Penn State is in a commanding lead in the team race after the first session on the Big Ten Wrestling Championships on Saturday, leading second-place Minnesota by 23 points.
After the first session, eight Nittany Lions punched their tickets to the semifinals, and seven earned automatic bids to the NCAA tournament in two weeks. With five Big Ten allocations at 197 pounds, senior Bo Nickal needs one more win to qualify.
True freshman Roman Bravo-Young, having lost in the quarterfinals to Ohio State’s Luke Pletcher, will have to win his consolation match against Wisconsin’s Jens Lantz on Saturday night in Session II to qualify at 133 pounds.