Sept. 5, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Former Penn State Nittany Lion wrestler Ed Ruth, the school's first-ever three-time NCAA champion and a four-time All-American, will compete in the 2014 World Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, early next week. Ruth is one of four Nittany Lion Wrestling Club wrestlers competing at the event.
Ruth qualified for the event with a dominating win in June's U.S. World Team Trials. Ruth entered that event in the challenge bracket as the No. 2 seed at 86 kg but rolled to a 3-0 record, including a 7-3 win over top seed Clayton Foster in the challenge finals. The victory sent Ruth into the championship finals, best two-of-three match-up, with Keith Gavin. Ruth dropped the first match 7-5 but roared for a fall over Gavin in the second bout, setting up a winner-take-all final match-up. Ruth fell behind 4-0 early to Gavin but rallied for a thrilling 11-7 victory to earn the 2014 U.S. National Championship at 86 kg and punch his ticket to the World Championships.
Ruth is ranked No. 20 in the world at 86 kg/189 pounds and will begin his quest for a world title on Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 8 and 9, in Tashkent. Joining Ruth on Team USA is Nittany Lion wrestling club member Jake Varner, who won the U.S. title at 97 kg/213 pounds. Varner is the defending Olympic Gold Medalist and is ranked No. 9 in the world. Nittany Lion head coach Cael Sanderson is also in Tashkent as an assistant coach for Team USA.
In addition to Ruth and Varner, NLWC members Franklin Gomez and Jaime Espinal will compete for world titles. Gomez will compete for Puerto Rico at 65 kg/143 pounds and is ranked No. 5 in the world. Espinal will also compete for Puerto Rico and is in the 86 kg/189 pound pool along with Ruth.
For Ruth, the quest for a world freestyle title comes after an amazing collegiate career that ended with a third straight national title in Oklahoma City this past March. Ruth closed out his collegiate career with a dominating 7-2 win over previously unbeaten Jimmy Sheptock of Maryland in the NCAA finals. Wrestled in front of a sell-out crowd in Oklahoma City, Ruth's dominating win made him Penn State's first-ever three-time NCAA Champion. He concludes his Nittany Lion career 136-3 all-time at Penn State. He had 46 pins, 25 techs and 33 majors, giving him 104 bonus victories in his 136 wins. The Lion senior now has 21 career NCAA tourney wins, tops at Penn State and wraps up his senior campaign with a 34-1 mark, including 11 pins, nine techs and 10 majors. Ruth would go on to be named the Pennsylvania Wrestler of the Year (given annually to the top native Pennsylvanian in the nation).