They say it's easier to climb to the mountaintop of any sport than it is to defend that high ground. That old axiom was proven to be true Saturday at the 2013 NCAA Div. 1 Wrestling Championships.
Penn State walked out of Wells Fargo Arena with its third consecutive team championship, but it wasn't easy. The Nittany Lions had to fend off a spirited challenge from Oklahoma State.
Penn State finished with 123.5 points. Oklahoma State was second with 119.5, followed by Minnesota (103), Iowa (73) and Cornell (65).
"We're super happy. Our guys did a great job. It was back and forth. Our guys came through. I think every year is a little - you have different challenges," Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said. "It certainly doesn't get any easier. The first one was super special. It doesn't get easier."
In 2011 in Philadelphia, Penn State beat Cornell, 92.5-75. In 2012 in St. Louis, Penn State outdistanced Minnesota, 143-117.5.
Two Nittany Lions - junior 184-pounder Ed Ruth and senior 197-pounder Quentin Wright - won championships. It was the second for each of them.
Three Nittany Lions lost in the finals: sophomore Matt Brown (174), sophomore Nico Megaludis (125) and junior David Taylor (165). It was the second finals loss for Megaludis and Taylor. Megaludis lost last year. Taylor lost in the finals in 2011 and won the title at 165 a year ago. It was Brown's first trip to nationals.
"I think all of our finalists, they just wrestled. They wrestled great matches. I'm really proud of them," Sanderson said. "It's my job to make sure they're ready, each one, each individual. I'm not sure I did a very good job. That's the hard part as a coach because you're always, 'man, we just won the nationals, but we had guys that didn't reach their goal.'"
Brown won the NCAA Elite 89 Award. The Elite 89, an award founded by the NCAA, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The Elite 89 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's championships. Brown has a 3.97 GPA in Crime, Law and Justice.
Taylor won the NCAA award for most technical falls in the season. He also won the Gorriaran Award for most falls in the tournament in the least amount of time. He had four falls, pinning his way to the finals.
Those two awards are hardly any consolation for Taylor, who lost to Cornell's Kyle Dake, 5-4, in what was arguably the most anticipated bout in NCAA history.
Taylor scored the initial takedown on now four-time champion Kyle Dake, who is the first to win four at four different weights and just the third four-time champion.
Dake escaped and converted on a takedown of his own and the first period ended with Dake in the lead, 3-2. As an amped up Wells Fargo Arena was raucous.
Dake escaped in the second and led, 4-2, heading into the third. Taylor took bottom and escaped, but not before Dake had amassed more than a minute in riding time. That was crucial as Taylor coaxed a stalling point but couldn't convert on a takedown. Dake's 1:13 in riding time was the difference in a 5-4 win.
"It hurts. I don't lose. It's something that's going to eat at me for awhile," Taylor told the Des Moines Register.
Sanderson focused on Taylor's contributions to the team.
"David Taylor, he led Penn State to three national championships through his great leadership, his hustle, his love of competing, leading with a passion and bonus points," Sanderson said. "He's made this sport a better sport and I couldn't be more proud of the kid. He's great. He's an awesome, awesome wrestler and an even better leader."
Ruth, as he often does, struck quickly with a takedown early in the first period and rode Lehigh's Robert Hamlin for 2:33 of the first period. An escape and takedown in the second increased his lead to 5-1 at the end of two. In the third, he gained momentum, scoring three takedowns, the last one in the final 15 seconds to secure an extra team point. He earned a riding time point for 3:55 in riding time for the 12-4 major decision.
For Ruth, it was his second consecutive championship after winning 13-2 in 2012 over Stanford's Nick Amuchastegui. He is now a three-time All-American and is riding a 68-match winning streak. His career record now stands at 102-2
After Ruth had his hand raised, Sanderson picked him up and put him over his shoulder.
"Oh, man. It wasn't even when the whistle blew. It was when the guy came over counting down. He was like three, two, and I'm like, 'oh, I'm about to win. I'm about to win.' As soon as he said one, the crowd is cheering and everything. I felt like my heart exploded," Ruth said.
Wright, the No. 2 seed, beat previously unbeaten and No. 1 seed Dustin Kilgore of Kent State, 8-6.
Brown's match with No. 1 seed Chris Perry of Oklahoma State was decided in the tiebreaker period, with Perry taking a 2-1 decision.
Brown escaped in three seconds to start the second and Perry escaped in eight seconds. Neither scored in the sudden victory period. Brown chose bottom to start the first tiebreaker period. After a restart, Perry threw in legs and a borderline chokehold and rode out Brown. Brown chose to cut Perry and couldn't score a winning takedown.
Megaludis dropped a 7-4 decision to Jesse Delgado of Illinois.
Neither Megaludis nor Delgado scored in the first. Delgado escaped quickly in the second, as Delgado did to start the third. But with Megaludis in deep on a shot, Delgado countered and caught him on his back for five points. Megaludis eventually escaped and took down Delgado. Megaludis cut him loose but couldn't take him down late.
