Failing to take home an All-American placard can (unfortunately) lead to a lifetime of second-guessing work ethic, weight class decisions and a myriad of near-misses.
Given the disparity of outcomes, wrestlers put a tremendous amount of psychological stress on themselves in order to find the podium in March.
This season there are 10 seniors who have been closer than most to reaching All-American honors and will have only one more season to fulfill their dream.
Max Thomusseit (Pitt)
One of the best upperweights in the NCAA for the past several seasons, Max Thomusseit has been one win short of All-American honors the past two seasons. The three-time conference finalist finally made it over the division hump in 2013 to win a title. The round of 12 is not a curse for Thomusseit as much as it is luck. He has drawn tough characters each year, but in 2015 will look to complete his season with another conference championship, a first All-American honor and maybe more.
Nebraska's Jake Sueflohn is a three-time NCAA qualifier (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)An accomplished mat wrestler with a grind-first attitude, Jake Sueflohn is a three-time NCAA qualifier who has yet to step on the scales for the third day of the NCAA tournament. The Cornhusker has been ranked in the top 10 for most of career and his expectations have been accelerated by the success of teammate James Green and the addition of Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs to the coaching staff. Though he only went 2-2 in 2014, one of those losses was to eventual NCAA runner-up Josh Kindig of Oklahoma State by two points. He was also 2-2 in 2013 with losses to Jordan Oliver and Dylan Ness. Now surrounded by greatness the five NCAA wins in his previous three years should be a great launching point for Sueflohn's success in 2014-2015.
Taylor Walsh (Indiana)
A three-time NCAA qualifier who set all-time school record with 25 pins last season, Taylor Walsh has the horsepower and firepower to make a run at the NCAA tournament. However, as of yet his talent and growth have not translated into an All-American plaque. Walsh has been lackluster in March, going 1-2 in 2014, 1-2 in 2013 and 1-2 in 2012. It goes without saying that he will need to improve his performance in order to turn his regular season success into postseason hardware.
Nick Moore (Iowa)
Nick Moore entered the 2014 NCAA Wrestling tournament as the No. 5 seed after finishing runner-up at the Midlands and Big Tens. A four-time Iowa state champion, Moore underperformed in Oklahoma City in 2014 going 2-2, losing to Josh Veltre (Bloomsburg) and Dylan Palacio (Cornell). One of his wins came against a tough Corey Mock. In 2013 he was 1-2, which also included a loss to Veltre.
Mike Ottinger (Central Michigan)
A two-time MAC champion, Mike Ottinger carried the No. 10 seed into the 2014 NCAAs, but failed to earn the coveted All-American honor. A three-time NCAA qualifier, Ottinger has had his chances to excel. The former Pennsylvania state champion carried an impressive 27-7 record into the NCAA tournament and went 2-2, a marked improvement over his first two seasons where he failed to win a match. Still, with a 73-32 career record and a 15-2 MAC record in 2014, it's likely he will earn another seed and shot at the All-American plaque that has been evading him.
Josh Demas (Ohio State)
Listed as a senior for Ton Ryan, Josh Demas is a two-time NCAA qualifier who has always displayed massive potential. The potential has meant big wins during the year, but when the end of the season rolls around Demas has been unable to follow teammates like the Stieber bros. and Nick Heflin to the podium.
Corey Mock (Chattanooga)
The son of UNC-Chapel Hill head wrestling coach and 1982 NCAA champion C.D. Mock, Corey is coming off an impressive 31-5 season. The No. 6 seed at NCAAs in 2014 Corey was unable to translate his strong regular season into an All-American plaque, losing to Southern Conference opponent and All-American Turtogtokh Luvsandorj for the chance to become an All-American.
Nick Soto (Chattanooga)
Mock's teammate Nick Soto is a three-time NCAA qualifier and was the No. 10 seed at 2014 NCAAs where he went 2-2 in 2014. The rising senior has an 84-25 career record was 1-4 in two previous trips to the NCAAs. Though he hasn't made the podium, he has shown the ability to beat top-level competition through out the season, which is something he will need to achieve in order to take home hardware. Among his big wins are All-Americans Ryan Mango, David Thorn, B.J. Futrell and Jarrod Garnett. However, he does have head-scratching losses and has failed to continue a single trajectory and build consistency.
Braden Atwood (Purdue)
Though his most important career win was a comeback win against Tim Foley at the 2011 Midlands, Braden Atwood is a three-time NCAA qualifier (2012, 2013, 2014). He's done decent at the NCAAs, earning a 3-6 overall record, including 2-2 in 2014. Atwood knows how to win and stylistically falls into a category of an upperweight that has traditionally found success with high mobility and stamina. He's also a three-time Big Ten placewinner.
Andrew Alton was pinned by Eric Grajales last season in a wild, back-and-forth match (Photo/GoBlue.com)Expectations have been high for Andrew Alton ever since he stepped foot in Happy Valley. As a true freshman, Alton dazzled in a deep weight class (141) in the Big Ten. He won 30 matches that season, picking up some big wins along the way, but ultimately fell in the round of 12 at the NCAAs. After a redshirt season in 2011-12, Andrew came back to go 27-6 as a redshirt sophomore, but a disappointing NCAA tournament (1-2) kept him off the podium. Last year he had shoulder surgery, and though he tried to come back mid-season, Alton was not able to regain his form, and ultimately was replaced by fifth-year senior James English, who became an All-American. As a senior Andrew Alton will look to join his brother Dylan as an All-American for the Nittany Lions.
Others:
Tommy Gantt (North Carolina State)
Joe Spisak (Virginia)
Kory Mines (Edinboro)
Josh Dziewa (Iowa)
Jimmy Lawson (Penn State)
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