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  • Photo: Photo/Sam Janicki

    Christopher Miller •

    Photo: Photo/Sam Janicki

    Takeaways from Big Ten Wrestling Championships

    The Big Ten Wrestling Championships, the nation's premier conference wrestling tournament, took place Saturday and Sunday at Penn State. Below are my takeaways from the event.

    Iowa dominated

    With a lineup that is as veteran-heavy and as star-studded as this Hawkeye lineup is, I don't think the result really surprised anyone. The conjecture has always been that 2020 and 2021 looked to favor the Hawks. If the performances at the Bryce Jordan Center where indicative of what is to come, this is Iowa's year. The Black and Gold put six in the finals and crowned four champs to win the team title by 35.5 points. The Hawks won't win nationals by as wide of a margin, but I believe they will win in 2021, their first national championship since 2010.


    Spencer Lee and Gable Steveson are locks to win it all in 2021

    Few would argue with the statement that Spencer Lee is one of the best wrestlers in the world. The statistical data of his 2021 season also confirms it: Lee is a perfect 7-0. He has pinned five of his seven opponents, all in the first period, and won the other two bouts by technical fall. He has outscored his opponents 82-7 thus far. The title is his.

    Gable Steveson takes down Mason Parris in the Big Ten finals (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com)

    Gable Steveson has displayed a similar level of dominance in the heavyweight division. On the year, the Golden Gopher is 12-0 with 11 bonus-point wins. He is as physically gifted as any one at the weight has ever been. Not to mention, Steveson has trounced the No. 2 and No. 3 nationally-ranked heavyweights (Mason Paris and Tony Cassioppi) throughout his career. If his 12-4 decision over Paris in the Big Ten finals taught us anything it's that Gable is the best heavyweight in the NCAA by a wide margin. The dominant finals match also helped Steveson take home the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler award.

    As far as I'm concerned, the 125-pound title and the 285-pound national titles have already been crowned.


    RBY officially has DeSanto's number

    Iowa's Austin DeSanto is a great wrestler with a decent chance to earn All-American honors in 2021, maybe more. That said, and it feels strange to type this, DeSanto has had no answers for Bravo-Young as of late.

    Stylistically, DeSanto usually brings pace and a lot of takedowns to his bouts. However, the last few matchups between these two, Bravo-Young has dictated the pace of the match and it shows. Over their last two full matches, plus a partial match where DeSanto had to injury default, DeSanto hasn't recorded a takedown. Not surprisingly, the Hawkeye has lost all three matches.

    The 141-pound weight class at NCAAs will be electric

    Watching Sebastian Rivera versus Nick Lee in the semifinals, followed up by the Nick Lee vs Jaydin Eierman match in the Big Ten finals showed me that these three are all likely to meet up again at NCAAs and it will be an absolute dogfight. I would not be surprised to see this trio finish No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 in St. Louis. All three of these 141-pounders are capable of beating one another.

    Marinelli gets third title, Kemerer finally gets first

    Iowa 165-pounder Alex Marinelli looked strong considering how much time he has missed this season due to COVID-19-related protocols. Still, the Hawkeye middle-weight has now captured three Big Ten crowns in as many attempts. Thus, next year he will be chasing the ever-elusive Big Ten four-peat.

    At 174 pounds the wily sixth-year veteran, Michael Kemerer, finally acquired his first conference title on his third attempt. Kemerer had previously lost in the 157-pound finals in 2017 and 174 finals in 2020. Injuries have also prolonged his stay in Iowa City. It's nice to see him finally get that title after being so close two other times.


    Is Penn State's Aaron Brooks going to be the first five-time Big Ten Champion?

    Truthfully, it is far too early to even be contemplating this. That said, it is worth mentioning that Brooks is a two-time Big Ten champ as a sophomore. Should he win as both a junior and a senior, then utilize his free year of eligibility awarded due to the global pandemic, he could be the only five-time conference champion in the conference's illustrious history. That could happen in 2024.

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