Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/78639
CALM BEFORE THE STORM Molinaro has a chance to become only the fifth four-time All-American in Penn State history, but what he really wants is his first national championship. "He might be putting some extra pressure on himself to win this year," coach Cael Sanderson said. "But that's natural for a senior." eluded him –an individual NCAA title. He's already a three-time All-American, but he has no interest in simply be- coming Penn State's fifth four-time All- American. "I don't want to sound cocky when I say it, but it wouldn't really mean anything to me if I were just an All- American this year," Molinaro said. "It would probably be a failure." That's a theme Molinaro, a fifth-year senior, has sounded since the season started. At a dinner before the season, the program's four-timers, Greg Elin- sky, Jim Martin, Sanshiro Abe and Phil Davis, were announced. And Molinaro found himself dreading ending up like Elinsky, the only one of the four to not win a title. (He was twice a run- ner-up.) "I actually thought about that," he said. "It's just… I can't see it ending like that. So every day I think about it. Every time I think about 'What if I did- n't win?' I can't even see it being pos- sible. Not to sound cocky. I'm just go- ing to keep that mind-set." Both Abe and Davis won their NCAA titles as seniors, which is the kind of company Molinaro wants to keep. "He might be putting some extra pressure on himself to win this year, but that's natural for a senior," Sander- son said. "We just try to keep him calm. He's ready. He's worked. There's nothing that's he's gonna do in the next two weeks that's going to make a difference. It's what he's done the last 18 years that's going to make the dif- ference for him." Molinaro came close to his goal a year ago, coming back from a broken ankle to earn the No. 2 seed for the Mark Selders W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M M A R C H 2 3 , 2 0 1 2 13