Wrestling DIVISION I Highlights Penn State wins fi rst title since 1953: While Penn State dominated the headlines at the 81st NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships all week, Arizona State’s Bubba Jenkins stole the show the fi nal night. Penn State’s David Taylor rolled into the 157-pound fi nal with a 38-0 record, part of a monster youth movement for Nittany Lions head coach Cael Sanderson. Jenkins wrestled for four seasons at Penn State but left the program with mixed feelings. He headed to Tempe, Ariz., and Arizona State, and, as luck would have it, faced Taylor in the fi nal on March 19 in front of an NCAA tournament-record fi nals crowd (17,687). The six sessions also broke an attendance record: 104,260. In a fl ash, Jenkins ended it. Taylor got to the leg of Jenkins (21-3). But the Virginia product locked up a cradle and rolled the Penn State rookie to his back for a stunning pin at the 2:14 mark. “[No hard feelings] toward David [Taylor],” said Jenkins, who lost in the NCAA fi nal in 2008. “[But] defi nitely towards Cael [Sanderson]. He didn’t think I was good enough or the right kid to win it at that weight class or any weight class. I wanted to go 149. But he had other ideas and he got rid of me. “And one man’s trash is a whole country’s treasure.” Taylor was trying to become just the fourth undefeated freshman champion, joining Oklahoma State’s Dick Hutton and Iowa’s Joe Scarpello, who each won titles as unde- feated freshman in 1947. The 24-year-olds were World War II veterans. Since then, only Iowa State’s Sanderson has won an NCAA title and gone undefeated as a freshman. Sanderson was 159-0 in college. Only two Division I wrestlers have won four individual championships – Sanderson and Oklahoma State’s Pat Smith. Iowa’s Matt McDonough won the 125-pound weight class as a freshman, but it was Arizona State’s amazing Anthony Robles who kept the Hawkeye sophomore off the top of the medal stand in 2011. Robles (36-0), an athlete with just one leg, capped his career with two fi rst-period near-falls and a 7-0 lead, eventually winning 7-1. “I had a lot of butterfl ies going out there,” said Robles, a three-time All-American who fi nishes his career with a 122-23 record. “I’ve dreamt about stepping on that stage a dozen times, and this whole year I’ve been preparing for that moment. “And I was scared. I was scared out there, but as soon as I hit that fi rst takedown, I sort of relaxed. I said, OK, back to business. Same drill as every other match.” Cornell, No. 1 in the team standings for most of the year, did not hoist the trophy, but sophomore Kyle Dake gave the Big Red fans something to cheer about with the title at 149 pounds. Dake (31-2) beat Penn State’s Frank Molinaro, 8-1, for his second title, piling up more than six minutes of riding time. The run toward four continues. “Next year, I can’t win four national titles; I can only win three,” Dake said. “So take it year by year, match by match, season by season. Just focus on the goals at hand and take it one year at a time.” Quentin Wright (21-6) sent the Penn State fans home happy, beating Lehigh’s Robert Hamlin, 5-2, in the 184-pound fi nal. Wright was the lowest seed, at No. 9, to earn a championship. Oklahoma State’s Jordan Oliver, a Pennsylvania native, capped a 29-0 sophomore season with a solid 8-4 win against Boise State senior Andrew Hochstrasser in the 133-pound fi nal. Oliver, from Easton, scored with two powerful double-legs and a slick back trip in the second period for four points to jump out to an 8-3 advantage. “I don’t think it’s set in yet,” said Oliver, a three-time Pennsylvania state high school champion. “But I know it’s been a great journey, and a lot of hard work and dedication has gone into it. “And I don’t regret any minute of it.” Nebraska senior Jordan Burroughs fi nished his career with a second title, beating Oklahoma’s Tyler Caldwell ,11-3, in the 165-pound fi nal. Burroughs, from Sicklerville, N.J., a half hour from Philadelphia, was unbeaten in 36 matches. “New Jersey guys are great wrestlers,” Burroughs said. “Always the laugh is being in the Midwest and saying New Jersey is the greatest wrestling state in the nation. We turn out champions year after year.” Burroughs joked about having to follow Jenkins’ highlight fi nish. “You know what stinks?” Burroughs said. “This is the second time I won my national title immediately after the biggest upset in the tournament.” In 2009, Burroughs won his fi rst title after North Carolina State’s Darrion Caldwell upset Iowa’s Brent Metcalf. “It’s always a hard act to follow when I go out there,” Burroughs added. Iowa State’s Jonathan Reader capped a 39-0 season with a dominating 10-3 win against Stanford’s Nick Amuchastegui in the 174-pound fi nal. Reader is the third national champion from Davison, Mich. New Jersey