Troy Minnich stood over his fallen opponent, basking in the roaring praise doled out by an electrified Rec Hall crowd. His fists pumped in an obvious adrenaline rush as his teammates mobbed him, joining the celebration.

Senior wrestler Minnich defeated Michigan's Jesse Rawls with a rare pin in sudden death to clinch a victory for the Lions over the No. 4 Wolverines. And as he stood among a crowd of reporters, staring intently at the mat where he had just minutes ago garnered his greatest collegiate win, Minnich spoke.

"It was one of my better matches," he deadpanned.

The match itself was, in fact, a roller coaster for Minnich. In the first two periods, Rawls controlled him, building a significant riding time advantage. Minnich's comeback in the final period was masterful, as he eradicated Rawls' advantage time, and scored a dramatic takedown with less than 10 seconds left in regulation to tie the match.

"I had to cancel the riding time, and then go for the takedown at the end, " Minnich said quietly, "And that's what happened."

In the sudden-death period, Minnich was twice on the verge of a takedown which would give him a win when the referee ruled the wrestlers were out of bounds. When he finally got Rawls in the center of the mat, he made the most of it, shocking coaches, teammates and fans by putting him flat on his back for the fall.

"I wasn't thinking about (the pin)," Minnich said. "I got the takedown . . . and the ref kept counting."

If it isn't obvious from Minnich's comments, he much prefers to do his talking on the mat.

"Troy is a quiet kind of guy," teammate Shawn Nelson said. "If he does something outstanding or if he has a good match, he's doesn't boast about it. He's pretty humble."

Minnich has had his share of outstanding matches in his wrestling career, the most significant of which occured at Ephrata High School in Ephrata. In his junior year, Minnich caught the attention of college scouts with his second-place finish at states, and two years later he was a Penn State wrestler.

Minnich was, however, firmly entrenched in a backup role for his first three seasons. It wasn't for lack of ability, though, as Minnich simply found himself behind All-American Dave Hart.

In this, his senior season, Minnich was finally about to step into a starting role when he came down with mononucleosis. Coach John Fritz admits that although it was a roadblock, Minnich is back, stronger than ever.

"Having mono, not being able to get the mat experience, then being able to go out and win those kind of matches shows that, hey, he's been working hard in the room since the time he's been back," Fritz said. "It was a real plus for him and a real plus for us."