Aaron Brooks (born June 15, 2000) is an American freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who competes internationally at 86 kilograms and collegiately at 184 pounds. In freestyle, he is a Cadet World Champion and Junior World Championship silver medalist. As a collegiate wrestler, Brooks is a three-time

NCAA champion The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

and a three-time B1G Conference champion out of the

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

. As of May 25, 2022, Brooks is the top-ranked 184-pound NCAA wrestler in the country as per Intermat.

Folkstyle career

High school

Brooks was born in

Hagerstown, Maryland Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland, United States and the county seat of Washington County. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2020 census was 43,527, and the population of the Hagerstown metropolitan area (exten ...

and attended

North Hagerstown High School North Hagerstown High School is located at 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, in Hagerstown, Maryland, United States. The school's colors are red and white, with black as the accent color. The school is part of the Washington County Public Schools system. N ...

. As a

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

('14-'15), he won his first MPSSAA title and also won the NHSCA Freshman National championship, both at 126 pounds. As a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

(15'-16'), he bumped up to 138 pounds and repeated last year's results as he became a two-time Maryland state champion and won the NHSCA Sophomore National championship. As a

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

(16'-17'), he once again bulked up now to 152 pounds and became a three-time state and national champion. As a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

(17'-18'), he became just the seventh wrestler to ever win four NHSCA National championships and also the seventh wrestler to win four MPSSAA titles. He compiled an overall record of 163 wins and just two losses (45–1, 43–1, 46–0 and 22–0).

College

In early February 2018, Brooks committed to

Cael Sanderson Cael Norman Sanderson ( ; born June 20, 1979) is an American former folkstyle and freestyle wrestler who is the current head coach of Penn State University's wrestling team. As a wrestler, he won an Olympic Gold medal and was undefeated in four ...

and the

Penn State Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The interco ...

as the number one recruit in the country. After focusing on freestyle during the 2018–19 season, Brooks arrived to

2019–20

Brooks started the season as a redshirt athlete at 184 pounds and compiled 3 wins and no losses during a Mat-Town Open title run before getting his redshirt pulled in December and becoming the starter of the team. After getting four more convincing victories in different dual meets, Brooks was downed by Nebraska's Taylor Venz in his first and only setback of the season, as he continued to get his hand raised in five more meetings before the regular season's end. In the post-season, he competed at the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

championships, where he major'd the

Gopher Pocket gophers, commonly referred to simply as gophers, are burrowing rodents of the family Geomyidae. The roughly 41 speciesSearch results for "Geomyidae" on thASM Mammal Diversity Database are all endemic to North and Central America. They are ...

Owen Webster in the opening round and avenged his only collegiate loss to date with a

fall Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southe ...

over Venz in the next round. In the tournament's final, Brooks took out Michigan State's Cameron Caffey with a 3-2 decision to claim the Conference championship. Brooks was then scheduled to compete at the 2020 NCAA Championships, however, the event was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. After the season, he earned All-American honors due to his performance through the year and was also named the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

Freshman of the Year.

2020–21

In October 2020, the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

granted an extra year of eligibility to winter athletes due to the last season being cut short. Competing as a

, Brooks compiled an undefeated 6–0 record during regular season. To start the post-season, Brooks claimed his second straight

title, defeating Nelson Brands from

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, John Poznanski from

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was a ...

and Taylor Venz from

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

. On March 20, Brooks claimed the NCAA title for the Nittany Lions after going 5–0 at the tournament.

