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Dominance & Determination: PSU Dynasty Wins 11th Wrestling Crown

Unlike football where you hide behind a helmet & rely on 10 teammates. Unlike basketball where you depend on ball movement/bounces & rely on 4 other teammates. Wrestling is life. One-on-one. No one to blame but yourself.

Penn State is almost too good. They clinched before the finals. Like winning the Lombardi Trophy in the NFL after one playoff game. Or the World Series after the league championship series.

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5-for-5 in individual 2022 titles. So last night at 2-3 felt like a letdown. Spoiled by perfection. You expect them to win every match. Because they usually do. Till you realize Levi Haynes was in high school last year. Going against a guy who wrestled the 2014 national champion in this tournament once. O’Connor has socks older than Haines. Experience matters. So does size. Greg Kerkvliet giving up forty pound to heavyweight Mason Parris. A dude he dominated the year before. But ran into the WWE’ Gable Steveson. Who beat everyone. And who Kerkvliet will meet at Wrestlemania someday. The WWE has inked Kerkvliet too. After his days in Happy Valley are over. And finally the effervescent RBY. Roman Bravo-Young. 133 pounds of flash. The last two years found a way to the title. Edging double-tough Daton Fix both times. Barely escaped the semis in sudden death. But Fix got dominated by Vito Arajau. Arajau wrestled 125 the previous year but looked huge standing next to RBY. With quickness to match. He manhandled Bravo-Young 10-4. It wasn’t that close. Haines and Kerkvliet are coming back. RBY will return to Arizona & begin his MMA/UFC career. I’m sad he did not get that third title. He always found a way to win. Hopefully Dana White does what he did for Bo Nickal. I want him to be a world champion.

Kudos to Carter Starocci. His first-period pin of double-tough Mikey Labriola was jaw-dropping. Their B1G showdowns were close. But Starocci is a different animal. Ragdolled his Nebraska foe. No close matches like last year’ title run. Domination. He will return but for how long? Could technically become a four-timer. Or the unthinkable thanks to Covid: a five-timer. PSU has never had either. The NCAA has never seen five. He could do it. Stated he wants the world. Olympic gold. MMA titles. I wouldn’t bet against him. But with his looks/physique/charisma, I see him in the squared circle too. Battling Big Kerk. And Gable Steveson. Dropping Roman Reigns on his head. Piledriving John Cena into permanent retirement.

Kudos to Aaron Brooks. The best wrestler on the team. Easily. Perhaps the best wrestler in the world. World & Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burroughs, who announced the finals, talked about going against him in an exhibition at 18. Just before he arrived on campus. And how he came away impressed. So smooth. So composed. A man of faith. His love of Jesus is admirable and genuine. Going for his fourth next year. Already the heavy favorite. If he can maintain his weight. He hinted at the struggles these wrestlers go through. The constant dieting. The intense training in a Penn State wrestling room tougher than what he faced in Tulsa.

Finally a salute to Cael Sanderson. The greatest coach in the history of Nittany Lion athletics. Easily. Russ Rose won seven titles & revolutionized women’ volleyball. He put the sport on the map. Joe Paterno is the greatest legend in PSU sport’s history. Record 409 wins. With two national titles. Handful of other undefeated teams that media & geographic bias denied him of gold. Donated millions. Library named after him. Statue built. Then removed by cowards. Never to be returned. If Joe were still alive he would tell you Sanderson was and is the best coach ever here. He loved wrestling. And loved recruiting wrestlers who played football. He knew the discipline involved.

Ten wrestling titles in twelve years. The greatest dynasty in sports. College or professional. Alabama football had an impressive run before Georgia took over. UConn women’ hoops dominated for years, but South Carolina has eclipsed them. UCLA hoops under Wooden won ten of twelve too. But he got old. Sanderson is just 43. Inked to a new extension. Incredible staff including his brother & Cody Cunningham. PSU does not rebuild. They reload. Who wouldn’t want to wrestle here? 159-0 as an amateur at Iowa State. Olympic gold. Still the toughest guy in the room. The best in the world want into his NLWC. Thomas Gilman from Iowa. Kyle Snyder from Ohio State. Kyle Dake from Cornell. David Taylor followed him from Iowa State. World champions. Olympians. It’s what these recruits want. Wait until you see Josh Barr next year. And Mason Gibson. Etc. Etc. Etc.

Wrestling is over for another year. Sanderson will be in the room this afternoon. No celebrations. Back to work. Trying to get Facundo, VanNess & Haines, the three freshmen, better. Develop the crazy athleticism of Beau Bartlett. To mold into champions. Now the norm.

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