Three-peat!
2012-13: Dominant Season, Thrilling Title
"Last chance, best chance..."
If any question remained as to whether the landscape of collegiate wrestling was changing, 2012-13 served as the season that answered that query in full. The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, under head coach Cael Sanderson's tutelage, was two-time defending NCAA Champion and featured an historic line-up of burgeoning Penn State legends. Looking to become only the third program to ever win three-straight titles, The Lions roared from start to finish, with one mid-season hiccup that would be avenged in full during March's run to conference and national dominance.
Penn State dominated the field during the start of its dual meet campaign. Penn State went 4-0 in November and December by a combined score of 167-12. Penn State hammered #24 Lehigh 29-6, won at West Virginia 44-3, shutout Big Ten foe Indiana 52-0 in an early season Big Ten dual and then beat Lock Haven 42-3 in mid-December.
The Nittany Lions travelled to Chattanooga for the Southern Scuffle and lapped the field on their way to a third-straight Scuffle crown. The Nittany Lions outdistanced second place Oklahoma State by over 20.0 points and crowned three champions. Nico Megaludis went 4-0 to win the 125-pound title, Ed Ruth went 6-0 to claim the crown at 184 and Quentin Wright rolled to the 197-pound title with a 5-0 mark.
Penn State picked up where it left off to start January. The Nittany Lions shutout Michigan State 41-0 then reeled off three more conference wins in January. The Lions downed Wisconsin 36-6, Purdue 35-3 and Nebraska 33-9 before heading to Iowa for a Feb. 1 showdown with the Hawkeyes in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes won four of the first five bouts and posted a 22-16 victory over Penn State. The Lions would not taste defeat, in dual or tournament, for over a calendar year.
Penn State closed out the dual season with five more wins by a combined score of 179-25, including three shutouts. Penn State shutout Illinois 37-0, beat Pitt 31-7, rolled at Ohio State 29-18, shutout Rider 48-0 and shutout Rutgers 34-0 to end the season with a 13-1 mark, 7-1 in Big Ten duals.
The 2013 Big Ten Championships were held in Champaign, Ill., and Penn State's coronation as the Big Ten's dominant program was thorough. The Nittany Lions rolled to the team title, going 4-0 in the Big Ten finals to win their third straight conference crown. David Taylor went 3-0 with two technical falls and a major to win his third conference crown. Sophomore Matt Brown, making a statement as Penn State's 174-pounder, rolled his first Big Ten championship by going 4-0. He took out Iowa's Mike Evans 7-3 in the finals. Ed Ruth won his third Big Ten crown, and his first up at 184, by going 3-0 with a tech and a major. Quentin Wright made it four-for-four by cruising to the 197-pound crown with a 3-0 performance. In all, Penn State qualified all 10 of its grapplers for the NCAA Championship two weeks later in Des Moines.
Seeking a third straight title, Penn State battled Oklahoma State throughout the three-day event and, eventually, in the tournament's final hours, emerged victorious. The Nittany Lions outdistanced the Cowboys but just four points...by one final win during a bittersweet championship finals evening.
Penn State and Oklahoma State jockeyed for position atop the NCAA field throughout the three days of the tournament. After five sessions, the Nittany Lions knew two things: first, there would be five Penn Staters in the national finals; and second, those would be Penn State's only All-Americans. The NCAA finals began at 174 and concluded at 165. The Lions went 2-3- in the finals, starting with a tough defeat, clinching the team title by crowning two-straight NCAA Champions and then suffering two hard-fought losses to close out the event.
Sophomore Matt Brown entered the tournament as the second seed and earned a spot in his first NCAA Championship match opposite top-seed Chris Perry of Oklahoma State. Brown opened the tournament with a major over Missouri's Todd Porter, pinned Pitt's Nick Bonaccorsi and then became an All-American for the first time by majoring Iowa State's Tanner Weatherman in the quarterfinals. He took down Minnesota's Logan Storley 3-2 in the semifinals to set up the title bout with Perry. Brown battled Perry through nine-plus minutes before losing a heart-breaking 2-1 tie-breaker decision. He ended the tournament as NCAA Runner-Up and the season with a 29-5 record.
Sophomore Nico Megaludis entered the tournament as the #4 seed and earned a second straight trip to the NCAA Championships at 125. Megaludis posted a tech fall over Ohio's Kevon Powell and downed Central Michigan's Christian Cullinan in round two. He majored Appalachian State's Dominic Parsi 12-4 in the quarters to become a two-time All-American and then took down #1 Alan Waters 2-2 (TB2, RT 0:18) in the semis to become a two-time NCAA Finalist. Megaludis dropped his finals bout and left Des Moines with a 28-4 overall record, a two-time NCAA finalist.
Junior David Taylor rolled to his third straight NCAA title bout, advancing to the finals at 165, by pinning his first four opponents. Taylor pinned North Carolina's John Staudenmayer, Appalachian State's Zach Strickland and #7 Conrad Polz of Illinois, all in the first period. He then decked #3 Peter Yates of Virginia Tech just :41 into the second period to move into the finals. Taylor dropped a tough finals bout and left Des Moines with a 30-2 record, a three-time All-American and a three-time NCAA finalist.
So, those three close defeats were sandwiched around two individual titles, two consecutive wins that clinched the team crown for Penn State.
