The dominating run of Penn State wrestling added another chapter Saturday, as Cael Sanderson’s squad clinched its second straight NCAA team title. Here’s what you need to know:
- The tournament ended Saturday night, but the Nittany Lions sat too far ahead in points for second-place Iowa to catch up.
- The Nittany Lions have won 10 national championships since 2011 and 11 overall in school history.
- Iowa’s efforts at toppling Penn State were hurt Friday when three-time national champion Spencer Lee was upset by Purdue’s Matt Ramos in the semifinal.
🔥🏆CLINCHED 🏆🔥
Penn State has clinched its 10th NCAA Wrestling National Championship in the last 12 events //
It’s the 11th in school history //
It’s the 10th for head coach Cael Sanderson //
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here.#PSUwr
— Penn State WRESTLING (@pennstateWREST) March 18, 2023
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
Backstory
The Nittany Lions have won back-to-back NCAA wrestling championships and Penn State’s 10th NCAA championship under Sanderson has again been secured in dominant fashion.
The upset of Lee was the stunner of the tournament, as the final-second pin prevented Lee from becoming just the fifth four-time national champion in the sport’s history.
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Sanderson’s historic reign continues
Sanderson’s team tied a school record this season with eight All-America honorees, matching marks set in 2018 and 1987. Of Penn State’s 246 All-America honorees, 83 of them (more than one third) have come with Sanderson leading the program.
Penn State went 5-2 in Friday night’s semifinals, improving the program’s mark in the semis where PSU wrestlers have gone 50-8 since 2011, the year Penn State won its first NCAA title under Sanderson. — Snyder
What happened with Lee?
In one of the most shocking upsets in collegiate sports history, Ramos pinned three-time national champion Lee of Iowa with one second remaining in a 125-pound NCAA national semifinal Friday.
Lee had won 58 consecutive matches entering his matchup with Ramos, who the Iowa wrestler pinned in 2:54 on Jan. 8. Lee led 7-5 with about 30 seconds left in the match before Ramos went to his back and caught Lee for a takedown. Before Lee could pull through, Ramos put the Iowa wrestler on his back and secured the fall in 6:59. — Dochterman
Required reading
- How Penn State hired Cael Sanderson: Inside the origins of an NCAA wrestling dynasty
- Caitlin Clark, Spencer Lee put their dominance, competitiveness on display at Iowa
- ‘We call him Yoda’: Spencer Lee, the Iowa superstar on the cusp of NCAA and Olympic glory
(Photo: Shane Bevel / NCAA Photos via Getty Images)