Takedown Report

Collegiate wrestling shines at PPG Paints Arena

Year in and year out, wrestlers from the WPIAL move on to the college ranks and dominate in the NCAA tournament like no other region in the country. This year was no different, only for one exception — they got to do it in front of their family, friends and hometown fans at PPG Paints Arena. For the first time in more than 60 years, the NCAA Division I wrestling championships — or as Iowa associate head coach and two-time world champion Terry Brands calls it, “The toughest tournament in the world” — returned to the mecca of amateur wrestling in Western Pennsylvania to showcase the sport’s brightest stars from all over the country.

Penn State did what it always does — win. The Nittany Lions have won four NCAA team championships in a row and eight out of the past nine. So did Spencer Lee, a three-time PIAA champion and three-time age-level world champion from Franklin Regional High School who has yet to lose a match at NCAAs in two trips while outscoring his opponents, 113-10. But while most of the favorites won as expected, no one is safe from the imminent danger of a tournament where 330 of the nation’s top wrestlers are competing for the same goal, with only 10 national championships to go around. Someone has to leave empty handed. Rest of the story at https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/psu/2019/03/26/NCAA-Wrestling-Championships-PPG-Paints-Arena-Penn-State-Jason-Nolf-Spencer-Lee-Franklin-Regional/stories/201903250122?mc_cid=19991bd8ba&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

April 5, 2019 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized