Blue White Illustrated

APRIL 1 6 11 15 21 28 at Florida....................................................... 1 p.m. NORTHWESTERN............................................7 p.m. at Lehigh....................................................... 7 p.m. at Ohio State................................................... Noon JOHNS HOPKINS............................................ 1 p.m. PRINCETON....................................................3 p.m. MAY 3-5 American Lacrosse Conf. Championship at Gainesville Fla. 3 4 5 First round.................................................TBA Semifinals................................................. TBA Championship.................................12:30 p.m. L A S T WO R D T IM OWE N | B L U E WH I T E C O N T R I B U T O R S www.AmericanAleHouse.net 821 Cricklewood Drive, Toftrees State College As good as their word? T. LOUIS – It was only a mat- ter of time before the D-word began popping up. You started hearing it in the Scottrade Center on the final day of the NCAA Wrestling Championships, just as the Nittany Lions were wrap- ping up their second consecutive national championship. You heard it again at the airport the next morning, as the hordes of departing wrestling enthusiasts resumed their conversations from the night before. And the Internet message boards? You'd better believe they've been tossing it around. Even as I disembarked from a connector flight in Chicago, a fan who was en route home to California said to me, "That Penn State team, now that's a dynasty." I couldn't agree with him, at least not yet. Penn State certainly has found the recipe for success: a stock of nation- ally ranked young wrestlers, a dash of world-class coaching and lots of support from the alumni, fans and administration. But it's a slow-cook- ing, can't-rush-perfection process. Thanks to Oklahoma State and Iowa, wrestling uses a different yardstick than some other sports to define dynastic success. When a football or basketball program wins three or four championships in a row, it's considered a dynasty. But in wrestling, that label does- 814.238.1406 • www.the-phyrst.com 111 E. Beaver Avenue • State College, PA n't come so readily. The Cowboys won 16 of the NCAA's first 19 national titles, beginning in 1928. And between 1978 and 1986, the Hawkeyes won nine consecutive national championships. Penn State has now won back-to- back titles for the first time in school history. That's remarkable, but Iowa and Oklahoma State have done that five and nine times, respectively. Minnesota, Iowa State and Oklahoma have won consecu- tive titles in their storied histories, yet you rarely hear the word W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M dynasty mentioned in connection with those programs. The bar is set high, and the Oklahoma State and Iowa faithful will tell you that Penn State is a few years away from approaching their historical success. With their dominating run to the 2012 NCAA title – scoring 143 team points, 25.5 more than the second-place Gophers and 35.5 more than the third-place Hawkeyes – the Lions have climbed one rung closer. But this is no time to relax. Next year's step appears to be even more daunting, as the Lions will likely confront a field of improved challengers. Of the 80 All-Americans crowned in St. Louis, 52 will be back next year, 10 of whom were freshmen this past season. Of the 20 final- ists, 11 return. And of the 10 indi- vidual NCAA champs, only four are graduating. Two-time Iowa champion Matt McDonough explained the chal- lenge of repeating by invoking the Hawkeyes' legendary former coach. "According to the Dan Gable stan- dards," he said, "if you want to win it the next year, you've got to get three times as good as you [cur- rently] are, because everyone else is getting twice as good." That has never been as true as it is now, especially in the Big Ten. Six of the top 10 teams in the final NCAA standings were from the Big Ten, and Michigan finished 11th. Ohio State was fifth after barely scratching the top 30 last season. The primary difference? The Buckeyes recruited the country's best freshman class a year ago. After Ohio State hauled in Intermat's No. 1 recruiting class in 2011, all eight of its national quali- fiers were still in their first or sec- ond year of eligibility. Four finished as All-Americans, and Logan Stieber, who topped Oklahoma State's returning champ Jordan Oliver in dramatic, controversial fashion for the 133-pound title, was still a redshirt freshman. The Hawkeyes and Gophers only lose a combined three national qualifiers, and they, along with Northwestern, Nebraska and Wisconsin, have all garnered top- five recruiting classes in the past two years. In addition, the Hawkeyes, Badgers, Wildcats, Illini and Buckeyes appear poised to sign top-10 classes in 2012. "Minnesota, Penn State, Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska – across the board everyone is young and good," Ohio State coach Tom Ryan said in a preseason interview. "These ath- letes come out of high school right now and they're so battle-tested." Tier-one recruiting classes are what put Penn State in the middle of this conversation. Cael Sanderson signed the country's top class in 2009 and its second-rated class in 2010. This year, he'll bring in the No. 3 overall prospect: Jimmy Gulibon of Derry (Pa.) Area. When people examine Penn State's lineup and notice that national finalists David Taylor, Ed Ruth and Nico Megaludis all have at least two years of eligibility remaining, the D-word comes to the tip of their tongue. Sanderson was even asked about it in his news conference after the tournament. "I know you probably don't want to hear the word dynasty," a reporter said, "but people are going to start suggesting it." "It's all a process," Sanderson replied. "As a coaching staff, we just try to make progress." The progress has been obvious. Going from ninth place his first year to first in 2011, and then outscoring last year's total by 35.5 points in 2012, Penn State is certainly head- ing in the right direction. But its challengers are only get- ting better, so keep the D-word on the shelf for a little while longer. A P R I L 1 1 , 2 0 1 2 39

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