Aaron Brooks – Wrestling – Penn State Athletics


Parents: JOHN BROOKS, RANELLE BOYD,
ADRIENNE BROOKS
Major: RECREATION, PARK AND TOURISM MGMT.

CAREER NOTES:
Athletic: All-American as a true freshman…Was the 184-pound Big Ten Champion (2020)…Named Big Ten Freshman of the Year (2020)…Was to be the #3 seed at the 2020 NCAA Championships at 184 before the NCAA canceled the tournament… Named First Team All-American after 2020 tournament was canceled by the NCAA…2021 NCAA Champion at 184…2021 Big Ten Champion, second straight title…First-team All -Big Ten…Hodge Trophy Finalist…2022 NCAA Champion, winning second straight.

2021-22 / JUNIOR SEASON:
Season: Won second straight NCAA title at 184, going 5-0 in Detroit to win crown…Went 21-1 on the season with eight majors, one tech and four falls…Enters senior season with 50-2 record, 16 majors , four techs and seven pins.
Sacred Heart (11/13): Began season with 23-8 tech fall over Joe Accousti (7:00). Oregon State (11/13): Pinned Jackson McKinney (1:03). Army West Point (11/18): Impressive 21-7 major over #28 Brad Laughlin. Collegiate Duals (12-20-21): Went 3-0 at Collegiate duals, including win over #4 Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa, a major over #15 Jonathan Loew of Cornell and a pin in PSU’s win over #3 Arizona State, was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week (12 /29) and Penn State Male Athlete of the Week (12/23). Maryland (1/7): Majored Kyle Cochran 19-7 with nine takedowns. Indiana (1/9): Dominated #8 DJ Washington in 13-4 major. Big Ten Wrestlers of the Week (1/11). Rutgers (2/16): Majored #5 John Poznanski 10-2. Michigan (1/21): Beat #2 Myles Amine 3-1 at Crisler Arena. Michigan State (1/23): Posted 4-0 win over #27 Layne Malczewski. Iowa (1/28): Dominated #17 Abe Assad in an 8-3 win at Iowa City. Ohio State (2/4): Pinned Rocky Jordan (3:20) in the BJC Dual. Nebraska (2/6): Majored #9 Taylor Venz, notching six takedowns in a 14-4 win.
Big Ten Championship (2-1, 2nd, NCAA Qualifiers): Went 2-1 at Big Tens, taking second; pinned #8 Kyle Cochran of Maryland (1:40) and beat #19 Taylor Venz of Nebraska; suffered first career post-season loss (in Big Tens or NCAAs), 6-4 in sudden victory, to #2 Myles Amine of Michigan in the finals.
NCAA Championships (5-0, 1st, National Champion): Rolled to his second straight NCAA title at 184 with 5-0 showing in Detroit. Opened with three straight majors over #31 AJ Burkhart of Lehigh, #15 Hunter Bolen of Virginia Tech and #7 Kaleb Romero of Ohio State in the quarterfinals. Beat #3 Trent Hidlay of NC State in the national semis. Dominated #1 Myles Amine of Michigan 5-3 with over 4:00 of riding time in NCAA finals to win crown, one of five Penn Staters to claim victory.

2020-21 / SOPHOMORE SEASON:
Season: Rolled to first NCAA individual title at 184…Won second straight Big Ten title as well…Hodge Trophy Finalist…Posted perfect 14-0 overall record…6-0 in dual meets…Five majors, two tech falls.
Indiana/Northwestern (1/30): Went 2-0 in opening day tri-dual at Northwestern…Notched an 18-5 major over Indiana and closed out day with a 21-6 tech fall (7:00) with 4:34 in riding time over NU’s Jack Jessen . Wisconsin (2/2): Won his third straight bout with bonus points to open the season, downing #10 Chris Weiler of Wisconsin 13-3. Michigan (2/14): Beat Michigan’s Jaden Bullock 10-5 at Ann Arbor. Ohio State (2/19): Rolled over #20 Rocky Jordan of Ohio State, posting 13-4 major. Maryland (2/22): Majored Maryland’s Kyle Cochran 17-5.
Big Ten Championships (3-0, Champion, NCAA Qualifiers): Won his second straight Big Ten Championship, going 3- with a major. All three wins were over ranked opponents; 14-8 over #16 Nelson Brands; 10-2 over #18 John Poznanski of Rutgers; and 10-5 over #14 Taylor Venz of Nebraska in the finals.
NCAA Championships (5-0, 1st, National Champion): Completed unbeaten season with 5-0 run through his first NCAA Championships, earning his first NCAA individual title. Downed #32, #17 and #8 seeds to get to semifinals. Took down #4 Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa to reach the NCAA finals. Beat #2 Trent Hidlay of North Carolina State in the finals to become 2021 National Champion.

