Wrestlers not satisfied with season's end

By RYAN HOCKENSMITH
Collegian Staff Writer

Satisfaction doesn't come easily for the Penn State wrestling team.

Even after a surprising fourth-place finish at the March 18-20 NCAA Championships, Nittany Lions grapplers remained unsatisfied. Penn State finished tied with Iowa State, behind Oklahoma State, Minnesota and Iowa.

"No, never," junior Mark Janus said of being satisfied with this season's finish. "We won't be satisfied until we win a national championship."

"I think we were happy with the team's finish," redshirt freshman Jeff Knupp said. "But definitely not satisfied as a team."

Penn State had ended the dual-meet season with a 12-5 overall record, 5-3 in the Big Ten. Coach Troy Sunderland's troops then stormed into Big Ten Championships and placed third behind Minnesota and Iowa, advancing nine of 10 starters to NCAAs.

Despite being virtually forgotten in the team race, Penn State pushed four wrestlers into the semifinals of NCAAs. At one point, the Lions led in the team standings in front of the home crowd at The Bryce Jordan Center.

Junior Jeremy Hunter (125 pounds) and seniors Clint Musser (157 pounds) and Glenn Pritzlaff (174 pounds) all won semifinal bouts to put them in position for national championships, ensuring all three of All-American finishes.

But Fresno State sophomore Stephen Abas defeated Hunter 7-4 for the 125-pound gold. Four matches later, Central Michigan senior Casey Cunningham nipped Musser 2-1 for the 157-pound title.

Pritzlaff eased some of the Penn State pain with a 10-4 handling of Michigan's Otto Olson for the 174-pound national title.

Senior Biff Walizer, twice within one victory of All-American honors in his career, finally grabbed the elusive status. Walizer dropped a 2-1 tiebreaker loss to Minnesota's Troy Marr for seventh place at 149 pounds, finishing eighth.

"It was a real good finish for some of the individuals," Knupp said. "We were real happy for Clint, Jeremy and Glenn and Biff.

"Happy for the individuals, but we always want to win the national championship as a team."

Of Penn State's four All-Americans, only Hunter returns next year.

Beginning with Hunter, the lightweights should be Penn State's strength next season.

Hunter completed his junior season at 33-1, receiving his third NCAA All-American medal in the process. With Abas announcing he will take a redshirt next season to prepare for the 2000 Summer Olympics, Hunter becomes the heavy favorite at 125 pounds next season.

Freshman 133 pounder Nate Parker will return, provided he can keep his weight down and he doesn't use his redshirt year. Parker completed his first season of collegiate wrestling with a 15-12 mark, dropping his first two bouts at NCAAs to end the season.

"If I had to make the decision," Parker said, "I'd probably choose to redshirt.

"But I don't know anything about wrestling strategy. It'll come down to what me and the coaching staff decide."

At 141 pounds, Jason Betz is the favorite after redshirting this season. Betz hoists a career tally of 68-42 and has twice missed All-American status by one match.

Jamarr Billman, the 1997-98 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, missed the last half of this season because of academic and personal reasons.

Boasting a career record of 56-6, Billman will be ranked in the nation's top five when he returns in 1999-2000 for his junior season, probably at 149 pounds.

After 149 pounds, however, the outlook gets cloudy.

With the losses of seniors Musser, Pritzlaff and 165-pound starter Alex Leykikh, the middleweights will be the most inexperienced group for next year's Lions squad.

But according to Janus, the middleweights aren't a problem.

"Everybody on this team is ready to do everything to win," Janus said. "Losing those senior guys is tough, but our middleweights are still top-notch wrestlers."

Ross Thatcher, one last-second loss away from All-American status this season, likely will fill an important role at 184 pounds.

With one season of athletic eligibility remaining, redshirt junior Brett Calabretta has opted to graduate and will forfeit his final wrestling season.

Knupp, one of the most prized recruits in the country two years ago, will enter next season as the favorite to fill Calabretta's 197-pound shoes.

He's excited about the opportunity.

"It's definitely good to finally get a chance to get into the lineup," Knupp said. "I expect to do some great things here at Penn State."

The heavyweight position likely will be manned by two-year starter Janus. The Lions big man paraded through Big Tens this season en route to a third-place finish, then went 1-2 at NCAAs to conclude the season.

With the loss of three of its four All-Americans, Penn State may not be listed as one of the serious contenders for next season's national championship.

But Janus said the Lions should be.

"We are right there," Janus said. "We are ignored. If you go through our lineup, we have a great, great team.

"We might have some holes in the lineup, but we'll fill them. We'll be right there with the best of them next year."