Wrestlers take fourth at NCAAs in Cleveland

CLEVELAND -- It fit like a glove.

After scoring an array of consolation-round points, the Penn State wrestling team gained what it wanted the most out of this year's NCAA Championships -- reconciliation.

The Nittany Lions, who placed a woeful 10th at last year's tournament, made amends by finishing fourth before a final-session crowd of 12,829 at the Cleveland State Convocation Center this past weekend.

"With what Iowa and Oklahoma State and Minnesota had, we weren't quite the same as far as returning people who had done it before and been there," Lion coach John Fritz said. "But what we had was a lot of heart. I thought it was a great accomplishment getting in the top five with these guys."

After losing his first-round match in degrading style, 15-5 to Cal-Poly's unseeded David Wells, John Lange reeled off seven straight wins to place third at 158 -- Penn State's highest individual finish.

In an interesting side note, Lange earned the chance at a rematch against Wells in the consolation quarterfinals. This time, he got the pin in six minutes, 58 seconds.

"It's been a long career," the seventh-seeded Lange, a senior, said. "It was a nice way to end it. It could have been nicer, but basically I'm still going out on a winning note."

Jeremy Hunter (118), Jamarr Billman (142) and Clint Musser (150) took fifth while Glenn Pritzlaff (167) took seventh -- finishes each wrestler was less than thrilled about after all was said and done.

"You want to wrestle tough all year long, but when it comes down to it, you want to have your best performance at nationals," Musser said. "In my matches I got too tight. I didn't go out there and wrestle. I let the pressure get to me a little bit."

Iowa, on the other hand, handled its pressure with all the savoir-faire in the world.

The Hawkeyes re-crowned three of their four national champions to fend off the Gophers and Cowboys in one of the narrowest team races in recent memory.

Mark Ironside (134) and Jeff McGinness (142) claimed their second titles while the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler, Joe Williams (167), won his third straight. Only Lee Fullhart (190) couldn't repeat the glory he attained last year.

The Hawkeyes' victory was their first under coach Jim Zalesky, who replaced legend Dan Gable this season. When asked how it felt to finally win a title of his own -- not under Gable -- Zalesky quickly deflected the credit.

"I didn't win it myself," Zalesky said. "All the coaches won it. It's a 'we' thing, not a 'me' thing."

Ironside said his team's showing was a breakthrough effort.

"This proves that Iowa isn't just Dan Gable," Ironside said. "Iowa is an attitude."