Junior Ed Ruth entered the tournament unbeaten and left Des Moines as one of the nation's most dominant wrestlers, all with a season yet to go. Ruth pinned Lock Haven's Fred Garcia in the first period and Arizona State's Kevin Radford in the second period to start his tournament. He then majored Pitt's Max Thomussiet 11-1 in the quarterfinals, including a stunning 5:00 in riding time, to become a three-time All-American and move on to the semifinals. He took out Cornell's Steve Bosak in the semifinals to advance to the title bout against #3 Robert Hamlin of Lehigh. Ruth took out Hamlin, posting a 12-4 major, and became a two-time NCAA Champion. He left Des Moines with a 33-0 season record and began his preparation for an historic run a year later.
With the team title still up in the air, the third NCAA title bout off the night had senior Quentin Wright taking on #1 Dustin Kilgore of Kent State in the finals at 197. Wright entered the tournament unbeaten and saved his best for last, his final bout as a Nittany Lion. Wright opened up the tournament with hard-fought wins over Rider's Donald McNeil (7-3) and Drexel's Branden Pali (3-2). He then pinned Minnesota's Dustin Schiller at the 2:48 mark in the quarterfinals to become Penn State's sixth four-time All-American. The Bald Eagle Area grad survived a semifinal bout against #3 Matt Wilps of Pitt, using just :03 in riding time to win a 2-2 (TB2; RT :03) bout. He moved to the finals against unbeaten top-seed Kilgore and wrestled perhaps his best match of the season. Wright used a first period takedown and two takedowns in the bout's final minute to roll to an 8-6 victory and clinch Penn State's team title. He left Des Moines as a four-time All-American, a two-time NCAA Champion, three-time finalist and owner of the clinching win in Penn State's third-straight title run. Wright's career is one of Penn State's most heralded and he ended it with a 116-23 record.
Penn State ended the tournament with 123.5 points while Oklahoma State sat in second at 119.5. No one else was in the mix as Minnesota was a distant third at 103.0 and Iowa much further back in fourth with 73.0.
For Sanderson's Lions, the third title was celebrated, but joy was tempered by goals unmet in the finals, by All-America laurels unrealized. With nearly every qualifier set to return the next season, Penn State's drive to place an indelible stamp on NCAA wrestling history began on the flight back to State College. No resting on laurels, no regrets or looking back. As always, smile, take the next step, be grateful for the chance to take it…and make the most of it. 2013-14 would validate the entire process.
Retrospectacle…
Final Results (13-1, 7-1 B1G, 1st B1G, 1st NCAA)
Nov. 16 #24 LEHIGH 29-6 W
Nov. 18 at West Virginia 44-3 W
Dec. 9 INDIANA* 52-0 W
Dec. 15 LOCK HAVEN 42-3 W
Jan. 1-2 Southern Scuffle at UT-Chattanooga 1st
Jan. 13 MICHIGAN STATE* 41-0 W
Jan. 18 #24 WISCONSIN* 36-6 W
Jan. 20 at Purdue* 35-3 W
Jan. 27 #12 NEBRASKA* 33-9 W
Feb. 1 at #3 Iowa* 16-22 L
Feb. 3 at #8 Illinois* 37-0 W
Feb. 8 at #15 Pittsburgh 31-7 W
Feb. 10 at #6 Ohio State* 29-18 W
Feb. 17 RIDER 48-0 W
Feb. 24 at Rutgers 34-0 W
March 9-10 Big Ten Championships at Illinois 1st
March 21-23 NCAA Championships at Des Moines 1st
* Big Ten Dual
Signature Wins
-- Penn State opens up season with 29-6 win over #24 Lehigh in sold out Rec Hall.
-- Lions shut-out Big Ten foe Indiana 52-0, one of five dual shut-outs on the year (and three within the Big Ten including Michigan State and #8 Illinois).
-- Team comes from behind for thrilling 29-18 road dual victory at #6 Ohio State on Feb. 10.
Highlights
-- Penn State averaged 6,411 fans per dual meet selling out every single dual BEFORE the start of the season.
-- Penn State claimed a third straight Southern Scuffle title as 2013 dawned, beating second place Oklahoma State by over 20 points (178.5 to 158.0).
-- Penn State's 7-1 Big Ten dual meet tied a school record for conference wins in a season.
-- The Lions stormed their way to a third straight Big Ten Championship, once again outdistancing the field by double-digits. Penn State won the title with 151.0 points.
-- Sanderson led Penn State to its third straight NCAA crown as 10 Nittany Lions scored points at the 2013 NCAA Championships in Des Moines on March 21-23. Penn State became only the third school to ever win three or more titles in a row (joining Oklahoma State and Iowa). Penn State won by four points (123.5 to 119.5) over Oklahoma State.
-- Penn State had five All-Americans, each and every one of which wrestled in the National Finals.
-- Ed Ruth (184) and Quentin Wright (197) won individual NCAA crowns. Ruth's was his second straight while Wright's, his second overall, clinched the team title.
-- Nico Megaludis (125), David Taylor (165) and Matt Brown (174) each ended the year as National Runner-Up.
-- Sanderson was named Big Ten Coach of the Year (co) for the third straight season and earned his second National Coach of the Year nod from the NWCA.
-- Matt Brown was named Elite 89 Award Winner as wrestling's top student-athlete; David Taylor won the 2013 NCAA Championships Gorriaran Award and Ed Ruth was named 2013 Big Ten Wrestler of the Year and was Hodge Trophy runner-up for the second straight season.
