Penn State Ncaa Wrestling Championships 2019

Penn State is on such a dominating run that it wrapped up the team title before the finals of the NCAA Wrestling Championships.

Coach Cael Sanderson and the Nittany Lions — with their five finalists — could have boarded the bus and drove back to State College Saturday afternoon with their eighth national title trophy in nine years.

Of course, there was still more to prove.

No, Penn State did not make history with six individual titlists or by breaking the all-time points record of 170.

And the Lions didn't punish their opponents, as some expected, with a string of pins and lopsided victories in the final rounds.

Still, they found ways to win most of their biggest matches, no matter how slim the margin.

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In the end, Penn State ran away from the field, once again. The Lions finished with 137.5 points, crushing second-place Ohio State by 41. The rest of the top five: Oklahoma State (84 points), Iowa (76) and Michigan (62.5).

The Lions did suffer a few setbacks that kept them from making a serious run at history.

Most notable was at 184 pounds where No. 2 seed Shakur Rasheed did not make the quarterfinals or even medal. He lost two heartbreaking matches and may have been bothered by the knee injury that hampered him much of the season.

At 141 pounds, third-seeded Nick Lee lost a tough semifinal and settled for fifth place.

In the finals, the Lions lost twice, including an excruciating one-pointer — the kind of match they usually win.

Still, more than enough went well for a team that racked up so many points that it clinched the title before even wrestling in the main event.

Here's how Saturday evening went:

Anthony Cassar, heavyweight

He finished on the most impressive, if not most unexpected, roll of the tournament for the Lions.

Just to make the finals, he was forced to beat phenomenal Minnesota freshman Gable Steveson for the second time in two weeks.

He survived that Friday night, then dominated on Saturday.

Cassar used his quickness for a takedown and near-fall to end the second period and build a commanding lead over Oklahoma State's Derek White.

He cruised from there, winning 10-1 and immediately celebrated mat side with hometown friends from Long Island, New York.

He avenged his only regular-season loss to earn his first national title.

And he was the first Penn State heavyweight to win a national title since Kerry McCoy in 1997.

Jason Nolf, 157 pounds

The undefeated, two-time national champ looked to rebound from his controversial victory the night before.

The buzz around the championships was that the officiating fell in his favor in the semis.

But on Saturday night Nolf (31-0) finished his college career in style against a familiar opponent, Nebraska's Tyler Berger.

He jumped on Berger quickly, throwing takedowns to lead 8-2 after the first period.

Both wrestlers slowed the action, but it didn't matter.

Nolf became a three-time champ, winning 10-2.

Vincenzo Joseph, 165 pounds

Maybe the most underrated of Penn State's finalists.

Joseph has yet to win a Big Ten title in three tries. He beat Kennard-Dale's Chance Marsteller by only a point back in January. And he needed overtime just to make it to the semifinals on Friday.

Toughest yet, he was denied a third-straight national title by red-hot Mekhi Lewis of Virginia Tech.

Lewis, the surprising 8th seed, nearly pinned Joseph in the second period and jumped to a 5-1 lead. He fought off every charge from the Penn State junior and won the most stunning title of the night, 7-1.

Joseph fell to 14-1 in three NCAA Championships.

Mark Hall, 174 pounds

He met Arizona State's Zahid Valencia for the third straight finals.

This was the rubber match for the undefeated Nittany Lion, and it figured to be close again.

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The action was aggressive and even early, then fizzled. Valencia controlled things just enough and played great defense in the third period to preserve the 4-3 title victory.

After, Valencia playfully mocked Hall's signature celebration moves by strumming an air guitar and throwing down an imaginary hammer to the fans.

Bo Nickal, 197 pounds

The last match of the NCAA Championships and the season came down to the nation's most dominant, entertaining wrestler.

Fitting for the guy going for his third straight NCAA title.

The undefeated Nickal (30-0) wrestled Ohio State's Kollin Moore for the third time this season — both of those crushing victories.

This time, Nickal roused the crowd with a takedown to end the first period and loud cheers of "Penn State! Penn State!" erupted.

From then on, more than anything, Moore stayed away, taking only a couple of big shots.

Nickal controlled the action from the beginning, got one last takedown, and won 5-1.

Penn State Ncaa Wrestling Championships 2019

Source: https://www.ydr.com/story/sports/college/penn-state/2019/03/23/ncaa-wrestling-2019-penn-state-crowns-three-champs-rolls-title/3249237002/

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