2019-20 / TRUE FRESHMAN SEASON:
Season: Notched an impressive 15-1 overall record as at true freshman. Went 9-1 in dual meets and then won the Big Ten Championship at 184 as a true freshman, qualifying for the NCAA Championships before the NCAA canceled the event. He was set to be the #3 seed. Brooks was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Penn State’s third under Cael Sanderson (David Taylor, 2011; Jason Nolf, 2016)… Named First Team All-American after 2020 tournament was canceled by the NCAA.
Mat Town Open (12/1): Won the 184-pound title at Lock Haven’s Mat-Town Open in first action of the year, going 3-0 with a pin. Lehigh (12/6): Made Penn State dual debut on the road, downing Chris Weiler 10-5 in Bethlehem. Penn (12/8): Made Rec Hall dual debut by rolling to a 19-4 tech fall (6:03) over Jesse Quatse. Illinois (1/10): Big Ten dual debut victory, 9-4, over Zach Braunagel at Rec Hall. Rutgers (1/19): Recorded first pin in Rec Hall over Billy Janzer at the 4:36 mark in dual meet victory. Iowa (1/31): Impressive 7-3 victory over #6 Abe Assad of Iowa in road dual. Wisconsin (2/7): Posted 3-2 win over sixth-year senior Johnny Sebastian. Minnesota (2/9): Posted strong 13-3 major over Owen Webster in Minneapolis. Ohio State (2/15): Tallied six takedowns in lopsided 15-4 major over #12 Rocky Jordan in BJC Dual.
Big Ten Championship (3/7-8): Won Big Ten title at 184 as a true freshman after 3-0 run at Rutgers. Majored #19 Owen Webster of Minnesota 15-4 and then pinned #9 Taylor Venz of Nebraska (4:00) to avenge his only loss of the year to date, advancing to the finals. Took care of #7 Cameron Caffey of Michigan State 3-2 in the title bout to win the crowns. Honored as Big Ten Freshman of the Year after the tournament.

HIGH SCHOOL / STAFF:

Wrestled at North Hagerstown High School…Named 2018 National High School Coaches Association Wrestler of the Year…Became seventh wrestler to capture four NHSCA Championships at NHSCA High School Nationals…Compiled a 163-2 record at NHHS… Won four Maryland state titles…Went 22-0 as a senior, 46-0 as a junior, 43-1 as a sophomore and 45-1 as a freshman…Four-year letterman, three-year captain.. .Has one sister, Kaiya…Has three brothers, Isaiah, Jared and Jaden…Considering a communications major.

