Takedown Report

Nick Corey: A look at Penn State’s jaw-dropping success through a historical lens

The word dominant gets tossed around more than Penn State opponents these days. What the Nittany Lions are doing deserves a stronger adjective. Set aside the fact the Nittany Lions have won 16 consecutive semifinal matches at the NCAA Championships, the sheer supremacy of Cael Sanderson’s program has been jaw dropping. Penn State has outscored its 10 dual opponents by a combined 297-63 count this season. The Nittany Lion starters are 72-10 in duals. A crowd of nearly 16,000 turned out Friday night to watch Penn State’s 25-11 win against Michigan. It was the 55th straight win for the Nittany Lions. They haven’t lost a dual in nearly four years. Their last defeat came on Feb. 21, 2015 against Oklahoma State. That was the season Penn State redshirted Nico Megaludis, Zain Retherford and had Jason Nolf and Bo Nickal waiting to debut the following season in a white-belted blue singlet. The Penn State run harkens comparisons to the Iowa dynasty of the Gable years.

Granted, Sanderson doesn’t have the longevity of Gable, who won Big Ten titles in all 21 seasons leading the Hawkeyes and collected 15 national titles. A quick glance, however, at the Sanderson-led Penn State teams reveals the comparisons are warranted, especially if the Nittany Lions have similar success for the next decade. With nine completed seasons on his Penn State resume, Sanderson’s led the Nittany Lions to seven national titles. Rest of the story at https://www.trackwrestling.com/PortalPost.jsp?TIM=1549348448767&twSessionId=jrhcvmtcks&postId=1203454132&mc_cid=1198efe11a&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

March 26, 2019 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized