The first day of the 2022 NCAA wrestling championships is in the books after the nation's best grapplers hit the mats at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
Penn State, which saw its run of four straight national championships end at the hands of Iowa in 2021, looks like it might be headed for another title under head coach Cael Sanderson.
The Nittany Lions sit atop the team standings already.
2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships Team Standings
1. Penn State, 27.5
2. Arizona State, 22.0
3. NC State 21.5
4. Michigan, 21.0
4. Iowa, 20.5
6. Northern Iowa, 15.0
T7. Nebraska, 14.5
T7. Virginia Tech, 14.5
T9. Oregon State, 14.0
T9. Cornell, 14.0
Full standings available at TrackWrestling.com
Day 1 Recap
Oregon State is sitting ninth in the standings thanks in no small part to Hunter Willits, who delivered the biggest upset of the opening day.
Willits overcame Penn State's Brady Berge in the morning session, which put him on a collision course with top-seeded David Carr of Iowa State. Carr was the 157-pound national champion in 2021 and was a perfect 21-0 this year entering the tournament.
Carr's 55-match winning streak is no more after Willits escaped during their first tiebreaker to deal the decisive blow. The Beavers junior understandably was almost at a loss for words immediately after his stunning victory:
That result was also indicative of how unpredictable the tournament can be:
Jaydin Eierman fought his way to the 2021 final, falling to Penn State's Nick Lee. His quest for gold ended much earlier in Detroit as the Iowa standout was stopped by North Carolina's Kizhan Clarke via sudden victory.
That makes the path to a repeat a little easier for Lee.
All in all it was a good day for Lee and his Nittany Lions teammates, as evidenced by their position in the team standings. Roman Bravo-Young (133 pounds), Carter Starocci (174 pounds), Aaron Brooks (184 pounds), Max Dean (197 pounds) and Greg Kerkvliet (285 pounds) are all still alive in addition to Lee.
If you're curious to know how Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson is faring, he's well on his way to a successful title defense at 285 pounds.
The Minnesota star overcame Northern Iowa's Tyrell Gordon and Missouri's Zach Elam by technical fall. Steveson showcased his incredible athleticism when he leapt over Elam and sealed the win.
Northwestern's Lucas Davison, Steveson's opponent in the next round, will have to add that to the laundry list of things to prepare for when he takes on the top seed.
The action in Detroit will resume Friday with the morning session at 11 a.m. ET. The night session will get underway at 8 p.m. ET.
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