RETURNING ALL-AMERICAN
One simple turn of an ankle turned a perfect season into a personal battle as 2008 national runner-up Bubba Jenkins found himself fighting his own body as the 2009 season wound down. Jenkins, who missed most of the Big Ten dual season after an injury in the Indiana dual on Jan. 23, managed to advance to the Big Ten finals with a 27-0 record before falling in the title bout. The trip to nationals was a quick one for the No. 2 seed as a back problems aggravated in his first round bout turned an early lead in that match into a loss and an early exit from the tournament. A return to health and the title contending form of 2008 are the main goals for this talented three-time qualifier. Look for Jenkins to continue to work towards re-emerging as a force at 149.
Lion Career
2008-09:
Perfect swing through New York on 11/21-23, including two majors and a pin of #17 Torsten Gillespie of Edinboro...blazed his way to the 2008 Nittany Lion Open title with a 5-0 day, including four majors and a pin, one major was 10-2 thumping of #7 Bryce Saddoris of Navy in the finals...dominated #11 Trevor Chinn of Lehigh and pinned Lock Haven[apos]s Matt Fittery (who had 19 wins) on 1/4...perfect 5-0 mark at National Duals on 1/10-11 with a pin, a major and a tech fall as well as a 4-3 decision over #18 Jason Chamberlain of Boise State...injured in Big Ten dual meet win against Indiana on 1/23, did not wrestle in Penn State[apos]s duals against Purdue (1/24), Minnesota (1/30), Wisconsin (2/1), Ohio State (2/6) or Iowa (2/8)...returned to action on 2/13 with technical fall over Michigan State[apos]s David Cheza...slim 5-3 win over Michigan[apos]s Mark Beaudry on 2/14...downed #11 Cesar Grajales of Penn 3-1 on 2/20 to conclude regular season with undefeated 22-0 record.
Big Ten Championships
(2-1, 2nd, National Qualifier): Entered 2009 Big Ten Tournament as the #2 seed and wrestled to his place...wins over Nick Walpole of Indiana and Andrew Nadhir of Northwestern to get to finals.
NCAA Championships
(0-2, DNP): Entered 2009 NCAA Championships as the #2 seed at 149 but injury suffered in first bout lead to an 0-2 showing.
2007-08:
Opened season by pinning Maryland[apos]s Eric Medina (3:56) in first dual at 149...went 5-0 to claim the 2007 Nittany Lion Open, including three majors...pinned Oklahoma State[apos]s Mike Bizzle (6:42) to help Penn State grab 21-18 win over Cowboys on 12/9 in Stillwater...at National Duals on 1/12, downed #20 Joey Knox of Chattanooga (5-3), downed #6 Jordan Burroughs of Nebraska 3-2, pinned Cornell[apos]s Adam Frey (4:55), decisioned Mitch Mueller of Iowa State (10-7) in PSU[apos]s win over No. 4 Cyclones...downed #5 Lance Palmer of Ohio State 5-2 in dual on 1/25...convincing 18-3 tech. fall over Indiana[apos]s Kurt Kinzer on 1/27...thrilling 11-8 win over #4 Ryan Lang of Northwestern on 2/1....downed #14 Jake Patacsil of Purdue 6-1 on 2/17.
Big Ten Championships
(2-2, 5th, National Qualifier): Went 2-2 as the fifth seed at the Big Ten Championships, downing Lance Palmer of Ohio State twice while losing to Iowa[apos]s Brent Metcalf and Michigan[apos]s Josh Churella.
NCAA Championships
(4-1, 2008 National Runner-Up, All-American): Jenkins cemented his position as one of the nation[apos]s top 149-pounders by becoming the 2008 NCAA National Runner-Up...went 4-1 at nationals and advanced to the finals in his first season at this weight...as the sixth seed, he was the second lowest seed to reach the finals and beat seeds No. 11, No. 3 and No. 7 on his way to the title match...led #1 Brent Metcalf early in the match, but dropped a tough 14-8 decision in the finals...three of his six losses this year were to the new national champion.
2006-07:
Opened season 12-2 and then became the starter at 157...ended campaign with solid 23-12 mark, including 4-4 record in Big Ten duals as a true freshman...collected 25 dual match points as well...wrestled the entire fall semester unattached for Penn State, appearing in three tournaments...opened up his season with a 4-2 showing at the ESU Open and a fifth place finish...moved up a weight in the Nittany Lion Open and went 3-1...he won the 2006 Wilkes Open title at 149 by going 5-0...made collegiate debut at 157 with a pin (3:30) of North Dakota State[apos]s Adam Aho in the first round of the Virginia Duals on Jan. 12...went 3-1 at the Virginia Duals in collegiate debut...got first Big Ten dual win with 10-6 decision over Ohio State[apos]s Jason Johnstone on 1/26...dropped tough 5-2 decision to No. 1 Mike Poeta of Illinois on 1/28...downed Northwestern[apos]s Dominic Marella 12-6 for second Big Ten win...his 4-2 win over Michigan[apos]s Jeff Marsh helped secure Penn State[apos]s win at Michigan on 2/16...beat Michigan State[apos]s Tony Greathouse 13-10 to go 4-4 in Big Ten duals as a true freshman....went 3-3 at Big Tens to earn trip to NCAAs...went 1-2 at nationals. Named to Amateur Wrestling News[apos] All-Rookie Team.
Big Ten Championships
(3-3, 6th, National Qualifier): Seeded sixth and wrestled to his seed with a 3-3 showing...earned trip to nationals in first attempt...beat Michigan State[apos]s Tony Greathouse 9-6 in first round...lost hard-fought 4-2 decision to No. 5 Craig Henning of Wisconsin...downed OSU[apos]s Jason Johnstone 8-4...beat Purdue[apos]s Jake Murphy 4-2 (sv) to secure trip to nationals...lost to top-seeded Mike Poeta of Illinois then fell to 18th ranked Ryan Morningstar of Iowa in fifth place bout.
NCAA Championships
(1-2, DNP): Made NCAA debut with 15-3 major of Missouri[apos]s Michael Chandler...lost tough 4-0 decision to #3 seed James Strouse of Hofstra in second round...defeated by #8 seed Seth Martin of Lock Haven to end tournament run.
High School/Personal
A native of Virginia Beach and a student at First Colonial High School...was the top-ranked 145-pound wrestler in the country according to Amateur Wrestling News and Intermat...a Virginia State high school champion...was voted Outstanding Wrestler at the 2005 Beast of the East Championships...won the 2006 NHSCA National Championship, dominating the tournament and winning the crown with a pin in the second period of the finals.
| Career Statistics | |||||||
| YEAR | OVERALL | DUALS (B10) | TRN (B10/NCAA) | F | TF | M | Pts. |
2008-09 24-3 17-0 (3-0) 7-3 (2-1/0-2) 3-1 3-0 8-1 68 2007-08 26-6 15-3 (6-2) 11-3 (2-2/4-1) 3-1 1-0 5-2 57 2006-07 23-12 7-5 (4-4) 16-7 (3-3/1-2) 2-3 0-1 4-2 25 Career 73-21 39-8 (14-6) 34-13 (7-6/5-5) 8-5 4-1 17-5 150