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of being disciplined and choosing to see things as they really are. And that can be tricky. Pressure can really skew your per- spective if you really want it to." Taylor knows about pressure. Though he normally handles it well, there have been a couple occasions – during the 157- pound 6nal of his freshman season in Philadelphia vs. Arizona State's Bubba Jenkins, for example, and last year during the blockbuster match against Cornell's four-time NCAA champ Kyle Dake in Des Moines, Iowa – in which Taylor might have let pressure, as his coach might say, skew his perspective. He's looking to avoid season-ending mistakes like that in 2014. Despite those defeats, Ruth and practi- cally everyone else in the wrestling world believes Taylor will go down as one of the greatest of all time. Ruth calls Taylor "a technical beast" on the wrestling mat, which he said describes "somebody who knows his way around [the mat]. The po- sitions that I see his legs in, all up in the air, going every which way, but then he still scores the takedown. I don't really see too many wrestlers doing that." And that, Ruth added, will help Taylor 6nish his career on top of the national podium. Without a doubt, Taylor is a one-of-a- kind wrestler, and if it weren't for Sander- son taking the job in Happy Valley, he would never have written his chapter in Penn State's history book. As Taylor mu- tually acknowledged, however, he wouldn't have been able to accomplish his goals without the help of Penn State and his teammates. "What makes a national championship team are the guys who you go against every day in practice," Taylor said. "We wouldn't be where we are if we didn't have each other pushing each other in practice. For me, James Vollrath has been my workout partner my whole career. He's a great wrestler. He's as good or better than most guys I wrestle on Fridays and Sundays." Taylor is hoping the hard work pays o7 at least one more time, so Penn State can become just the third program (along with Iowa and Oklahoma State) to win four consecutive national crowns. The Cowboys have proven, however, that they're capable of competing with the de- fending champs again, the Golden Gophers are ever-dangerous. But as Iowa's head coach said, dethroning the Nittany Lions will be a tall order – and if anyone is to do it, the Hawkeyes have the best chance. "To get competitive and be better is one thing," Brands said, "but go knock the titan o7 and tell me how easy that is to do." Same goes for the individual compe- tition, too. Taylor's single NCAA title came as a sophomore when he defeated Lehigh's Brandon Hatchett with a 22-7 technical fall in St. Louis, and he knows fellow 165-pounders are gunning for him, hoping to limit his career to just that one plaque. Just as Taylor had studied Ruth before they 6rst met in Oklahoma – coincidentally the state in which their college careers together will end – he also is familiar with his strongest competitors. They include Oklahoma State's Tyler Caldwell, Virginia's Nick Sulzer, North Dakota State's Steven Monk and Iowa's Nick Moore, and Taylor knows he will have to be prepared for their best e7ort at the 2014 national tournament in Oklahoma City, Okla. He has seen his nine fellow preseason No. 1-ranked wrestlers fall to defeat this year and he understands how unexpected most of those losses were. He wants to avoid that, especially on the national stage, because, as he attests, those are the only wins that are remembered. "I've always been a pretty big wrestling fan, so I pay attention to what's going on all the time," Taylor explained. "This season is [an example of] how wrestling is. Anything can happen at any given time. That's what the beauty of the sport is. No one is untouchable. There's always some- one out there who's trying to beat you. This year there've been quite a few top guys who have been beaten, and that just shakes some stu7 up during the season. But really, when it comes down to it, noth- ing really matters until one guy gets his hand raised in the 6nal of the NCAA Championships. "Then everything else is forgotten." Win or lose – for Penn State fans, for- getting won't be easy. ■ THE QUALIFIERS 125|NICO MEGALUDIS – Jr. (26-3) Megaludis has been in the final each of his first two NCAA tournaments, but bitter rival Jesse Delgado of Illi- nois awaits him again. 133|JIMMY GULIBON – R-Fr. (17-13) It's been an up-and-down season for Gulibon, but he tends to hit his stride during tournaments. 141|ZAIN RETHERFORD – Fr. (29-1) Retherford is 1-1 against Ohio State's Logan Stieber. A rubber match could be for all the marbles. 149|JAMES ENGLISH – Sr. (11-5) After battling injuries for his six- year PSU career, English won a late wrestle-off to secure this spot. 157|DYLAN ALTON – Jr. (18-5) Alton struggled at Big Tens, but in a top-heavy weight class, he'll have another chance to turn it around. 165|DAVID TAYLOR – Sr. (29-0) It's the NCAA title and Hodge Tro- phy or bust for one of the most dy- namic college wrestlers of all time. 174|MATT BROWN – Jr. (28-4) Brown seeks a return trip to the fi- nal, competing in maybe the tough- est weight class in the tourney. 184|ED RUTH – Sr. (29-1) Ruth looks to avenge his loss to Cornell's Gabe Dean, while winning his third-straight NCAA crown. 197|MORGAN MCINTOSH – So. (27-3) After a redshirt season, McIntosh has only lost to two wrestlers. Peo- ple close to the program believe the California native can win it all. 285|JON GINGRICH – Jr. (22-8) After Jimmy Lawson went down with a knee injury, Gingrich got the nod for his first post-season and he has All-America ambitions.

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