BROOKS MATCH BY MATCH

2021-22

date wt Result Opponent Place Rec
11/13 184 W, 23-8 Joe Accousti, Sacred Heart (TF; 7:00) dual 1-0
11/13 184 WBF Jackson McKinney, Oregon State (1:03) dual 2-0
11/18 184 W, 21-7 #28 Brad Laughlin, Army (major) dual 3-0
12/20 184W, 3-2 #4 Parker Keckeisen, Northern Iowa dual 4-0
12/20 184 W, 15-3 #15 Jonathan Loew, Cornell (major) dual 5-0
12/21 184 WBF Josh Number, Arizona State (1:48) dual 6-0
1/7 184 W, 19-7 #12 Kyle Cochran, Maryland (major) dual 7-0
1/9 184W, 13-4 #8 DJ Washington, Indiana (major) dual 8-0
1/16 184W, 10-2 #5 John Poznanski, Rutgers (major) dual 9-0
1/21 184W, 3-1 #2 Myles Amine, Michigan dual 10-0
1/23 184 W, 4-0 #27 Layne Malczewski, Michigan State dual 11-0
1/28 184W, 8-3 #17 Abe Assad, Iowa dual 12-0
2/4 184 WBF Rocky Jordan, Ohio State (3:20) dual 13-0
2/6 184 W, 14-4 #9 Taylor Venz, Nebraska (major) dual 14-0
3/5 184 RVF #8 Kyle Cochran, Maryland (1:40) B1G 15-0
3/5 184 W, 7-2 #19 Taylor Venz, Nebraska B1G 16-0
3/6 184 L, 4-6 (sv) #2 Myles Amine, Michigan B1G (2nd) 16-1
3/17 184 W, 21-7 #31 AJ Burkhart, Lehigh (major) NCAA 17-1
3/17 184 W, 9-1 #15 Hunter Bolen, Virginia Tech (major) NCAA 18-1
3/18 184 W, 13-2 #7 Kaleb Romero, Ohio State (major) NCAA 19-1
3/18 184 W, 6-4 (sv) #3 Trent Hidlay, North Carolina State NCAA 20-1
3/19 184 W, 5-3 #1 Myles Amine, Michigan NCAA (1st) 21-1

2020-21

date wt Result Opponent Place Rec
1/30 184W, 18-5 Drayton Harris, Indiana (major) dual 1-0
1/30 184 W, 21-6 Jack Jessen, Northwestern (TF; 7:00) dual 2-0
2/2 184 W, 13-3 #10 Chris Weiler, Wisconsin (major) dual 3-0
2/14 184 W, 10-5 Jaden Bullock, Michigan dual 4-0
2/19 184 W, 13-4 #20 Rocky Jordan, Ohio State (major) dual 5-0
2/22 184 W, 17-5 Kyle Cochran, Maryland (major) dual 6-0
3/6 184 W, 14-8 #16 Nelson Brands, Iowa B1G 7-0
3/6 184 W, 10-2 #18 John Poznanksi, Rutgers (major) B1G 8-0
3/7 184 W, 10-5 #14 Taylor Venz, Nebraska B1G (1st) 9-0
3/18 184 W, 17-1 #32 J Anderson, Gardner-Webb NCAA 10-0
3/18 184 W, 5-0 #17 Owen Webster, Minnesota NCAA 11-0
3/19 184 W, 9-4 #8 Taylor Venz, Nebraska NCAA 12-0
3/19 184 W, 6-4 #4 Parker Keckeisen, Northern Iowa NCAA 13-0
3/20 184 W, 3-2 #2 Trent Hidlay, North Carolina St. NCAA (1st) 14-0

2019-20

date wt Result Opponent Place Rec
12/1 184 WBF Kyle Myers, West Virginia (4:50) LHU 1-0
12/1 184 W, 11-5 Jared McGill, Pitt LHU 2-0
12/1 184 W, 7-4 Kyle Inlander, Bucknell LHU (1st) 3-0
12/6 184W, 10-5 Chris Weiler, Lehigh dual 4-0
12/8 184 W, 19-4 Jesse Quatse, Penn (TF; 6:03) dual 5-0
1/10 184W, 9-4 Zach Braunagel, Illinois dual 6-0
1/19 184 WBF Billy Janzer, Rutgers (4:36) dual 7-0
1/24 184L, 5-9 #8 Taylor Venz, Nebraska dual 7-1
1/31 184W, 7-3 #6 Abe Assad, Iowa dual 8-1
2/7 184 W, 3-2 Johnny Sebastian, Wisconsin dual 9-1
2/9 184 W, 13-3 Owen Webster, Minnesota (major) dual 10-1
2/15 184 W, 15-4 #12 Rocky Jordan, Ohio State (maj.) dual 11-1
2/23 184W, 8-5 Tanner Harvey, American dual 12-1
3/7 184 W, 15-4 #19 Owen Webster, Minnesota (maj.) B1G 13-1
3/7 184 ERA #9 Taylor Venz, Nebraska (4:00) B1G 14-1
3/8 184 W, 3-2 #7 Cameron Caffey, Michigan St, B1G (1st) 15-1

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