A look at five who shined at University Nationals

Many of the nation's top college-age wrestlers competed at the 2011 University Nationals, which took place April 21-23 in Akron, Ohio. Five of the finalists in the University Nationals freestyle competition have wrestled in the NCAA finals and 18 of the top-eight finishers have been NCAA Division I All-Americans. But there were a handful of college competitors with lesser college wrestling resumes who had breakout performances in Akron. InterMat looks at five college wrestlers who shined at University Nationals.

Tyler Cox (Wyoming)

Tyler Cox (Photo/Wyoming Sports Information)

University Nationals: Cox fared well in both styles, Greco-Roman and freestyle, at University Nationals. In Greco-Roman, Cox posted a 4-1 record, losing only to Max Nowry, who was fifth in the 2010 Junior World Championships. Cox defeated 2010 All-American Nikko Triggas of Ohio State in the true second match. His most impressive win, though, came in the freestyle competition when he defeated three-time All-American Zach Sanders of Minnesota in the second round. Not only did Cox beat Sanders, but he handled him with relative ease, winning 4-0, 6-0. Sanders, though, did come back to avenge that loss in the consolation bracket with a 3-0, 1-6, 4-2 victory. Cox wound up fifth in the freestyle competition, with his only losses coming to NCAA qualifier Frank Perrelli of Cornell, who was fifth at the 2011 U.S. Open, and Sanders.

Collegiate Career: After a 20-4 redshirt season, Cox compiled a record of 25-13 this past season as a redshirt freshman for Wyoming. He started the season at 125, but moved up to 133 when Michael Martinez moved back down to 125. Cox, who weighs 124 naturally, gave up several pounds to his opponents at 133, but still managed to win 25 matches. He had wins over five NCAA qualifiers and spent most of the season ranked in the top 20, but failed to qualify for the NCAA Championships, going 0-2 at the West Regional.

Next Season: With Martinez returning for his senior season, there is a possibility Cox may take an Olympic redshirt season, according to Wyoming coach Mark Branch. Cox and Martinez are both 125-pounders and Branch does not want to face the same dilemma he faced this past season.

"We are hoping to give us an option for Cox to take an Olympic redshirt if he places in the top eight (at the U.S. World Team Trials in June)," said Branch. "We won't decide until after if we will do that, but we want it to be an option with Michael being a senior and recovering from back surgery. If Michael is healthy we will probably do that in order to avoid a similar dilemma."

James English (Penn State)

James English (Photo/PSU Sports Information)

University Nationals: English captured a University Nationals freestyle title at 70 kg, a weight class comprised of nearly 70 competitors. He had wins over NCAA qualifiers Joey Napoli of Lehigh and Eric Terrazas of Illinois. In addition, English placed ahead of All-American Tyler Nauman of Pitt, NCAA qualifier Danny Zilverberg of Minnesota, and teammate Dylan Alton.

Collegiate Career: English has served as Frank Molinaro's backup at 149 pounds the past two seasons. He has compiled a career record of 30-11. This past season, English went 13-4, with all four of his losses coming to NCAA qualifiers. His most notable wins this past season came over West Virginia's Brandon Rader, a two-time All-American, and Harvard's Corey Jantzen, a Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational champion.

Next Season: With Molinaro back next season at 149 and David Taylor expected to move up a weight class to 165, English's best opportunity to break into the Nittany Lion lineup appears to be at 157. But he will still have his work cut for him in that weight class. English will likely battle Dylan Alton and James Vollrath, among others, for the starting spot at 157.

According to Penn State assistant head coach Casey Cunningham, English is a quiet leader who leads by example on and off the mat.

"James is an incredible kid," said Cunningham. "He has a 3.7 GPA in chemical engineering and is a model student athlete. He continues to get better because he works very hard every day and when he got an opportunity to wrestle in several of our dual meets last year, because Frank Molinaro was hurt, he beat two top 10 guys at the time. He proved how much his hard work is paying off this weekend, but I do not think the guys on our team were surprised because they wrestle with him all the time and know what he is capable of. He is the type of kid you want in your program from all aspects. I believe his goal is to be an NCAA champion and he will work his butt off until he gets his opportunity to do that. He is a quiet leader and we are very fortunate to have him on our team here."

