Hagerstown’s Aaron Brooks made another statement on the wrestling mat Friday, and this one was as loud as ever.
Brooks, a Penn State junior, defeated Michigan’s Myles Amine 3-1 in a thriller at 184 pounds during the No. 1 Nittany Lions’ 29-6 victory over the No. 3 Wolverines in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Brooks vs. Amine was the most anticipated bout of the college season so far, a battle between the first- and second-ranked wrestlers in their weight class.
It was NCAA champ vs. Olympic medalist, meeting for the first time.
No. 1 Brooks, a 2018 North Hagerstown graduate, won the national title at 184 pounds last season, while No. 2 Amine, a 25-year-old graduate student, captured a bronze medal in Tokyo last summer in freestyle at 86 kilograms, representing San Marino.
On Friday, after a scoreless first period, Amine — a four-time NCAA All-American, who placed third at 197 pounds last year — went up 1-0 with a second-period escape.
In the third period, Brooks tied the match with an escape with 1:36 left and then, after an extraordinary display of defense, he scored the winning takedown with 15 seconds remaining.
Brooks, who was named the outstanding wrestler of the dual meet, improved to 10-0 for the season and 39-1 for his college career while handing Amine (7-1) his first season loss.
Penn State (12-0, 4-0 Big Ten) will be back in action Sunday afternoon at Michigan State.
