Whether it has been in an individual tournament (where he has won titles at Mat-Town and the Penn State Open) or in a dual meet, Hunter has gotten it done. For his efforts, he has been rewarded with the No. 2 ranking in the nation at 125 pounds.

In front of him is Fresno State's Stephen Abas, a sophomore at Fresno State who holds a 32-1 record. Abas' only defeat came at the hands of No. 2 Oklahoma State's Eric Guerrero, the No. 1 wrestler in the nation at 133.

"Jeremy Hunter is an outstanding wrestler," Oklahoma coach Jack Spates said. "He gets in good position, he is very tough to get points on. I think the consensus favorite would be Abas, but that is why they wrestle."

Hunter has squared off against his West Coast counterpart before. It was Abas, fourth-place finisher in last year's NCAA Tournament, who defeated the West Alexander native 3-1 in NCAAs last year. And Hunter is determined not to let that happen again.

"He beat me last year, but last year was last year," Hunter said.

And now Hunter wants to win -- badly, very badly.

"(NCAAs) means a lot," the All-American said. "This is what everyone wants to win. 29-0 doesn't mean much heading in the tournament."

"Jeremy is an unbelievable kid," Nittany Lions co-captain Clint Musser said. "He's working real hard. I am as confident in him as I am in anyone."

Musser has good reason for his confidence.

In addition to his personal accolades, Hunter has greatly helped the Lions in dual-meet competition. Hunter has earned bonus points for the Lions 18 times, leading the team for the second straight season in dual-meet points with 71.

"Jeremy Hunter is pretty tough," Michigan coach Dale Bahr said. "Hunter is top four, and if you are a top-four wrestler, it depends on how well you wrestle."

Furthermore, he is second on the Lions' squad with eight pins and is the leader in the technical falls with six.

"He's been doing really good," fellow Penn State 125 pounder Justin Kast said. "He's always in good position and he is really calm when he wrestles."

But Hunter has looked anything but calm when he gets on the mat. From the moment after Hunter shakes his opponent's hands, he comes out relentlessly, taking shots from the first whistle.

"His goal is to be a national champ," Penn State coach Troy Sunderland said. "He's worked hard all year, he's done everything he can do."

Except one thing -- be No. 1.

"I am confident -- everybody is beatable," Hunter said. "It just depends who is hot and who wants it."