Takedown Report

Did Penn State Deliver the Greatest Season in NCAA Wrestling History?

Coach Cael Sanderson’s Nittany Lions won the NCAA Wrestling title with an epic performance in Kansas City.
After the greatest season in Penn State wrestling history — and perhaps the greatest in college wrestling history — the Nittany Lions returned to State College intent on doing it again. Maybe even better next time. “That’s what we do. We always think ahead preparing for the future,” Sanderson told reporters after the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Kansas City. “We’ll be back in the room on Monday. We love what we do. We love to train. We love the sport of wrestling. Happy for the guys. Obviously I say this every time but your heart and your mind, you just kind of expect to win and you believe and expect that your guys are going to win. So it’s the ones that don’t quite reach their goal that occupy your mind and your heart.”
Penn State absolutely barnstormed the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships, setting a scoring record, smashing the differential record, winning four individual titles, and becoming the first college wrestling program with two four-time champions. And amazingly, Penn State might not have reached its own stratospheric goals. The program sought to become just the second in NCAA history with 10 All-Americans and peered at winning six individual titles, which would have set a new record.
Ultimately, the Nittany Lions settled for eight All-Americans (one writing a tremendous story), 172.5 team points (topping Iowa’s former record), and a 100-point margin of victory, by far the largest in tournament history. Sanderson won his 11th NCAA team title as Penn State’s head coach, tying Oklahoma State’s E.C. Gallagher for the second-most among Division I coaches. Sanderson’s next milestone is 15, the number of titles Dan Gable won at Iowa.
Of course, Penn State’s publicly stoic head coach won’t wade into that territory. Instead, he grew philosophical about the sport itself. “It’s always been a game. That’s just the way I was raised,” Sanderson said. “You want to win every game we play.  … story at … SI.com/college/Penn-state-wrestling-2024-ncaa-championships-review

April 1, 2024 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized