Musser falls short in final championship try

By RYAN HOCKENSMITH
Collegian Staff Writer

Of all the endings Clint Musser envisioned, this wasn't one of them.

For the conclusion of his Penn State wrestling career, Musser no doubt dreamt of that final moment ending a different way.

Leaping into his ecstatic coach's arms as the buzzer sounds. Joyfully hopping to the top of the awards podium. Raising the 157-pound bracket to the air, his name written in as the 1998-99 national champion.

The ultimate ending to Musser's career as a Nittany Lion never occurred this past weekend at NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships, held at The Bryce Jordan Center.

Musser dropped a 2-1 decision to Central Michigan's Casey Cunningham Saturday night in the final bout of both wrestlers' careers.

Afterwards, Musser talked of what could have been.

"I'm disappointed," he said. "I can't tell you exactly how disappointing, but it's disappointing.

"It wasn't my goal to be a runner-up. My goal was to come out and be a national champion, and I fell short of that."

But just barely.

Cunningham led 1-0 on a stalling point with 52 seconds remaining, but Musser rode him for the next 46 seconds, assuring himself of a riding-time bonus point for amassing more than a one-minute advantage. Technically, the bout was tied.

But after riding the Chippewas All-American for nearly the entire third period, Cunningham escaped with only those six ticks remaining to take the match and Musser's national title.

Cunningham realized he was in for a war before the bout even began and understood how close he came to second place.

"I knew he's a tough wrestler," Cunningham said. "I knew it'd be a good match. I just tried to keep getting after it. It just went my way tonight."

The victory against Musser was Cunningham's third of the season over the Lions co-captain, responsible for 60 percent of the loss column in Musser's final season record of 34-5.

Musser's 34th victory came in the semifinal round in one of the most arousing matches of the entire tournament.

There, Musser squared off with nemesis Chad Kraft of Minnesota. Kraft had defeated Musser 3-2 to knock him to the consolation bracket in last year's NCAA Championships, where he eventually finished fifth.

But this time, the result was reversed.

After seven minutes of regulation grappling, the two returning All-Americans were deadlocked, forcing a two-minute overtime period.

Two minutes later, the tally was still tied.

On to double overtime, the rideout period.

Musser won the disk flip to have the choice of top or bottom positions. If he took top, he had to hold Kraft down for the entire 30-second period. If he chose bottom, he had to escape.

Not a difficult decision.

Down he went.

Behind chants and cheers from Penn State, Iowa and every other team not from Minnesota, Musser escaped with 14 seconds remaining, clinching a berth in the championship bout opposite Cunningham.

The finals loss ended Musser's collegiate eligibility with a mark 123-36.

Penn State coach Troy Sunderland, a three-time All-American, can sympathize with Musser's situation.

The first-year coach finished runner-up both his junior and senior seasons as a Penn State wrestler.

"There's really nothing I can say to take the pain away," Sunderland said. "But Clint's had a great career, he's done a great job."