Penn State Roars to Big Ten Team Championship, Led by 4 Individual Champions
With four champions and six in the finals, Penn State's Nittany Lions secured the 2019 Big Ten conference championship. They outpaced the second place Ohio State Buckeyes by 30 points. Iowa and host-team Minnesota finished with podium placements, third and fourth place respectively. This tournament served as the finale to an exciting and competitive conference season, and a qualifying tournament for the NCAA championships, set in two weeks in Philadelphia.
The final session saw a ton of matchups that will likely be repeated as national finals, with multiple #1 vs #2 bouts from past All-Americans and National Champions. In the opening bout, dramatic momentum shifts saw Sebastian Rivera down Spencer Lee in overtime at 125, before 133 saw Rutgers' Nick Suriano beat Luke Pletcher of tOSU in a physical bout. The Buckeyes crowned theirfirst champion of the day at 141 with Joey McKenna, before Anthony Ashnault continued his flawless season at 149 by beating Micah Jordan in an exciting contest. Jason Nolf started the run of PSU hammers at 157, taking a comfortable decision from Tyler Berger for his second Big 10 title.
165 saw an upset, with #2 Alex Marinelli of Iowa upsetting 2-time national champion Vincenzo Joseph, in a match where Alex's attacks and pace never let Joseph get to his offense. At 174 and 197, PSU's defending champions Mark Hall and Bo Nickal won over Myles Amine and Kollin Moore respectively, and at 184 Ohio State's Myles Martin took a medical forfeit for the championship. At heavyweight, Anthony Cassar did what no one else has done, beating Gable Steveson of Minnesota for the first time in college, earning his only Big 10 title.
2019 Big Ten Championships
Sunday, March 10, 2019 - Williams Arena - Minneapolis, Minn.
1: Penn State - 157.5
2: Ohio State - 122.5
3: Iowa - 107.5
4: Minnesota - 101.5
5: Nebraska - 96.5
6: Michigan - 76.5
7: Wisconsin - 76.0
8: Northwestern - 53.5
8: Rutgers - 53.5
10: Purdue - 42.0
11: Illinois -- 39.5
12: Indiana - 31.0
13: Michigan State - 29.5
14: Maryland - 13.0