It was a fierce second day of action at the Big Ten wrestling championships Sunday at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
The team race
Michigan scratched out a 1½-point victory over Penn State 143-141½ to clinch its first Big Ten wrestling championship since 1973. It was also the first non-Iowa or Penn State school to win a conference title since Minnesota in 2007.
After sending five to the finals, the Wolverines got two champions, including Nick Suriano at 125 pounds and Myles Amine at 184. Amine was the big story of the day, outlasting defending national champion Aaron Brooks of Penn State 6-4 in overtime to clinch the 184 title and the eventual points needed to win the meet.
Penn State got eight separate top-eight finishes including a tournament-high four champions with Roman Bravo-Young (133), Nick Lee (141), Carter Starocci (174) and Max Dean (197). It’s the sixth time in the last seven years that the Nittany Lions have finished as either champion or runner-up.
Iowa capped off the big three with a third-place finish with 129½ points. The Hawkeyes struggled in the medal round as they medically forfeited a handful of matches including the 141 and heavyweight title bouts. Despite that, Iowa still had all ten wrestlers finish in the top-eight with Alex Marinelli at 165 the only champion.
Sunday buzz
Tervel ¶Ù±ô²¹²µ²Ô±ð±¹Ìýaccepts bronze: The Nebraska volunteer assistant was officially awarded the bronze medal from the 2012 London Olympics in the 120-kg division. It was announced in 2019 that Dlagnev, along with Kazakhstan’s Daulet Shabanbay would both receive bronze medals after Uzbekistan’s Artur Taymazov and Georgia’s Davit Modmanishvili had a positive re-doping test.
The former initially won gold while the latter won silver. A special ceremony was held for Dlagnev ahead of the start of the championship matches, as former teammates and family were in attendance.
“Obviously, you know an arena full of people clapping, that’s a pretty cool moment,†Dlagnev said. “But the event was long ago so the emotions of like happiness, excitement, nothing like that. But I have gratitude, this is a cool honor.â€
Marinelli makes history: Iowa’s Alex Marinelli has been around the block. The sixth-year senior made history Sunday afternoon becoming only the 17th four-time Big Ten champion in the history of the conference after a 2-1 victory over Michigan’s No. 4 Cameron Amine.
The Miamisburg, Ohio, native and three-time All-American has been a model of consistency for the Hawkeyes, winning every title at 165 pounds. It’s the first time since 2016 that there’s been a four-time Big Ten champ with Illinois’s Isaiah Martinez the last recipient of that honor.
Forfeits leave sour note: As much as the championship session entertained fans and showcased some great matches, it also left a sour taste in the mouths of the many who attended. Of the fifth-, third- and first-place matches, 10 were not wrestled due to medical forfeits.
That included two championship matches as Jayden Eierman forfeited for Iowa at 141 and Tony Cassioppi did the same thing at heavyweight. The entirety of PBA booed when it was announced Cassioppi had forfeited, before cheering for Minnesota's Gable Steveson who stood alone on the mat with his arm raised.
Photos: Big Ten wrestling championships wrap up at Pinnacle Bank Arena
Reach Clark Grell at 402-473-2639 or cgrell@journalstar.com. On Twitter at @LJSSportsGrell.
Michigan’s Logan Massa celebrates after an overtime win over Penn State’s Carter Starocci during the 174-pound final of the Big Ten wrestling championships at Pinnacle Bank Arena.