native Kellen Russell fi nished a 38-0 season with a 3-2 win against Cal Poly’s Boris Novachkov at 141 pounds. Russell took advantage of a bad Novachkov shot late in a 1-1 match for the decisive points. Kent State’s Dustin Kilgore kept Oklahoma State from claiming a second title, pinning Clayton Foster in the second period of the 197-pound title match while trailing 5-1. Kilgore (38-2) and Foster got tangled up, and Kilgore came out of a scramble with Foster trapped on his back at 4:56. It was Foster’s fi rst loss in 27 matches this season. Kilgore is the fi rst NCAA champion in program history. Lehigh’s Zach Rey avenged a loss to American’s Ryan Flores in the EIWA fi nal with a 2-1 victory in the fi nal bout of the NCAA tournament. Rey (34-1) was third in 2010 and went wire-to-wire as the No. 1-ranked man at 285 pounds this year. Penn State totaled 107½ points in the tournament, claiming top honors for the fi rst time since 1953. Cornell (93½), Iowa (86½), Oklahoma State (70½) and American (65) rounded out the top fi ve. Penn State 174-pounder Ed Ruth won the Gorrarian Award given to the wrestler with the most falls in the least time. The NWCA Coach of the Year went to American’s Mark Cody. His Eagles fi nished fi fth in the team race. The Outstanding Wrestler Award went to Robles. 2 DIVISION I WRESTLING—TEAM STANDINGS 2011 TEAM STANDINGS 2011 INDIVIDUAL RESULTS 21-4 (technical fall, 7:00). Fourth round: Peterkin def. 1. Penn St. ..............................................................107½ Hutter, 4-2 (sudden victory); Carter def. Mele, 13-3; Ray 125-POUND CLASS pinned Stevens, 4:40; Ramos def. Thorn, 7-5 (sudden vic- 2. Cornell ..................................................................93½ First round: Ryan Mango, Stanford, def. Camden Eppert, tory). Fifth round: Sentes pinned Peterkin, 4:08; Futrell def. 3. Iowa .......................................................................86½ Purdue, 11-9. Second round: Anthony Robles, Arizona Carter, 10-3; Grey def. Ray, 8-5; Ruggirello def. Ramos, 8-7. St., def. Matthew Snyder, Virginia, 17-1 (technical fall, 4:23); Sixth round: Sentes def. Futrell, 4-0; Grey def. Ruggirello, 4. Oklahoma St. .....................................................70½ Steven Keith, Harvard, def. Shane Young, West Virginia, 1-0; 5. American .................................................................65 5-4. Semifinals: Sentes def. Graff, 5-0; Long pinned Grey, Mark Rappo, Penn, def. Jonathon Morrison, Oklahoma St., 4:59. Third place: Long def. Sentes, 7-5. Fifth place: Graff 6. Arizona St. ...........................................................62½ 8-4; Jarrod Patterson, Oklahoma, def. Allen Bartelli, Boise St., def. Grey, 7-2. Seventh place: Ruggirello def. Futrell, 9-6. 2-1; Zachary Sanders, Minnesota, def. Jason Lara, Oregon St., 7. Minnesota ...............................................................61 6-2; Jarrod Garnett, Virginia Tech, def. Brad Pataky, Penn St., 141-POUND CLASS 8. Lehigh ...................................................................58½ 13-7; Ben Kjar, Utah Valley, def. Steve Bonanno, Hofstra, 5-2; First round: Levi Jones, Boise St., def. Hicks Manson, Cornell, 9. Boise St. ................................................................57½ James Nicholson, Old Dominion, pinned Tyler Iwamura, CSU 9-3. Second round: Kellen Russell, Michigan, def. Mike Koehnlein, Nebraska, 5-3; Michael Mangrum, Oregon St., 10. Wisconsin ............................................................54½ Bakersfield, 3:49; Brandon Precin, Northwestern, def. Robert Jillard, Liberty, 11-0; Joseph Langel, Rutgers, def. Michael def. Vicente Varela, Hofstra, 9-3; Cole VonOhlen, Air Force, 11. Stanford ...................................................................44 Martinez, Wyoming, 6-2; Frank Perrelli, Cornell, def. Trent pinned Christopher Drouin, Iowa St., 2:20; Zack Bailey, 12. Nebraska .............................................................43½ Sprenkle, North Dakota St., 4-3; Nicholas Bedelyon, Kent St., Oklahoma, def. Cody Cleveland, Chattanooga, 9-7 (sudden def. Garrett Frey, Princeton, 16-5; Mango def. Aaron Kalil, victory); Montell Marion, Iowa, def. Stephen Dutton, Lehigh, 13. Central Mich. ..........................................................39 Navy, 13-7; Anthony Zanetta, Pittsburgh, def. Alan Waters, 8-3; Zack Kemmerer, Penn, def. Jon Kohler, Maryland, 7-5; Northwestern ........................................................39 Missouri, 7-2; Sean Boyle, Michigan, def. David Klingsheim, Christopher Diaz, Virginia Tech, def. Mike Greck, Millersville, 15. Michigan.............................................................. 38½ Nebraska, 8-1; Matt McDonough, Iowa, pinned Manuel 6-0; James Kennedy, Illinois, def. Justin Morrill, Utah Valley, Ramirez, UNC Greensboro, 2:31. Third round: Robles def.