Dewitt Driscoll stood with his arms held defiantly in the air after a pin that gave the Penn State wrestling team a chance for a storybook ending on Senior Day. This image accurately personifies the championship-caliber attitude that the senior Nittany Lions possess.

Before yesterday's match against Minnesota, senior wrestlers Eric Bradley, Dewitt Driscoll, Joel Edwards, Jeremy Hart, James Woodall and wrestling manager Carly Sayers were honored with senior varsity letters and a standing ovation from a crowd of 5,400-plus at Rec Hall.

"It's a little bit weird we're at the end of January and we're already talking about our seniors, but we don't have anymore home matches," Sunderland said. "These guys have done a great job of battling through adversity."

For Driscoll, yesterday's match was one he will always remember. For Bradley, it was business as usual, and for Edwards and Woodall it was a match they both would probably rather forget. Hart watched the match on crutches, recovering from ACL surgery earlier this year.

With two matches remaining in the afternoon, the Lions were down by nine and holding on by a prayer. Before the match, Driscoll had made a promise to himself that he would not allow his last memory at Rec Hall to be a bad one.

As the introduction music played, Driscoll looked like a provoked hornet, thirsting for revenge.

Driscoll danced, dodged and shot at his opponent, No. 14 Manuel Rivera, with great intensity before finally coming through with a pin that sent the Penn State bench and the crowd into a frenzy.

"It was a great memory, I mean beginning the match with the presentation. It was kind of emotional. It sent a whole rush through my body," Driscoll said. "I wanted to go out on a big note. That's what I came out here to do today, and I got it done."

Bradley finished his home career with a win against his first top-10 opponent of the year. The seasoned, nose-to-the-grindstone laborer said the victory was nice, but he was not about to get sentimental with so much of the season left.

"I'm still focused on Nationals. After that I might look back, but right now I'm just gonna not get too melancholy about this," Bradley said. "I'm gonna just keep coming in and getting better."

Junior James Yonushonis said that the silent leadership and lead-by-example mentality that Bradley possesses has been one of his greatest muses for his own work ethic.

"You can have other leaders running their mouth a lot, but if they're not backing up what they're doing, it doesn't really mean anything," Yonushonis said. "He just goes out, gets it done."

Woodall and Edwards were unable to make Senior Day a perfect one, but both lost to the fiercest of opponents in No. 1 Dustin Schlatter and No. 1 Cole Konrad, respectively. Woodall said watching the Driscoll match did help to make the day a little more rewarding. He and Driscoll spar often in practice and have become good friends in the process.

"When I see him win, I'm always happy," Woodall said. "It's a little something extra just because he's my workout partner."

Sunderland said more than just the wrestling ability and attitude of his seniors, he will miss their leadership.

"I think they've all stepped into the leadership role whether they are captains or not," Sunderland said. "With Eric and James being captains the additional year, Dewitt's been a vocal leader, and Joel Edwards has really stepped up and taken guys under his wing."