TIMELINE - Troy Sunderland named Big Ten Coach of the Year.
EWL HISTORY In 17 years (1976-82) of competition in the Eastern Wrestling League, Penn State was, by far, the most dominant member school, winning 14 tournament titles, including 11 consecutive from 1982 to 1992. Nittany Lions won 59 individual championships and 140 placed. In its final league tournament appearance, in March of 1992, Penn State, under the direction of Rich Lorenzo, romped to the EWL title, breaking its own scoring record and crowning a record seven individual champions. The seven-for-seven performance in the finals broke, by two, the EWL record for most individual champions from one team. Five Nittany Lions had won titles in 1976, 1986 and 1987. All 10 Penn State wrestlers advanced to the semi-finals. The Lions’ team total of 165.50 points eclipsed the tournament scoring record of 148.25, set by Penn State in 1987. Overall, Penn State wrestlers won 29 of 34 bouts and a record 10 by fall. Jeff Prescott won his third consecutive league title at 118 pounds and became only the sixth Nittany Lion to secure three EWL championships. Tim Wittman, who defeated top seed Scott Hovan in overtime for his second league title and first at 158 pounds, was voted Outstanding Wrestler. All-time, Penn State posted a 89–12–2 (87.4) league dual record including a 56-bout unbeaten streak. The Nittany Lions went undefeated (7–0) in their final season in the EWL.
THREE-TIME CHAMPIONS Dave Becker, ‘76–78 Greg Elinsky, ‘85–87 Chris Bevilacqua, ‘84–86 Dan Mayo, ‘86–88 Carl DeStefanis, ‘82–84 Jeff Prescott, ‘90–92 EWL TOURNAMENT OUTSTANDING WRESTLER Jeff Prescott, ‘91 Tim Wittman,‘92 Steve Sefter, ‘81 John Yankanich, ‘90 COACH-OF-THE-YEAR Rich Lorenzo, 1981–84, 87, 91 WRESTLER-OF-THE-YEAR Carl DeStefanis, ‘84 Jim Martin, ‘88 Scott Lynch, ‘83–84 Jeff Prescott, ‘91–92 FRESHMAN-OF-THE-YEAR Steve Sefter, ‘81 Ken Chertow, ‘85 Greg Elinsky, ‘84 Jim Martin, ‘86 EWL HALL-OF-FAME Coach Contributor Bill Koll Ed Czekaj, Rich Lucas Rich Lorenzo Doug McDonald Wrestlers Dave Becker, Chris Bevilacqua, Carl DeStefanis, Greg Elinski, John Hanrahan, Scott Lynch, Jim Martin, Steve Sefter, Jerry White, Tim Wittman, Dan Mayo. Complete list of EWL Champions on page 94.
2004 - Pat Cummins (Hwt.) and Josh Moore (133) reach the NCAA finals. - Heavyweight Kerry McCoy wins his fifth U.S. National Freestyle title, wins the U.S. Olympic Team Trials and takes 7th at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens Greece becoming Penn State‘s first two-time Olympian. 2005 - Eric Bradley wins second-straight Big Ten title. - Phil Davis earns first All-America tag 2006 - Phil Davis becomes national finalist, reaching NCAA finals at 197. He also earns his second All-America honor. - Eric Bradley becomes a two-time All-American with an eight place finish at 184. - Penn State earns 41st top ten team finish, scoring 53.5 points for ninth place. 2007 - Aaron Anspach earns national runner-up laurels at HWT, becoming an All-American for the first time. - Phil Davis becomes a three-time All-American with 5th place finish at 197. - Jake Strayer earns first All-America tag with 7th place finish at 133. - Penn State’s 54.0 team points is 14th highest team total in Nittany Lion history. 2008 - Phil Davis becomes Penn State’s fourth four-time All-American, 18th individual to win a national title and wins Penn State’s 21st national crown with his title at 197. - Bubba Jenkins becomes an All-American for first time with runner-up finish at 149; Dan Vallimont places third at 157 to earn first All-America honor; Mark McKnight goes from unseeded at 125 to All-American with fourth place finish. - Nittany Lions claim four All-American and collect 75.00 points, the fifth most in school history, to place third at the NCAA Championships. 2009 - Quentin Wright becomes first true freshman All-American for Penn State (taking sixth at 174) since 1998. - Frank Molinaro becomse second straight Nittany Lion wild card to become an All-American (taking eighth at 141 as an unseeded wild card). - National wrestling icon Cael Sanderson is named 12th head coach in Penn State history on April 17, 2009, in front of over 500 fans in a rousing opento-the-public press event and introduction.
