Wrestler makes amends on mat for run-in with law

Mere hours after the Penn State wrestling team defeated Iowa 25-17 on Jan. 3 -- a win that has become the Nittany Lions' piece de resistance this season -- redshirt junior and starting 150-pounder Clint Musser helped put a damper on the festivities.

Musser -- who was instrumental in the Lions' reason-defying victory at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, a place where Iowa had not lost in 50 prior matches -- elected to join numerous other team members at The Fieldhouse, an over-18 establishment in Iowa City, to celebrate Penn State's jaw-dropping win.

Not a problem.

But Musser's actions became a problem when he and two Lion reserves -- fifth-year senior and 118-pounder Arturo Cabanas and redshirt junior and 190-pounder Tim Vorhies -- allegedly got into an altercation involving Fieldhouse employees and were arrested by Iowa City police.

Musser, 22, was charged with disorderly conduct and public intoxication while Cabanas, 22, and Vorhies, 21, were charged with disorderly conduct.

Though college wrestling critics expected Penn State coach John Fritz to kick all three off the team as fast as you can say "takedown," he gave the trio a second chance and a slap on the wrist -- a suspension from last weekend's Big Ten dual meets against Michigan and Michigan State.

Of course, practice wasn't a fun time for Musser last week -- he and the other two arrestees had to clean the mats after their daily workouts -- but, for all intents and purposes, the fiery starter got off relatively easy.

This weekend, Musser showed the rest of the country he appreciates Fritz's faith in him and his fellow rule breakers.

Musser, the No. 4-ranked 150-pounder in the nation, made his return to the mat at the Cliff Keen/N.W.C.A. National Duals (hosted by Iowa, appropriately enough) and did so in utter brilliance.

While Penn State fell to the awfully angry Hawkeyes in their rematch Saturday night -- a loss that relegated the Lions to a third-place finish on Sunday -- Musser went 5-0 in individual competition.

On Saturday morning, Musser opened with a ho-hum 12-3 decision against Pittsburgh's Kevin Johnson. Then he notched a 5-2 decision over Iowa State's David Maldonado, only the No. 12-ranked 150-pounder in the country. Finally, he joined exclusive company as one of only three Lions to actually win against Iowa by beating the Hawkeyes' Jamie Heidt 7-5 in overtime.

Musser didn't relax come Sunday, either. When Penn State opened with West Virginia in the consolation round, Musser gave the Mountaineers' No. 3-ranked Mike Mason a 6-0 throttling. And, to shut up any naysayers once and for all, he put a major-decision hurt on Michigan State's Cory Posey in the third-place match, 9-1.

Done deal.

Before this weekend, Musser had not lost since Nov. 29. After this weekend, the same is still true. No other Lion made it through the National Duals unscathed -- not No. 4-ranked 158-pounder John Lange, not No. 6-ranked 167-pounder Glenn Pritzlaff, not No. 7-ranked 118-pounder Jeremy Hunter. Only Musser.

Aside from one weekend of watching from the sidelines -- a punishment he rightly deserved -- Musser has been among the hardest-working wrestlers on the Penn State roster. And, as Fritz will tell you, one bad decision does not outweigh a whole season of hard work.