Billman's rookie run earns fifth at NCAAs

CLEVELAND -- Two weeks ago, Jamarr Billman was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

At last week's NCAA Wrestling Championships at the Cleveland State Convocation Center, Billman remembered what it was like to be a regular freshman again.

Billman, Penn State's 142 pounder, lost to Central Michigan's Casey Cunningham 8-5 in the quarterfinals of the three-day tournament, which began on Thursday.

"I knew it was a tough tournament. I was just beat after my last match," Billman said. "I wish I would've finished a little higher, but it's my freshman year and I can't really complain about that."

Finally, the overachieving rookie admitted what he refused to acknowledge all season long -- that winning a national championship, especially as a true freshman, is no easy task.

Nittany Lion coach John Fritz said it was Billman's no-fear attitude that ensured his success at NCAAs.

"Jamarr wants to be great," Fritz said. "I think that's a terrific attitude to have."

As terrific as Billman's attitude was entering the tournament, the pool of talent was just a bit too deep to handle. Especially at 142.

Besides the fourth-seeded Cunningham, Iowa's Jeff McGinness, Minnesota's Jason Davids and Oklahoma State's Steven Schmidt headed the list of marquee names in action.

McGinness was a 1995 national champion for the Hawkeyes, while Davids was a two-time All-American. Smith, on the other hand, was a 1997 national finalist who was ranked first for the better part of the dual-meet season.

The way things unraveled at NCAAs, it was easy to see the weight class's incredible depth.

Cunningham eventually lost to the second-seeded McGinness in the championships, 3-1, on a late takedown. The third-seeded Davids, who fell to McGinness in the semifinals, turned around and beat Billman 12-5 in the consolation round. Before that, however, Billman had already downed the top-seeded Schmidt 7-5.

Confusing stuff.

Enter into the picture all the regular season results and the issue gets all the more clouded. Illinois' Adam Tirapelle beat McGinness. Purdue's Willie Wineberg beat Tirapelle. Billman beat both Tirapelle and Wineberg, but not McGinness.

Huh?

"It's extra hard (to wrestle at 142)," Billman said. "You've got people like Davids, Schmidt and McGinness, guys who have all kinds of credentials to their name. Then you've got freshmen trying to prove themselves and a whole bunch of other guys, so it's really challenging."

Even the NCAA champion conceded that his road to the title was filled with some unexpected turns.

"It's hard to compare weight classes, but I'd say there's a lot of tough individuals at 142," McGinness said. "I mean, Schmidt pinned me before, Cunningham beat me, and in the middle of the year, I had a couple overtime matches. So it's basically pretty even wherever you look."

No need to tell Billman, of course. He learned it for himself on his inaugural voyage to wrestling's Big Dance.