Hagerstown's Aaron Brooks wins his first match at U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Hagerstown's Aaron Brooks picked up at the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials where he left off last month at the NCAA championships, getting his arm raised in victory again.

After receiving a first-round bye Friday morning, Brooks, the No. 1 seed in the challenge bracket at 86 kilograms (189.6 pounds), defeated No. 9 Connor Mirasola 11-5 in the quarterfinals at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center.

Brooks, a Penn State superstar and crowd favorite, overcame a slow start. He trailed 2-1 after giving up a takedown midway through the first period before scoring 10 straight points against Mirasola, a high school senior and future Nittany Lion.

Brooks -- a four-time NCAA champion for the Penn State -- will face No. 4 Alex Dieringer in the semifinals Friday night, with the finals to follow.

It will be a matchup of Hodge Trophy winners. Brooks received the award this year as the nation's top college wrestler, while Dieringer earned it in 2016 after winning his third NCAA title for Oklahoma State.

Check back here for updates after each of Brooks' matches.

How to watch the Trials: TV, streaming, tickets

More photos: Day 1 of USA Wrestling Olympic Trials

The winner of the challenge bracket at 86 kilograms will face reigning Olympic and world champion David Taylor in the best-of-3 championship finals Saturday.

As a returning medalist from the 2023 world championships, Taylor earned a bye to the finals.

In the other semifinal, No. 2 Chance Marsteller will face No. 3 Trent Hidlay. That winner will have to wrestle another semifinal match before the finals against unseeded Zahid Valencia.

As a returning world medalist (bronze) in a non-Olympic weight (92 kilograms), Valencia earned a bye to that round.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Hagerstown's Aaron Brooks competes at U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials