Blue White Illustrated

WRESTLING THREE'S COMPANY The postseason is finally here. Can Penn State tally its third Big Ten title in a row? WHEN March 9-10 WHERE Penn State heads to Assembly Hall on the Illinois campus in Champaign. It's the second time in three seasons that Big Tens will be held in the Prairie State, and Northwestern's campus was awfully friendly to Penn State two years ago. AT STAKE The official Big Ten champion is crowned Sunday, and a host of individuals will vie for a qualifying bid to the NCAA Championships. Nine of the Nittany Lion wrestlers are all but assured a ticket to Des Moines, Iowa, already, and if 141-pound Bryan Pearsall finishes in the top six at the conference tournament, he'll get a qualifying spot, too. If all 10 qualify, it'll be another notch on Cael Sanderson's coaching belt. Never have all 10 of his starters qualified for the national tournament, one of the few wrestling feats left to be accomplished by Sanderson. LAST SEASON Penn State slipped in the semifinals, winning just three of its eight semifinal bouts in West Lafayette, Ind. It ended the first day of the tournament frustrated and in third place. However, the Nittany Lion wrestlers woke up for day two of the tournament and dominated, outscoring second-place Minnesota 149-134 in the final standings. In all, the Lions crowned three individual champions. For the second consecutive season, 165-pound David Taylor was named Wrestler of the Year, and Sanderson nabbed Coach of the Year honors. Senior 149-pounder Frank Molinaro was named the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler – the second consecutive season a Nittany Lion wrestler won the award. BEST FINISH During the past two seasons, Sanderson has led Penn State to Big Ten tourney titles – the only two in program history. Before that, the Lions placed in the top three six times. WORST FINISH In 2001, the Nittany Lions finished 10th with zero finalists. They followed it up with another zero-finalist performance in 2002. FAVORITES For the entire season, Penn State has sat atop Intermat's Tourna- BIG TEN TOURNAMENT PREVIEW CRADLE ROCKER At 184 pounds, Ed Ruth, an NCAA champ at 174 in 2012, is one of the three top candidates for the Big Ten tournament's Outstanding Wrestler award. Steve Manuel ment Power Index, a ranking system that employs a formula similar to the one used to determine the tournament's final standings. Many prognosticators are expecting a three-peat from the Nittany Lions. But they aren't as heavily favored as the 2012 squad. Iowa and Minnesota are more of a threat than ever, and depending on the outcome of a few matchups, they legitimately could dethrone Penn State. The outcome of the 125-, 149-, 157-, 174- and 285-pound brackets will play a crucial role in determining the team champion. DARK HORSE Penn State 197-pounder Quentin Wright said to watch out for Ohio State. On paper, the Buckeyes should only have two finalists, but they also have the firepower to shake up a few weight classes and make the entire team race much more interesting. Wright said he's hoping that the Buckeye wrestlers beat up on some of the Gophers and Hawkeyes, but "take it light" on him and his teammates. He can only wish. OW CANDIDATES Chances are that the Outstanding Wrestler will be wearing a Penn M A R C H 6 , 2 0 1 3 10 State blue and white singlet for the third consecutive year. David Taylor at 165 pounds and Ed Ruth at 184 are among the three favorites, but Ohio State's 133-pound Logan Stieber was the NCAA's most dominant Division I wrestler in the regular season. Penn State wrestlers (Molinaro and Wright) have been named OW at the past two Big Ten tourneys. If anyone is to halt Penn State's OW run, odds are that it will be Stieber. PENN STATE'S OUTLOOK Penn State essentially is in charge of its own destiny. Taylor, Ruth and Wright are stamped with the top seed at their respective weight classes, and 125-pound Nico Megaludis and 157-pound Dylan Alton are seeded among the top three of theirs. If the Lions wrestle to or better than their seeds, they should run away with the title for the third consecutive season. But a few slipups along the way could change the entire complexion of the tournament, and allow for the Gophers, Hawkeyes, Illinois or even the Buckeyes to steal the conference crown from the Nittany Lions. – TIM OWEN B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M

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