Freestyle career

Cadet & Junior level

Brooks excelled in freestyle at the cadet level, winning his first Fargo National title in 2016, as well as the

Greco-Roman The Greco-Roman civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were di ...

one. In 2017, he went on to compete at the UWW Cadet Nationals, a qualifier for the Cadet World Championships. After making the finals, Brooks was downed twice by Travis Wittlake, ending as an alternate for the World Team. However, it was then reported that Wittlake had suffered an injury and Brooks replaced him. In between, he once again won Fargo but now in the junior level, At the World Championships, Brooks outscored his opponents by a total of 57 points to 14 and claimed the World title. In 2018, Brooks competed at the US Open (junior level) in April. He outscored his five opponents 53 points to 7 and claimed the championship. In May, he won the

best-of-three There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly kn ...

for the World Team Trials. At the World Championships, he reached the finals of the tournament with victories by

technical fall In amateur wrestling, a technical fall, or technical superiority, is a victory condition satisfied by outscoring one's opponent by a specified number of points. It is wrestling's version of the mercy rule. It is informally abbreviated to "tech" as b ...

, points and disqualification. He lost the finale to Hayato Ishiguro in a back-and-forth 10–11 match, claiming the silver medal. After graduating in 17'-18', Brooks spent the entire 18'-19' season at the US Olympic Training Center, sharpening his freestyle abilities. During 2019, he made his third age-group World Team, winning the US Open and then the WTT, just like last year. Despite high expectations, Brooks went out early in the opening round as he fell 3–5 to Abubakr Abakerov.

Senior level

2019

During his time at the OTC, Brooks made his senior level debut on January, at the Dave Schultz Memorial International. He completely dominated both of his matches,

pinning Pinning may refer to: * Pinning, the effect of certain weapons that cause their targets to be pinned down * Pinning ceremony (nursing), a symbolic welcoming of new graduates into the nursing profession * Pinning force, a force acting on a pinned ...

Stacey Davis and tech'ing Nate Jackson, a class of '17 collegiate graduate and former two-time

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

All-American, 13 points to 0. Brooks came back in December at the US Senior Nationals. After reaching the semifinals of the tournament, he was downed by two-time NCAA Division I champion and eventual winner of the championship

Zahid Valencia Zahid Valencia (born November 5, 1997) is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who competes at 86 kilograms. As a folkstyle wrestler, he was a two-time NCAA Division I National Champion and three-time Pac-12 Confe ...

, 0 points to 6. He then lost his match at the consolation semifinals to graduated

and two-time DI All-American Brett Pfarr. In the fifth place match, he got teched by Samuel Brooks, whom he had defeated earlier in the tournament, placing sixth. He was one place away from qualifying for the US Olympic Trials.

2020

Brooks was scheduled to come back into the freestyle scene against Brett Pfarr on October 20, at the NLWC II. However, Brooks was dropped out of the card of undisclosed reasons and replaced by Jaime Espinal. Brooks competed at the rescheduled US Olympic Team Trials in April 2, in an attempt to represent the

United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics The United States, represented by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC), competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place in the summer of 2020, the Games were postponed to July 23 to August 8, ...

. Brooks went 2–2 at the tournament.

Freestyle record

! colspan="7", Senior Freestyle Matches , - ! Res. ! Record ! Opponent ! Score ! Date ! Event ! Location , - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Loss , 7–5 , align=left, Pat Downey , style="font-size:88%", TF 0–11 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=4, April 2–3, 2021 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=4, 2020 US Olympic Team Trials , style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=4,

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

, - , Win , 7–4 , align=left, Sammy Brooks , style="font-size:88%", 6–3 , - , Loss , 6–4 , align=left,

, style="font-size:88%", 3–6 , - , Win , 6–3 , align=left, Nate Jackson , style="font-size:88%", 3–0 , - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Loss , 5–3 , align=left, Sammy Brooks , style="font-size:88%", TF 0-10 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=6, December 20–22, 2019 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=6, 2019 Senior Nationals - US Olympic Trials Qualifier , style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=6,

, - , Loss , 5–2 , align=left, Brett Pfarr , style="font-size:88%", 5-5 , - , Loss , 5–1 , align=left,

, style="font-size:88%", 0-6 , - , Win , 5–0 , align=left, Sammy Brooks , style="font-size:88%", 15-9 , - , Win , 4–0 , align=left, Max Dean , style="font-size:88%", 10-7 , - , Win , 3–0 , align=left, Matthew Alejandro , style="font-size:88%", TF 10-0 , - ! style=background:white colspan=7 , , - , Win , 2–0 , align=left, Nate Jackson , style="font-size:88%", TF 13-0 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2, January 24–26, 2019 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2, 2019 Dave Schultz Memorial International , style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=2,

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

, - , Win , 1–0 , align=left, Stacey Davis , style="font-size:88%", Fall , -

NCAA record

! colspan="8", NCAA Division I Record , - ! Res. ! Record ! Opponent ! Score ! Date ! Event , - ! style=background:white colspan=6 , 2022 NCAA Championships at 184 lbs , - , Win , 50–2 , align=left, Myles Amine , style="font-size:88%", 5-3 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5, March 18–20, 2021 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5, 2022 NCAA Division I National Championships , - , Win , 49–2 , align=left, Trent Hidlay , style="font-size:88%", 6–4(sv) , - , Win , 48–2 , align=left, Kaleb Romero , style="font-size:88%", 13-2 , - , Win , 47–2 , align=left, Hunter Bolen , style="font-size:88%", 9-1 , - , Win , 46–2 , align=left, A.J. Burkhart , style="font-size:88%", 21-7 , - ! style=background:white colspan=6 , 2022 Big Ten Conference at 184 lbs , - , Loss , 45–2 , align=left, Myles Amine , style="font-size:88%", 4-6 (sv) , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3, March 5–6, 2021 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3, 2022 Big Ten Conference Championships , - , Win , 45–1 , align=left, Taylor Venz , style="font-size:88%", 7-2 , - , Win , 44–1 , align=left, Kyle Cochran , style="font-size:88%", Fall , - , Win , 43–1 , align=left, Taylor Venz , style="font-size:88%", 23-8 , style="font-size:88%", January 16, 2022 , style="font-size:88%", Penn State - Nebraska Dual , - , Win , 42–1 , align=left, Rocky Jordan , style="font-size:88%", Fall , style="font-size:88%", February 4, 2022 , style="font-size:88%", Penn State - Ohio State Dual , - , Win , 41–1 , align=left, Abe Assad , style="font-size:88%", 8-3 , style="font-size:88%", January 28, 2022 , style="font-size:88%", Penn State - Iowa Dual , - , Win , 40–1 , align=left, Layne Malczewski , style="font-size:88%", 4-0 , style="font-size:88%", January 23, 2022 , style="font-size:88%", Penn State - Michigan State Dual , - , Win , 39–1 , align=left, Myles Amine , style="font-size:88%", 3-1 , style="font-size:88%", January 21, 2022 , style="font-size:88%", Penn State - Michigan Dual , - , Win , 38–1 , align=left, John Poznanski , style="font-size:88%", 10-2 , style="font-size:88%", January 16, 2022 , style="font-size:88%", Penn State - Rutgers Dual , - , Win , 37–1 , align=left, D.J. Washington , style="font-size:88%", 13-4 , style="font-size:88%", January 9, 2022 , style="font-size:88%", Penn State - Indiana Dual , - , Win , 36–1 , align=left, Kyle Cochran , style="font-size:88%", 19-7 , style="font-size:88%", January 7, 2022 , style="font-size:88%", Penn State - Maryland Dual , - , Win , 35–1 , align=left, Josh Nummer , style="font-size:88%", Fall , style="font-size:88%", December 21, 2021 , style="font-size:88%", Penn State - Arizona State Dual , - , Win , 34–1 , align=left, Jonathan Loew , style="font-size:88%", 15-3 , style="font-size:88%", December 20, 2021 , style="font-size:88%", Penn State - Cornell Dual , - , Win , 33–1 , align=left, Parker Keckeisen , style="font-size:88%", 3-2 , style="font-size:88%", December 20, 2021 , style="font-size:88%", Penn State - Northern Iowa Dual , - , Win , 32–1 , align=left, Brad Laughlin , style="font-size:88%", 21-7 , style="font-size:88%", November 18, 2021 , style="font-size:88%", Penn State - Army Dual , - , Win , 31–1 , align=left, Jackson McKinney , style="font-size:88%", Fall , style="font-size:88%", November 13, 2021 , style="font-size:88%", Penn State - Oregon State Dual , - , Win , 30–1 , align=left, Joe Accousti , style="font-size:88%", 23-8 , style="font-size:88%", November 13, 2021 , style="font-size:88%", Penn State - Sacred Heart Dual , - , - ! style=background:lighgrey colspan=6 , Start of 2021-2022 Season (Junior year) , - ! style=background:lighgrey colspan=6 , End of 2020-2021 Season (Sophomore year) , - ! style=background:white colspan=6 , 2021 NCAA Championships at 184 lbs , - , Win , 29–1 , align=left, Trent Hidlay , style="font-size:88%", 3–2 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5, March 18–20, 2021 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=5, 2021 