Bryce Busler (Bloomsburg)

Bryce Busler

University Nationals: Busler, like English, navigated through a weight class at 70 kg comprised of more than 70 competitors to reach the finals. He eventually fell to English in the finals, 1-1, 9-4, but had some impressive victories throughout the tournament, including shutout victories over both Dylan Alton and Tyler Nauman. Busler's bid to a qualify for the U.S. World Team Trials was halted when he lost his true second match to Eric Terrazas.

Collegiate Career: Busler has had a productive collegiate wrestling career, compiling a record of 35-19 in two seasons. But the Mechanicsburg (Penn.) native has been unable to crack the Bloomsburg lineup. He was penciled in as the 157-pound starter before last season, but Frank Hickman took control of the spot after wrestle-offs and the Navy Classic.

Next Season: According to Bloomsburg head coach John Stutzman, Busler will drop to 149 next season to battle for a spot in the lineup. Eight of Bloomsburg's 10 starters this past season were freshmen or sophomores.

Stutzman, who was named EWL Coach of the Year this past season, sees a bright future for Busler.

"He is one of the most talented wrestlers in the room," said Stutzman. "He is a true sophomore right now and I expect big things out of him next year. He will be at 149 as he does not cut anything to make 157."

He also believes Busler played a key role in Hickman's success this past season.

"I think having Bryce wrestle at 157 last year is why Frank Hickman became successful," said Stutzman. "Frank had to step up and beat a good guy to make the team and he did."

Chad Hanke (Oregon State)

Chad Hanke (Photo/Ethan Erickson)

University Nationals: It's hard not to be impressed with Hanke's performance at University Nationals. He won a weight class (96 kg) that included five All-Americans and an NCAA champion. Hanke outscored NCAA champion Dustin Kilgore of Kent State 11-1 in the semifinals before beating two-time NCAA All-American Sonny Yohn of Minnesota in the finals.

Collegiate Career: Hanke was an NCAA qualifier this past season for the first time in his collegiate career. He went 1-2 at the NCAAs and finished his junior season with a 23-12 record. Interestingly, he suffered a bad loss to Kilgore (10-2) and a close loss to Yohn (5-3), two wrestlers he beat at University Nationals. Hanke has a career record of 75-37.

Next Season: Hanke will return for his senior season at 197. Four of the eight All-Americans in the weight class return, including Kilgore. Will Hanke be able to parlay his freestyle success into better success in NCAA competition next season? That remains to be seen. Some believe his wrestling style is better suited for freestyle. In a recent interview, Hanke told GOhioCasts's Zeb Miller that he feels better competing in the freestyle weight class of 211 (96 kg) than he does in the collegiate weight class of 197.

Oregon State assistant head coach Kevin Roberts believes Hanke's mental approach helped him perform to his ability in Akron.

"Chad had a great tournament and beat some very good wrestlers," said Roberts. "For whatever reason, his belief system seemed to be where it should be this past weekend. It is something that we are always working on and preaching, that he is a very capable competitor. He seemed to get on a good roll early in the tournament and just kept it going."

So what will Hanke's performance at University Nationals do for him going forward?

"I think it gives him some momentum and confidence going forward, and it should carry over to this coming season," said Roberts. "He is a very talented kid and works hard, and deserves to win. We have high expectations for Chad, and he should for himself as well. I see him down the line being a guy that could be a very good wrestler in the 96 kg weight class, which he will have no problem filling into."

Tyler Clark (Iowa)

Tyler Clark

University Nationals: Clark reached the finals in the University Nationals freestyle competition at 60 kg before losing to Steve Mytych. Clark's run to the finals included a 6-0, 2-1 victory over three-time NCAA qualifier Jarrod Garnett of Virginia Tech. Kent State's Nic Bedelyon, a 2009 All-American, finished seventh in the weight class.

Collegiate Career: Clark's collegiate wrestling career started at Iowa State in 2007. He spent two years in Ames and qualified for the NCAAs twice as a Cyclone. Clark transferred to Iowa after the 2009 season and redshirted the 2009-10 season. This past season, Clark failed to crack the starting lineup for the Hawkeyes at 133 pounds, but did finish fifth at the Midlands Championships, which included a victory over teammate and starter Tony Ramos.

Next Season: The senior-to-be Clark will likely find himself in another dogfight to break into the Hawkeye lineup next season. Ramos, an NCAA qualifier this past season, returns for his sophomore season, so Clark will need to unseat a wrestler he was unable to unseat this past season, despite winning a head-to-head meeting and placing higher at the Midlands.

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