Penn State University — of State College, Pennsylvania — are the 2012 NCAA Division I Wrestling Champions. For the second year in a row, the Nittany Lions has wrapped up the tournament with an irrecoverable points lead before the individual finals has taken place.
The University of Minnesota’s Golden Gophers after falling to 4th place after the Quarter Finals have managed to recover and currently sit at 2nd place. Iowa’s Hawkeyes are not far behind though in 3rd and may overtake Minnesota should they earn favourable bonus points.
Trailing in 4th place but still with the possibility of moving up the board is Cornell’s Big Red, while Oklahoma State’s Cowboys lag in 5th, unlikely to progress even with a Jordan Oliver (133 lbs defending champion) pin.
Cael Sanderson, already thought to be one of the USA’s greatest ever wrestlers, deserves similar accolades for being the sport’s best coach having found success previously with the Iowa State before transferring to Penn State.
While the war may be won, that’s unlikely to distract Sanderson form focusing on tonight and doing his best to help his 5 individual finalists achieve their dreams of becoming national champions, when it was only finalist Quentin Wright who won gold at the NCAA’s in 2011.
At the time of writing here are the current Team Results:
1. Penn State 128.5
2. Minnesota 113.5
3. Iowa 103.5
4. Cornell 90.5
5. Oklahoma St. 66.0
6. Ohio St. 64.5
7. Illinois 62.0
8. Lehigh 61.0
9. Northwestern 42.5
10. Oregon St. 40.5
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