Top-ranked Penn State won its third straight Big Ten title, finishing 12 points ahead of MinnesotaCHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Last season Penn State's Matt Brown was hailed by many as the nation's best backup after a 27-2 season and runner-up finish at the Southern Scufffle. This season expectations have been high for the 22-year-old Brown, who is sandwiched between two returning NCAA champions, David Taylor and Ed Ruth, on a Nittany Lion team in search of its third straight NCAA title.
Matt BrownBrown's title helped Penn State capture its third straight Big Ten title. The Nittany Lions finished 12 points in front of runner-up Minnesota. Also winning individual titles for the Nittany Lions were repeat winners David Taylor (165), Ed Ruth (184), and Quentin Wright (197).
Taylor and Ruth lit up when talking about Brown's performance.
"When you step in and fill a role in the Penn State lineup, you're expected to be the No. 1 guy in the country. He lost a couple matches. It's not that big of a deal. I'm really proud of Matt. He has had some ups and downs this year. To have the tournament he had was phenomenal, to get revenge against a couple of those guys."
Added Ruth, "This is the Matt Brown that I know. I'm glad that everybody else got to see it too."
Both Taylor and Ruth won their third conference titles.
Taylor picked up bonus points in all three of his matches over the weekend. In the finals he won by major decision, 9-1, over Conrad Polz of Illinois.
"I've always been a bonus point scorer," said Taylor. "Since I was a kid I've always wanted to beat guys by more than eight points. When I got into college I really embraced that role with Coach Sanderson. You just always focus on building leads and keeping it simple."
Unlike last season, Taylor will not be the top seed at the NCAAs after losing two close matches to three-time NCAA champion Kyle Dake of Cornell. Still, despite the losses, Taylor doesn't see himself as the underdog in Des Moines.
"In my mind I'm the favorite," said Taylor. "I'm the returning 165 champ. I won the Hodge last year. I'm the best guy in my weight class. I've just got to go out and do it."
Ruth, who was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Year, earned his third Big Ten title with a 5-3 victory over Minnesota's Kevin Steinhaus in the finals, scoring a takedown in the first period and third period. With his three wins over the weekend, Ruth extended his win streak to 63. But he says it's not something he thinks about.
"For me, even if it gets broken, it really doesn't matter," Ruth said of the streak. "I'm still going to be wrestling. Nothing is going to happen. The world isn't going to die tomorrow. The sun isn't going to go down and never come up. I kind of just take it as it's a 60-win streak and if a loss comes after it, it's just another loss.
For Wright, ranked No. 2 nationally, it was his second Big Ten title. He topped Minnesota's Scott Schiller in the finals, 5-3, scoring a takedown in each of the final two periods. He will head to the NCAAs with perfect 27-0 record.
Second-place Minnesota had a pair of champions in Dylan Ness (149) and Tony Nelson (285).
Ness, who entered the tournament seeded third, used a whip-over from his back to pin Nebraska's Jake Sueflohn in the second period of their finals match at 149 pounds.
According to Ness, the bigger the stage the better he performs.
"I love big crowds," said Ness, an NCAA runner-up last season as a freshman. "They get me going. I feel less pressure when there are big crowds. I don't feel nervous at all. I'm just ready to go."
Ness' only loss over his last 10 matches was a 6-4 defeat to top-ranked Jordan Oliver of Oklahoma State in the finals of the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals on Feb. 23 in Minneapolis.
"It was important to me that I got to wrestle him before nationals just to get a little feel," said Ness. "It didn't end the way I wanted. But that weekend we ended up winning as a team. It was about the team that weekend, so I wasn't that down about it at the time."
Nelson, a returning NCAA champion and the nation's top-ranked heavyweight, won his second straight Big Ten title with a 4-1 decision over Northwestern's Mike McMullan.
Iowa finished third in the team standings after a disappointing 0-4 performance in the finals. The Hawkeyes led the team race after the first session after advancing nine to the semifinals.
Ohio State wrestlers Logan Stieber and Hunter Stieber claimed Big Ten titles at 133 pounds and 141 poundsLogan Stieber, the returning NCAA champion at 133 pounds, won a hard-fought match in sudden victory, 3-1, over Iowa's Tony Ramos in a rematch of last year's Big Ten finals match. Both wrestlers entered the match undefeated.
"I know he's really picked up his offense this year," Logan said of Ramos. "I knew I had to stop his offensive shots. I thought I did a pretty good job of containing his offense. I knew I had to score a takedown. I wanted to get one in regulation. I couldn't get one. But in overtime I was able to secure a takedown.
Hunter Stieber, a returning All-American, earned his first Big Title with an 8-3 decision over Iowa's Mark Ballweg. He scored two takedowns in the first period and added another in the second period to pace him to the victory.
Hunter said he fed off his brother's win.
"I was so excited to go out there and wrestle that I had to calm down a little bit because I didn't want to use too much energy," said Hunter. "When he wins like that it's awesome."
Jesse Delgado won the title at 125 pounds"I'm a lot faster than he is," said Delgado. "He relies a lot on funk and countering guys. I'm not going to let that happen. Since I got to college he was the guy that I had to beat. That's two, almost three years of getting ready for this guy."
Delgado and McDonough are expected to be the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds at the NCAAs, which could set up a showdown in the NCAA semifinals.
"He's going to make adjustments for me," said Delgado. "He's not stopping me if I'm on my A-game. Bottom line."
Northwestern's Jason Welch, ranked No. 1 nationally, pinned Nebraska's James Green to win the title at 157 pounds. Welch trailed 4-3 in the third period before turning Green and getting the pin. The win avenged Welch's only loss this season.
Welch will be wrestling in his fourth and final NCAA tournament.
"I'm trying to put less pressure on myself," said Welch. "I'm thinking about how it's my last time that I get to be able to compete. So I'm trying to be happy with small victories, not so hard on myself, and just enjoy my time out here while I can."
Penn State coach Cael Sanderson and Minnesota coach J Robinson shared Big Ten Coach of the Year honors. Penn State's Ed Ruth was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Year. Connor Medbery earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors.
Team Standings:
1. Penn State 151
2. Minnesota 139
3. Iowa 133.5
4. Ohio State 109.5
5. Illinois 85.5
6. Michigan 75
7. Nebraska 61
8. Northwestern 56
9. Purdue 38
10. Wisconsin 37
11. Indiana 30.5
12. Michigan State 22
Finals Results:
125: No. 4 Jesse Delgado (Illinois) dec. No. 2 Matt McDonough (Iowa), 10-4
133: No. 1 Logan Stieber (Ohio State) dec. No. 2 Tony Ramos (Iowa), 3-1 SV
141: No. 2 Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) dec. No. 9 Mark Ballweg (Iowa), 8-3
149: No. 6 Dylan Ness (Minnesota) pinned No. 10 Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska), 3:27
157: No. 1 Jason Welch (Northwestern) pinned No. 6 James Green (Nebraska), 6:38
165: No. 2 David Taylor (Penn State) dec. No. 8 Conrad Polz (Illinois), 9-1
174: No. 7 Matt Brown (Penn State) dec. No. 3 Mike Evans (Iowa), 7-3
184: No. 1 Ed Ruth (Penn State) dec. No. 5 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota), 5-3
197: No. 2 Quentin Wright (Penn State) dec. No. 8 Scott Schiller (Minnesota), 5-3
285: No. 1 Tony Nelson (Minnesota) dec. No. 9 Mike McMullan (Northwestern), 4-1
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