NCAA Division I National Championships , - , Win , 28–1 , align=left, Parker Keckeisen , style="font-size:88%", 6–4 , - , Win , 27–1 , align=left, Taylor Venz , style="font-size:88%", 9–4 , - , Win , 26–1 , align=left, Owen Webster , style="font-size:88%", 5–0 , - , Win , 25–1 , align=left, Jha'quan Anderson , style="font-size:88%", TF 17–1 , - ! style=background:white colspan=6 , 2021 Big Ten Conference at 184 lbs , - , Win , 24–1 , align=left, Taylor Venz , style="font-size:88%", 10–5 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3, March 6–7, 2021 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3, 2021 Big Ten Conference Championships , - , Win , 23–1 , align=left, John Poznanski , style="font-size:88%", MD 10–2 , - , Win , 22–1 , align=left, Nelson Brands , style="font-size:88%", 14–8 , - , Win , 21–1 , align=left, Kyle Cochran , style="font-size:88%", MD 18–5 , style="font-size:88%", February 21, 2021 , style="font-size:88%", Maryland - Penn State Dual , - , Win , 20–1 , align=left, Rocky Jordan , style="font-size:88%", MD 13–4 , style="font-size:88%", February 19, 2021 , style="font-size:88%", Penn State - Ohio State Dual , - , Win , 19–1 , align=left, Jaden Bullock , style="font-size:88%", 10–5 , style="font-size:88%", February 14, 2021 , style="font-size:88%", Penn State - Michigan Dual , - , Win , 18–1 , align=left, Chris Weiler , style="font-size:88%", MD 12–3 , style="font-size:88%", February 2, 2021 , style="font-size:88%", Penn State - Northwestern Dual , - , Win , 17–1 , align=left, Jack Jessen , style="font-size:88%", TF 21–6 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=2, January 30, 2021 , style="font-size:88%", Penn State - Northwestern Dual , - , Win , 16–1 , align=left, Drayton Harris , style="font-size:88%", MD 18–5 , style="font-size:88%", American - Penn State Dual , - ! style=background:lighgrey colspan=6 , Start of 2020-2021 Season (sophomore year) , - ! style=background:lighgrey colspan=6 , End of 2019-2020 Season (freshman year) , - ! style=background:white colspan=6 , 2020 NCAA's Cancelled (COVID-19) , - ! style=background:white colspan=6 , 2020 Big Ten Conference at 184 lbs , - , Win , 15–1 , align=left, Cameron Caffey , style="font-size:88%", 3–2 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3, March 7–8, 2020 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3, 2020 Big Ten Conference Championships , - , Win , 14–1 , align=left, Taylor Venz , style="font-size:88%", Fall , - , Win , 13–1 , align=left, Owen Webster , style="font-size:88%", MD 15–4 , - , Win , 12–1 , align=left, Tanner Harvey , style="font-size:88%", 8–5 , style="font-size:88%", February 23, 2020 , style="font-size:88%", American - Penn State Dual , - , Win , 11–1 , align=left, Rocky Jordan , style="font-size:88%", MD 15–4 , style="font-size:88%", February 15, 2020 , style="font-size:88%", Ohio State - Penn State Dual , - , Win , 10–1 , align=left, Owen Webster , style="font-size:88%", MD 13–3 , style="font-size:88%", February 9, 2020 , style="font-size:88%", Penn State - Minnesota Dual , - , Win , 9–1 , align=left, Johnny Sebastian , style="font-size:88%", 3–2 , style="font-size:88%", February 7, 2020 , style="font-size:88%", Penn State - Wisconsin Dual , - , Win , 8–1 , align=left, Abe Assad , style="font-size:88%", 7–3 , style="font-size:88%", January 31, 2020 , style="font-size:88%", Penn State - Iowa Dual , - , Loss , 7–1 , align=left, Taylor Venz , style="font-size:88%", 5–9 , style="font-size:88%", January 24, 2020 , style="font-size:88%", Penn State - Nebraska Dual , - , Win , 7–0 , align=left, Billy Janzer , style="font-size:88%", Fall , style="font-size:88%", January 19, 2020 , style="font-size:88%", Rutgers - Penn State Dual , - , Win , 6–0 , align=left, Zach Braunagel , style="font-size:88%", 9–4 , style="font-size:88%", January 10, 2020 , style="font-size:88%", Illinois - Penn State Dual , - , Win , 5–0 , align=left, Jesse Quatse , style="font-size:88%", TF 19–4 , style="font-size:88%", December 8, 2019 , style="font-size:88%", Pennsylvania - Penn State Dual , - , Win , 4–0 , align=left, Chris Weiller , style="font-size:88%", 10–5 , style="font-size:88%", December 6, 2019 , style="font-size:88%", Penn State - Lehigh Dual , - ! style=background:white colspan=6 , 2019 Mat-Town Open I at 184 lbs , - , Win , 3–0 , align=left, Kyle Myers , style="font-size:88%", Fall , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3, December 1, 2019 , style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3, 2019 Mat-Town Open I , - , Win , 2–0 , align=left, Jared McGill , style="font-size:88%", 11–5 , - , Win , 1–0 , align=left, Kyle Inlander , style="font-size:88%", 7–4 , - ! style=background:lighgrey colspan=6 , Start of 2019-2020 Season (freshman year)