2012 - Cael Sanderson leads Penn State to its second straight NCAA Championship, scoring a school-record 143.0 points to run away with the crown in St. Louis’ Scottrade Center. - Penn State has six All-Americans, all in the top 3. - The Nittany Lions have a school record three national champions (and five finalists) as Frank Molinaro (149), David Taylor (165) and Ed Ruth (174) become Penn State’s 20th, 21st and 22nd NCAA Champions. - Quentin Wright became Penn State’s 20th three-time All-American by advancing to the national title bout at 184. - Nico Megaludis become a true freshman National Runner-Up at 125, advancing to the finals before dropping a close 4-1 decision in the title bout. - Dylan Alton took third at 157 with a very strong 6-1 showing in his first NCAA Championship. - Taylor is named the 2012 NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Wrestler, the 2012 NCAA Most Dominant Wrestler and wins the 2012 NCAA Gorriaran Award. - Taylor wins the Hodge Trophy as the nation’s top wrestler. - Intermat names Ed Ruth as its National Wrestler of the Year and Sanderson its National Coach of the Year. - Penn State claimed its second straight Big Ten Championship, running away from the field for the title at Purdue University. - Penn State crowned three repeat Big Ten Champions as Frank Molinaro (149), David Taylor (165) and Ed Ruth (174) all repeated as conference kings.. - Taylor earns his second straight Big Ten Wrestler of the Year Award. - Molinaro shares the 2012 Big Ten Championship Outstanding Wrestler Award. - Cael Sanderson earns his second straight Big Ten Coach of the Year honor. - Penn State posts a 13-1 dual meet record. - The Nittany Lions go 7-1 in Big Ten duals, setting a school record for dual wins in a season and earning a share of the Big Ten Regular Season Championship. - Penn State wins its second straight Southern Scuffle Championship.. - Wrestling duals at Penn State become the hardest tickets to come by as the Lions average a whopping 6,481 fans per dual, including five sellouts in seven duals and more than 6,000 for each and every event. - The Penn State wrestlers are named the 2012 Big Ten Team of the Year by the Big Ten Network and Sanderson is named Big Ten Men’s Coach of the Year, the second straight year for both honors.
2010 - Dan Vallimont becomes Penn State’s 27th NCAA National Runner-Up by advancing to the national finals at 165. Vallimont became a two-time All-American with the performance. - Frank Molinaro became a two-time All-American with a fifth place finish at 149 after taking eighth at 141 the year before. - Cyler Sanderson becomes Penn State’s 166th All-American with a sixth place showing at 157. - Cael Sanderson, in his first year as Penn State’s head coach, led Penn State to a top-ten final dual meet ranking and a top ten finish at the NCAA Championships as the Lions took ninth with 49.0 points (among the top 20 point totals all-time in PSU history). 2011 - Cael Sanderson leads Penn State to its first NCAA Championship since 1953 in just his second year as head coach, scoring a team record 107.5 points to run away with the crown. - Penn State has five All-Americans, all in the top 3. - Quentin Wright becomes Penn State’s 19th NCAA Champion by winning the 184 pound title as the No. 9 seed. - Frank Molinaro becomes Penn State’s 19th three-time All-American by advancing to the national title bout at 149. - David Taylor becomes a freshman national finalist and All-American by advancing to the finals at 157. - Andrew Long and Ed Ruth finish third at 133 and 174 respectively, the duo wrapping up Penn State’s team title during the morning session on March 19, 2011. - Penn State wins its first ever Big Ten title at Northwestern on March 6 and Sanderson was named Big Ten Coach of the Year (becoming the first person ever to be named both Big Ten and Big 12 Coach of the Year). - Penn State has a school record five Big Ten Champions: Andrew Long at 133, Frank Molinaro at 149, David Taylor at 157, Ed Ruth at 174 and Quentin Wright at 184. - Taylor is named both Big Ten Wrestler of the Year and Big Ten Freshman of the Year. - Wright is named 2011 Big Ten Championship Outstanding Wrestler. - Penn State posts a 17-1-1 dual meet record, including a 6-1-1 mark in Big Ten duals, tieing the school record for conference dual wins in a season. - Penn State wins both the Southern Scuffle (co-champions) and Virginia Duals. - The Nittany Lions set numerous Rec Hall attendance marks (since reconfiguration in 1990s), sold out two duals and averaged 5,455 fans per event. - The Penn State wrestlers are named the 2011 Big Ten Team of the Year by the Big Ten Network and Sanderson is named Big Ten Men’s Coach of the Year.
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