"Nico wrestled a great match and ended up getting beat there at the end, but he wrestled great," Sanderson said. "Matt Brown, he did an awesome job."
Penn State walked out of Wells Fargo Arena with its third consecutive team championship, but it wasn't easy. The Nittany Lions had to fend off a spirited challenge from Oklahoma State.
Penn State finished with 123.5 points. Oklahoma State was second with 119.5, followed by Minnesota (103), Iowa (73) and Cornell (65).
"We're super happy. Our guys did a great job. It was back and forth. Our guys came through. I think every year is a little - you have different challenges," Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said. "It certainly doesn't get any easier. The first one was super special. It doesn't get easier."
In 2011 in Philadelphia, Penn State beat Cornell, 92.5-75. In 2012 in St. Louis, Penn State outdistanced Minnesota, 143-117.5.
Two Nittany Lions - junior 184-pounder Ed Ruth and senior 197-pounder Quentin Wright - won championships. It was the second for each of them.
Three Nittany Lions lost in the finals: sophomore Matt Brown (174), sophomore Nico Megaludis (125) and junior David Taylor (165). It was the second finals loss for Megaludis and Taylor. Megaludis lost last year. Taylor lost in the finals in 2011 and won the title at 165 a year ago. It was Brown's first trip to nationals.
"I think all of our finalists, they just wrestled. They wrestled great matches. I'm really proud of them," Sanderson said. "It's my job to make sure they're ready, each one, each individual. I'm not sure I did a very good job. That's the hard part as a coach because you're always, 'man, we just won the nationals, but we had guys that didn't reach their goal.'"
Brown won the NCAA Elite 89 Award. The Elite 89, an award founded by the NCAA, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The Elite 89 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's championships. Brown has a 3.97 GPA in Crime, Law and Justice.
Taylor won the NCAA award for most technical falls in the season. He also won the Gorriaran Award for most falls in the tournament in the least amount of time. He had four falls, pinning his way to the finals.
Those two awards are hardly any consolation for Taylor, who lost to Cornell's Kyle Dake, 5-4, in what was arguably the most anticipated bout in NCAA history.
Taylor scored the initial takedown on now four-time champion Kyle Dake, who is the first to win four at four different weights and just the third four-time champion.
Dake escaped and converted on a takedown of his own and the first period ended with Dake in the lead, 3-2. As an amped up Wells Fargo Arena was raucous.
Dake escaped in the second and led, 4-2, heading into the third. Taylor took bottom and escaped, but not before Dake had amassed more than a minute in riding time. That was crucial as Taylor coaxed a stalling point but couldn't convert on a takedown. Dake's 1:13 in riding time was the difference in a 5-4 win.
"It hurts. I don't lose. It's something that's going to eat at me for awhile," Taylor told the Des Moines Register.
Sanderson focused on Taylor's contributions to the team.
"David Taylor, he led Penn State to three national championships through his great leadership, his hustle, his love of competing, leading with a passion and bonus points," Sanderson said. "He's made this sport a better sport and I couldn't be more proud of the kid. He's great. He's an awesome, awesome wrestler and an even better leader."
Ruth, as he often does, struck quickly with a takedown early in the first period and rode Lehigh's Robert Hamlin for 2:33 of the first period. An escape and takedown in the second increased his lead to 5-1 at the end of two. In the third, he gained momentum, scoring three takedowns, the last one in the final 15 seconds to secure an extra team point. He earned a riding time point for 3:55 in riding time for the 12-4 major decision.
For Ruth, it was his second consecutive championship after winning 13-2 in 2012 over Stanford's Nick Amuchastegui. He is now a three-time All-American and is riding a 68-match winning streak. His career record now stands at 102-2
After Ruth had his hand raised, Sanderson picked him up and put him over his shoulder.
"Oh, man. It wasn't even when the whistle blew. It was when the guy came over counting down. He was like three, two, and I'm like, 'oh, I'm about to win. I'm about to win.' As soon as he said one, the crowd is cheering and everything. I felt like my heart exploded," Ruth said.
Wright, the No. 2 seed, beat previously unbeaten and No. 1 seed Dustin Kilgore of Kent State, 8-6.
Brown's match with No. 1 seed Chris Perry of Oklahoma State was decided in the tiebreaker period, with Perry taking a 2-1 decision.
Brown escaped in three seconds to start the second and Perry escaped in eight seconds. Neither scored in the sudden victory period. Brown chose bottom to start the first tiebreaker period. After a restart, Perry threw in legs and a borderline chokehold and rode out Brown. Brown chose to cut Perry and couldn't score a winning takedown.
Megaludis dropped a 7-4 decision to Jesse Delgado of Illinois.
Neither Megaludis nor Delgado scored in the first. Delgado escaped quickly in the second, as Delgado did to start the third. But with Megaludis in deep on a shot, Delgado countered and caught him on his back for five points. Megaludis eventually escaped and took down Delgado. Megaludis cut him loose but couldn't take him down late.
"Nico wrestled a great match and ended up getting beat there at the end, but he wrestled great," Sanderson said. "Matt Brown, he did an awesome job."
