Musser struggles at NCAAs, looks to next year

CLEVELAND -- Clint Musser went through the motions.

He listened to the announcer call his name. He waved to the crowd. He descended from the awards platform and shook hands with the other seven All-Americans.

But he never really felt any of it.

Musser, Penn State's 150 pounder, wore a look of exhaustion and something a little harder to describe as he spoke to the media following his fifth-place finish at last week's NCAA Wrestling Championships.

What went wrong?

"It wasn't my best performance of the year," Musser said flatly. "If I was going to win a national championship, that's what I would have needed -- my best performance of the year. It just didn't happen this weekend."

Technically speaking, the only obstacles standing in Musser's way were Chad Kraft and Bill Lacure.

Kraft, of Minnesota, was the one who bumped Musser from the front draw with a 3-2 decision while Lacure, of Michigan, sent him to the fifth-place bout with an impressive 6-2 win. Lacure had previously beaten Musser 5-4 in the finals of the Big Ten Championships on March 8 to snap the latter's three-month unbeaten string.

Musser eventually major decisioned Wisconsin's Don Pritzlaff 12-3 to end the tournament on a somewhat elevated note.

"I'm disappointed with my quarterfinal and semifinal matches," Musser said. "I was just happy to go out with a win in my last match of the season."

If Musser was disappointed about losing to Kraft and Lacure, the awards ceremony itself must have been hell.

Standing a couple steps higher on the eight-level platform were both Kraft (second place) and West Virginia's Mike Mason (third place). Musser beat each wrestler twice this season.

"That's one of the things that's most disappointing about it," Musser said. "I beat both those guys twice this year and they're the ones that placed higher than me."

Nittany Lion coach John Fritz said he's lucky to have Musser back for one more year. And so is Musser.

"Clint had a great year," Fritz said. "It's just one of those things, that match with Kraft. Anything can happen. Clint wrestled hard. I was pleased with the way he wrestled in most of his matches, it's just one of those things.

"The fortunate thing for Clint is that he's got next year," Fritz added. "If he makes the same improvement he did from last year to this year, he'll put himself in a position to go for a championship next year."

Musser agreed.

"Taking fifth here is great motivation for next year," Musser said. "I'm disappointed, but I just have to make the best of it. I have to come back next year to win it. Win it all."