Team Standings & Brackets|Contest Standings
Penn State won its second straight Big Ten title (Photo/Mark Selders, Penn State Athletics)WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- It took an entire team effort, but Penn State came through to win its second straight Big Ten championship on Sunday at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind.
"It was just a team effort," said Penn State coach Cael Sanderson, who was named Big Ten Coach of the Year for the second straight season. "We had a very rough round last night. These guys responded well. I was kind of excited ... losing really stinks, but just to see how they would respond, and they did a nice job."
Molinaro, Taylor, and Ruth all picked up bonus points in their championship matches. The three have combined for 68 bonus point victories in 81 matches this season.
Molinaro, an NCAA runner-up and three-time All-American, scored early and often in the finals at 149 pounds against Minnesota's Dylan Ness, and cruised to a 15-0 technical fall. Molinaro registered a pin and two technical falls in his three matches to improve to 28-0 heading into the postseason.
"I really wanted to get bonus points there and do the most I could, and that was the most I can do," said Molinaro. "On a side note, that was one of my goals again, was not to give up any points in this tournament. I feel good that I accomplished that, and I feel good going forward to nationals now."
Taylor, who owns a career record of 65-1, defeated Iowa's Mike Evans by major decision, 11-2, in the finals at 165 pounds. Taylor scored late nearfall points to get the bonus point victory.
"Every little point is huge, so getting that last tilt at the end was pretty big," said Taylor, who was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Year.
Taylor, like his coach, was pleased with his team's ability to battle back from adversity.
"I think it was good to have a little bit of adversity, where we didn't have such a good round, a little bit of a wakeup call," said Taylor, who has now picked up bonus points in 24 of his 26 wins this season. "We responded so well this round, this morning and now. We just have to keep the ball rolling."
Ruth dominated Minnesota's Logan Storley from start to finish in the finals at 174 pounds and picked up a 13-2 major decision.
"The guys that we have in the finals are going out there and doing really well," said Ruth. "It's really helping our team score because it's not fun to win alone."
Ruth was a third-place finisher at the NCAAs last season, losing in the quarterfinals by injury default to Stanford's Nick Amuchastegui. He says it's a rematch he's looking forward to.
"I'm definitely looking forward to the rematch," said Ruth. "I'm not a guy who really looks forward to things like that, but some of those matches I just really want to get to. I'm excited for it."
Minnesota, on the strength of two champions and nine placewinners, finished runner-up with 134 points, 15 points behind Penn State.
Sophomores Kevin Steinhaus (184) and Tony Nelson (285) won titles for the Gophers.
Steinhaus, an All-American and Big Ten runner-up last season, needed overtime to defeat Nebraska's Josh Ihnen, 3-1. Steinhaus nearly gave up a takedown in overtime, but quickly turned the tables and came out with the victory.
Steinhaus has now won 19 straight matches. His last defeat came on Jan. 1 at the Southern Scuffle.
"I've been wrestling really well in practice," said Steinhaus. "I'm just really on board with what the coaches are doing. They're doing a great job getting us feeling great, working on specific things with us and getting us wrestling better. I'm feeling really good. Hopefully we keep on peaking here for nationals. That's when we should be at our best."
Nelson needed just an escape and riding time point to defeat Iowa's Bobby Telford, 2-0, in the finals at heavyweight. Nelson rode Telford the entire third period.
"I've working all week on forward pressure and keep knocking him off his balance," said Nelson, who has now won 20 consecutive matches. "I finally broke him after a minute and got him flat."
Iowa had the most finalists with six, but went 2-4 in the finals and finished third, eight points behind runner-up Minnesota. Matt McDonough (125) and Derek St. John (157) won titles for the Hawkeyes.
"You go back home and you analyze it, and then you get ready for the next tournament," said Iowa coach Tom Brands. "That's the one you talk about all year, and the one where you really stamp your name up there."
McDonough claimed his second straight Big Ten title with a 6-1 victory in the finals over Minnesota's Zach Sanders. McDonough and Sanders battled to a scoreless first period, but the Hawkeye junior opened it up with a takedown in each of the final two periods.
"It's what you work for throughout the season," said McDonough. "It's the next thing on the lineup. It's still just a stepping stone, though. It's a stepping stone to nationals. It's a barometer. But it's important as well. It was big to come in here and wrestle the matches I wanted to wrestle, score some points, but I think extending some leads is definitely due up for the next one in the lineup. "
St. John, who has battled a knee injury all season, came through as the No. 6 seed to win the championship at 157 pounds, beating Northwestern's Jason Welch, 4-3, in the finals. He was the lowest-seeded wrestler to win a title.
"I came here to prove a point," said St. John, who placed fourth at the NCAAs last season as a freshman. "I had to prove a point to get seeded at nationals or whatever. I felt like I didn't do the best job possible of doing it, but I did it."
Michigan's Kellen Russell claimed his fourth Big Ten title with a 7-2 victory in the finals at 141 pounds over Iowa's Montell Marion. Russell and Molinaro shared Outstanding Wrestler honors.
"To win four Big Ten titles is a great honor, and to be the first person from Michigan, it's awesome," said Russell, an NCAA champion last season.
Ohio State's Logan Stieber defeated Iowa's Tony Ramos, 5-2, to claim the title at 133 pounds. Stieber gave up an early takedown to go down 2-0, but responded with an escape and takedown of his own, which proved to the difference in the match. He becomes Ohio State's first Big Ten champion since Lance Palmer in 2010. The Buckeyes finished fifth in the team standings.
"It was a tough match," said Stieber. "I knew what was going to happen. He was just going to push the pace the whole time. He got the early takedown, but my main goal was to get a takedown in the first period because last time we wrestled I didn't score a takedown until the very end when he tried to throw."
Mario Gonzalez of Illinois came through as the No. 5 seed to win the title at 197 pounds, upending Indiana's Matt Powless, a returning All-American, 10-4, in the finals. Powless defeated Gonzalez by major decision, 11-3, in late January.
"I just made some adjustments and things went my way," said Gonzalez.
Sunday's attendance was 4,099.
Final Team Standings:
1. Penn State 149
2. Minnesota 134
3. Iowa 126
4. Illinois 105.5
5. Ohio State 91
6. Northwestern 75
7. Michigan 66
8. Nebraska 65
9. Purdue 51.5
10. Indiana 41
11. Michigan State 41
12. Wisconsin 9
Finals Results:
125: No. 1 Matt McDonough (Iowa) dec. No. 2 Zach Sanders (Minnesota), 6-1
133: No. 2 Logan Stieber (Ohio State) dec. No. 3 Tony Ramos (Iowa), 5-2
141: No. 1 Kellen Russell (Michigan) dec. No. 4 Montell Marion (Iowa), 7-2
149: No. 1 Frank Molinaro (Penn State) tech. fall No. 9 Dylan Ness (Minnesota), 15-0
157: No. 20 Derek St. John (Iowa) dec. No. 2 Jason Welch (Northwestern), 4-3
165: No. 1 David Taylor (Penn State) dec. No. 6 Mike Evans (Iowa), 11-2
174: No. 2 Ed Ruth (Penn State) dec. No. 6 Logan Storley (Minnesota), 13-2
184: No. 6 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota) dec. No. 7 Josh Ihnen (Nebraska), 3-1 SV
197: No. 17 Mario Gonzalez (Illinois) dec. No. 3 Matt Powless (Indiana), 10-4
285: No. 3 Tony Nelson (Minnesota) dec. No. 13 Bobby Telford (Iowa), 2-0
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