The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships officially got underway on Thursday from the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
Penn State is looking to continue its dominance as it chases its third straight team championship. There are also seven returning individual champions looking to add to their mantles.
The first round kicked off with the morning session and the winners advanced to the second-round matches in the evening session.
Here's a look at how things stand after Day 1.
Top 10 Teams (Through Thursday)
1. Penn State: 34.5
2. Iowa: 24.5
2. Iowa State: 24.5
4. Michigan: 22.0
4. NC State: 22.0
6. Nebraska: 21.0
7. Ohio State: 20.5
8. Cornell: 18.5
9. Virginia Tech: 16.0
10. Missouri: 14.0
10. Oklahoma State: 14.0
Full results available at Track Wrestling.
Penn State is coming off another undefeated regular season and its eighth Big Ten title under legendary coach Cael Sanderson. The Nittany Lions qualified in all 10 weight classes for the first time in 10 seasons and could set multiple records during this year's tournament, including the record for most individual titles (five).
Penn State's Aaron Brooks (197 pounds) and Carter Starocci (174) are looking to achieve illustrious four-peats, which would add them to a list of only five other wrestlers who have won four national titles in their careers.
Starocci, the No. 9 seed at 174 pounds, trailed early on in his second-round match against No. 8 Adam Kemp of Cal Poly, but he came back to secure a 5-3 win, setting up a marquee quarterfinal showdown against No. 1 Mekhi Lewis of Virginia Tech.
Brooks had a little less trouble as he proved why he's the No. 1 seed at 197 pounds and secured his spot in the quarterfinals with a pin and a tech fall:
As for the lower seeds, No. 25 David Key of Navy earned a trip to the quarterfinals at 184 pounds. At 125 pounds, No. 15 Caleb Smith of Nebraska scored the upset over No. 2 Luke Stanich of Lehigh:
It will be hard for Penn State to be caught in the team championship, but there will be some exciting matchups on the docket in the next round.
Up Next
Friday's morning session will feature the quarterfinals and the semifinals will follow in the evening session. The championship matches will be held on Saturday.
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