Penn State wrestling's ultimate dominator: How Aaron Brooks won a record 4th NCAA title
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Aaron Brooks proved himself as the most dominant wrestler in these NCAA Championships.
And he made college wrestling history along the way.
The Penn State wrestling superstar at 197 pounds handily defeated longtime rival, Trent Hidlay of N.C. State, in Saturday's nights penultimate match of these finals at the T-Mobile Center.
Brooks produced his fifth-straight victory of these NCAA's, this time 6-1, to finish his season at 22-0, extending the nation's longest win streak to 35.
It all earned him his stunning fourth individual national championship — something only six other wrestlers have ever done. Even more special, he joined teammate Carter Starocci (174), who accomplished the feat just a bit earlier on this night, and his coach, Cael Sanderson.
The victory also gave Penn State the all-time teams points record for an NCAA Tournament with 172.5. That breaks Iowa's mark of 170 set in 1997.
While Brooks did not produce his typical bonus-point victory Saturday night, he did pick up Hidlay and toss him hard to the mat on one occasion and controlled the action from beginning to end.
This was a fitting ending for Brooks, a 2018 North Hagerstown graduate, who tore through this tournament, as expected, before preparing for next month's U.S. Olympic Trials at Penn State. No opponent, sure enough, was able to even push him until Hidlay.
On Friday, Brooks pinned Oklahoma's Stephen Buchanan before overwhelming Missouri's Rocky Elam by technical fall (17-2) in the semifinals.
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Brooks, who won his first three NCAA titles at 184 pounds, came into tonight with 20 bonus-point victories in 21 matches this season. He's now 89-3 for his college career.
This was the fourth straight NCAA tournament that Brooks has faced Hidlay. He beat him 3-2 in the finals in 2021, 6-4 in overtime in the semifinals in 2022 and 6-3 in the semis last year.
Frank Bodani covers Penn State sports for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at fbodani@ydr.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Penn State wrestling's Aaron Brooks wins NCAA record fourth title