Stats

! Season ! Year ! School ! Rank ! Weigh Class ! Record ! Win ! Bonus , - , 2022 , Junior , rowspan=2,

, #1 , rowspan=2, 184 , 24-1 , 100.00% , 50.00% , - , 2021 , Sophomore , rowspan=2,

, #1 , rowspan=2, 184 , 14–0 , 100.00% , 50.00% , - , 2020 , Freshman , #3 (Cancelled COVID-19) , 15–1 , 93.75% , 43.75% , - , colspan=5 bgcolor="LIGHTGREY", Career , bgcolor="LIGHTGREY", 29–1 , bgcolor="LIGHTGREY", 96.67% , bgcolor="LIGHTGREY", 46.66%

Stats

! Season ! Year ! School ! Rank ! Weigh Class ! Record ! Win ! Bonus , - , 2021 , Sophomore , rowspan=2,

, #1 , rowspan=2, 184 , 14–0 , 100.00% , 50.00% , - , 2020 , Freshman , #3 (DNQ) , 15–1 , 93.75% , 43.75% , - , colspan=5 bgcolor="LIGHTGREY", Career , bgcolor="LIGHTGREY", 29–1 , bgcolor="LIGHTGREY", 96.67% , bgcolor="LIGHTGREY", 46.66%

Personal life

Brooks is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. He has three brothers and one sister.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Aaron African-American sport wrestlers Living people Year of birth uncertain American male sport wrestlers Penn State Nittany Lions wrestlers Sportspeople from Hagerstown, Maryland Amateur wrestlers Pennsylvania State University alumni 21st-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century American sportsmen 2000 births