Piscataway, NJ–The No. 1-ranked team and two-time Iowa national champion captured his first Big Ten title on Sunday, Spencer Lee dominated his 125-pound weight class with a 16-2 major decision win over Purdue’s No. 6 Devin Schroder in the championship round of the 2020 Big 10 Championship at the RAC in Piscataway.
The Iowa Hawkeyes picked up the team win at the conference level for the first time since 2010, led by three champions at 125-pound Spencer Lee, 141-pound Pat Lugo, and 165-pound Alex Marinelli. Lee’s dominance led him to be named Big Ten wrestler of the Year, and head coach Tom Brands picked up Big Ten coach of the year accolades.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers finished second as a team in the Big Ten with one finalist and five third-place finishers.
The Ohio State Buckeyes took third with two champions in Kollin Moore and Luke Pletcher, while Penn State took fourth with two champs in Aaron Brooks and Mark Hall.
Northwestern also had two champions as well in Sebastian Rivera and Ryan Deakin and finished sixth as a team for the day. Rivera’s performance also earned him Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament, while Aaron Brooks won Freshman of the Year for his win at 184. Minnesota notched the final champion at 285 pounds in Gable Steveson and finished eighth as a team.
Sebastian Rivera, a New Jersey native and state champion at Christian Brothers Academy came after Lee and beat Penn State’s Roman Bravo-Young, 7-2 in their 133 pounds dual to take home his second conference title. Rivera, ranked third nationally, upset Wisconsin’s No. 1 Seth Gross in the semifinal round. Gross won a national title at South Dakota State in 2018. Bravo-Young, ranked No. 4, took down Iowa’s No. 2 Austin DeSanto in his semifinal bout to slide into the final.
At 157 pounds, Ryan Deakin of Northwestern beat Purdue’s Kendall Coleman with a 7-2 major decision. Iowa’s Alex Marinelli successfully defended his championship in a thriller at 165 pounds following a 3-2 decision against No. 1-seeded Vincenzo Joseph of Penn State.
Mark Hall of Penn State defended his Big Ten title, winning the 174-pound championship with an 8-5 decision over a tough Iowa’s Michael Kemerer. At 184 pounds, Penn State freshman Brooks took the crown beating Michigan State’s Cameron Caffey 3-2.
BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS 2020 MEDAL ROUND RESULTS
125 POUNDS:
1-Spencer Lee, Iowa md. Devin Schroeder, Purdue, 16-2.
3-Michael D’Augustino, Northwestern dec. Jack Medley, Michigan, 3-2 TB.
5-Liam Cronin, Indiana pin. Alex Thomsen, Nebraska, 4:09.
7-Malik Heinselman, Ohio State dec. Logan Griffin, Michigan State, 8-4.
133 POUNDS:
1-Sebastian Rivera, Northwestern dec. Ramon Bravo-Young, Penn State, 7-2.
3-Seth Gross, Wisconsin dec. Austin DeSanto, Iowa, 6-3.
5-Travis Piotrowski, Illinois pin. Sammy Alvarez, Rutgers, 5-3 SV.
7-Ridge Lovett, Nebraska dec. Joey Silva, Michigan, 4-3.
141 POUNDS:
1-Luke Pletcher, Ohio State dec. Nick Lee, Penn State, 6-5.
3-Chad Red, Nebraska md. Tristan Moran, Wisconsin, 12-3.
5-Max Murin, Iowa mfor. Mitch McKee, Monnesota.
7-Dylan Duncan, Illinois dec. Parker Fiilius, Purdue, 3-1.
149 POUNDS:
1-Pat Lugo, Iowa dec. Sammy Sasso, Ohio State, 2-1.
3-Collin Purinton, Nebraska dec. Brayton Lee, Minnesota, 3-0.
5-Kanen Storr, Michigan dec. Griffin Parriott, Purdue, 5-3.
7-Alex Hrispoulous, Michigan State pin. Cole Martin, Wisconsin, 2:46.
157 POUNDS:
1-Ryan Deakin, Northwestern vs. Kendall Coleman, Purdue.
3-Eric Barone, Illinois vs. Peyton Robb, Nebraska.
5-Will Lewan, Michigan mfor. Jake Tucker. Michigan State.
7-Mike VanBrill, Rutgers pin. Garrett Model, Wisconsin, 2:23.
165 POUNDS:
1-Alex Marinelli, Iowa dec. Vincenzo Joseph, Penn State, 3-2.
3-Isaiah White, Nebraska dec. Ethan Smith, Ohio State, 3-2.
5-Shayne Oster, Northwestern dec. Danny Braunagel, Illinois, 8-4.
7-Drew Hughes, Michigan State dec. Tyler Meisinger, Michigan, 6-2.
174 POUNDS:
1-Mark Hall, Penn State dec. Michael Kemerer, Iowa, 8-5.
3-Dylan Lydy, Purdue dec. Kaleb Romero, Ohio State, 3-1.
5-Devin Skatzka, Minnesota dec. Mikey Labriola, Nebraska, 8-3.
7-Layne Malczewski, Michigan State dec. Joey Gunther, Illinois, 5-2.
184 POUNDS:
1-Aaron Brooks, Penn State dec. Cameron Caffey, Michigan State, 3-2.
3-Taylor Venz, Nebraska dec. Abe Assad, Iowa, 6-4.
5-Rocky Jordan, Ohio State dec. Max Lyon, Purdue, 6-1.
7-Johnny Sebastian, Wisconsin mfor. Jelani Embree, Michigan.
197 POUNDS:
1-Kollin Moore, Ohio State dec. Eric Schultz, Nebraska, 4-1.
3-Jacob Warner, Iowa inj. Shakur Rasheed, Penn State, 3:00.
5-Lucas Davison, Northwestern mfor. Christian Brunner, Purdue.
7-Jackson Striggow, Michigan dec. Hunter Ritter, Minnesota, 9-2.
HEAVYWEIGHT:
1-Gable Steveson, Minnesota dec. Mason Parris, Michigan, 8-6.
3-Anthony Cassioppi, Iowa dec. Trent Hillger, Wisconsin, 4-0.
5-David Jensen, Nebraska dec. Gary Traub, Ohio State, 6-0.
7-Thomas Penola, Purdue dec. Luke Luffman, Illinois, 3-2.
