Wisconsin,7-6, in a tight semifinal battle, he then defeated Penn State's Roman Bravo-Young in the final for the gold medal at 133. Two other Big Ten titlists that went unscathed were Northwestern's Ryan Deakin (21-0) at 157 and sophomore Gable Steveson (15-0) of Minnesota, who scored with a slick duck-under takedown to defeat previously unbeaten Mason Parris (28-1), of Michigan in the loaded 285-pound class. Parris is also a sophomore and these two elite heavyweights could meet in the NCAA championship finals. The combined record of the ten champions was an impressive 199 victories and just 7 losses.

TEAM SCORES:

  1. Iowa (156.5 points)

  2. Nebraska (131)

  3. Ohio State (112)

  4. Penn State (107)

  5. Purdue (83)

  6. Northwestern (79.5)

  7. Michigan (73)

  8. Minnesota (63.5)

  9. Wisconsin (62.5)

10. Michigan State (57)