Blue White Illustrated

W R E S T L I N G Four Penn State wrestlers get set to attend the upcoming Olympic trials THE NEXT STEP BY TIM OWEN Blue White Contributor U nlike the collegiate season, which reached its conclusion last month as Penn State romped to its second consecutive NCAA championship, the freestyle wrestling season doesn't nec- essarily start or end. At the national level, it's a year-round enterprise. But once every four years, a special opportunity arises. This year, it all be- gins in Iowa City, Iowa. With the 2012 Olympic Games only four months away, the country's best wrestlers are getting set to compete for a spot on the U.S. freestyle team at the Olympic trials April 21-22. Four Penn State wrestlers will be part of the race. Quentin Wright, a 2011 NCAA champion and a 2012 runner- up, and Ed Ruth earned wild card bids at 185 pounds (84 kg). David Taylor, who finished his sophomore season with a 32-0 record and nearly swept the postseason awards, also earned a bid, his coming in the 163-pound (74 kg) weight class. They were the only three Nittany Lion wrestlers to earn wild card spots – 10 were available – but a fourth Penn Stater, Matt Brown, received his bid the hard way, the unexpected way. Brown hadn't competed in freestyle since before he left for his two-year Mormon mission to Angola and Mozambique. All the while, his oppo- nents were training in preparation for this very opportunity. But at the Last Chance U.S. Olympic Trials qualifying tournament March 31-April 1 in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Brown earned one of the two remaining qual- ifying spots with a runner-up finish at 163 pounds. "It was a lot of fun to be able go out there and wrestle freestyle again," Brown said. "It's been quite a while, so it was fun." En route to his runner-up finish, Brown topped former NCAA champi- on J.P. O'Connor, formerly of Harvard, before falling in the final. If he's to have similar success in Iowa City, he'll WRIGHT STUFF Quentin Wright, a national champ in 2011, will compete at 185 pounds. Steve Manuel have to overcome even more former champions. Brown, who was certified at 165 pounds, often backed up Ruth at 174 and won two matches at 197 dur- ing the Nittany Lions' recently conclud- ed regular season. He will compete in the same weight class as his teammate Taylor, who was recently named win- ner of the Hodge Trophy. But Taylor isn't the only national champion in the field. In fact, there are four others, including Cornell's Kyle Dake, who just won his third consec- utive national crown, and defending world champion Jordan Burroughs, winner of an NCAA title at Nebraska. "I was just talking to David, and he's just ready to go," Brown said. "And Quentin, he is just really good at W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M freestyle. So they're ready to get out there and wrestle, too." While Brown, Ruth, Taylor and Wright are the only four Penn State wrestlers vying for spots on the Olympic team, four other resident wrestlers who train full-time with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club are in the hunt, as well. Coach Cael Sanderson qualified for the trials by winning the World Team Trials last year, but as of this writing, he was not slated to compete. Instead, he'll help prepare his contin- gent of eight to reach their ultimate goal. "Growing up, you have dreams of be- ing an Olympian, so this is just one step," Brown said. "If it's not this time, hopefully I'll be ready in four years. It's all a learning process." A P R I L 3 0 , 2 0 1 2 35 Taylor is winner of Hodge Trophy He had already earned almost every postseason honor he pos- sibly could claim in one season, but why not add one more? And why not make it one of the most prestigious of all? On March 22, David Taylor was named the winner of the Dan Hodge Trophy, joining his head coach, Cael Sanderson, as two of only three sophomores to ever win wrestling's equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. "I really appreciate the award," said Taylor, who finished the regular season with a 32-0 record, 15 pins and nine techni- cal falls, including one in the 165-pound NCAA final. "It's defi- nitely something I've looked for- ward to for a long time." Mike Chapman of Culture House Books, founder of the Hodge Trophy, said "David Tay- lor has brought something very special to the entire sport. His enthusiasm, coupled with his vast array of skills, make him one of the finest examples of college wrestling that I have seen over the past four decades. This season was nearly perfect in all respects." While Taylor claimed the award, teammate Ed Ruth came in a close second in the voting, and senior standout Frank Moli- naro finished fourth. – T.O.

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