Don't tell Phil Davis he was never meant to be a champion. The odds have been stacked against him too many times.

Davis' road as a classic underdog has been a tumultuous trek that has survived heartbreak and frustration on the path to victory. On March 18, Davis earned an opportunity to finally etch his name in the record books as a national champion. In his way was a two-time defending national champion -- but for Davis, things have never come easily.

It's interesting how fate entangles people's lives to help determine their future before they even realize it's occurring. Davis chose Penn State because it was close to home and had a strong wrestling tradition. What Davis didn't know was that fate had planned for him to be a Nittany Lion almost as soon as he had potential as a collegiate wrestler.

If Penn State head coach Troy Sunderland had never drank that extra beverage that sent him to the Applebee's restroom in Davis' sophomore year of high school, he may have never heard of him until it was too late.

While in the restroom, Sunderland read a story about a scrappy, athletic kid who had come to Penn State on a Greyhound bus to compete in a high school wrestling competition. The story said his coach and parents were unable to take him, but the kid was determined to make the match anyway.

Davis' mother, Arberdella Davis, said she was unable to go because she had a very important medical appointment. So she sent Davis and his older brother Jonathan on the bus with enough money for a taxi to take them to and from the high school.

"He was so pleased when he qualified and thought he might not make it," Arberdella said. "It was very important to him to get there."

Sunderland said that determination was what first attracted him to Davis.

"That aspect of the story made me think, 'Well, we need to keep an eye on this kid if he's that driven to do all that by himself,' " Sunderland said.

It wasn't long until Davis once again floated into Sunderland's view as he faced off against future teammate Joel Edwards in the semifinal match of the state finals as a sophomore. Sunderland went to the match to recruit Edwards, who was a senior at the time, but watched with great anticipation as the two batted it out at 189.

"He lost, but it was a close hard-fought match and we knew right away this kid was gonna be pretty good," Sunderland said. "That kinda drew our attention to Phil when he was younger. We just saw the athletic ability, just an uncanny ability he has. If he was a hard worker, it was something we could really develop in our program."

Davis' high school coach, Jesse Rawles, said he first met Davis when a teacher brought Davis in to see him after Davis had been in a fight. Rawles had expected a big, tough bully and was surprised when the teacher brought him a skinny, brace-faced boy. The teacher explained to Rawles that Davis had big hands and lots of balance.

In Davis' first year wrestling in seventh grade, he was a raw, wiry kid with a lot of enthusiasm. He showed incredible potential in high school but never won a state championship.

Since Davis came to college, though, Rawles said he has been impressed with his increased aggression.

"His takedown is much more aggressive from his feet," Rawles said. "If I could have gotten him to do that in high school, he woulda been a two- or three-time state champ. He didn't like to mix it up as much."

Rawles' only critique of Davis was that he's not mean enough.

"He's not a street fighter. He'll fight, but it takes a lot," Rawles said.

Davis' mother tends to agree with his old coach, although she takes pride in her son's good manners.

"One of the things he's had to learn to be a better wrestler is to be more aggressive," Arberdella Davis said. "He always used to jokingly tell me that it was my fault. I always taught them to be gentlemen and to respect other people."

There's a reason that Davis, a very mild-mannered man off the mat and an athlete whose only potential flaw was his kindness, feels nothing but anguish when the thought of a second-place finish at Nationals creeps into his mind.

Many Penn State fans know Roger Kish as the Minnesota Golden Gopher that is the nemesis of Penn State's All-American Eric Bradley. But serious amateur wrestling enthusiasts know that Kish's ties with Davis are even more deep-seeded.

Kish was the winningest high school wrestler in history heading into the semifinals of his senior year. With 250 career wins and only two losses, Kish was heavily favored to destroy the rest of the field in the 189-pound weight class. With only two wins needed to claim the High School National Championship, Davis stood in his path of total domination.

Down 2-1 in the final seconds of the third period, Davis found himself in great position and put Kish into a side headlock close to the boundary line. While Kish inched toward the out-of-bounds line, Davis began to wonder if the referee was ever going to call the takedown. As time expired, the referee still had not made a call and Kish was declared the winner.

Davis' mother said she was stunned when her son was not awarded the victory. She was not the only one.

"The announcer actually announced him as the winner," Arberdella Davis said. "It was just unbelievable. The announcer said two points, Davis. It was a major controversy. We heard about it from coaches the rest of the time we were there."

Sunderland said a national amateur wrestling magazine had commentary from several coaches who saw the match. They were outraged at the referee for not making the call.

"When you're an upper-level athlete, you're gonna get the calls when you're No. 1," Davis said. "[The referee] didn't want to call anything controversial, but not making the call ended up being controversial."

Even with the loss, Davis was in the media spotlight. As a kid who had never even won a state title, he had defeated arguably the best high school wrestler of all time, though the record books would never show it. As Sunderland tells the story, a smug smile creeps across his face.

"That's after he'd already committed [to Penn State], though," Sunderland said. "So that was pretty good to know."

Not even Davis saw his emergence coming as quickly as it did. He had no idea how good he was going to be when he started wrestling for Penn State. Six of the eight wrestlers that went to Nationals this season had all won state championships, with he and James Yonushonis being the two exceptions. Clearly, he was in good company.

The Big Ten and national finals are the most intense portion of the schedule, where one loss automatically knocks a wrestler off course from his destination to the top, and a second sends him packing for home. Even before this critical portion of the schedule, Davis had already become a champion in the hearts and minds of Penn State fans.

Along with his signature dreadlocks, his charismatic and competitive, yet fun-loving spirit made him an icon on the mat. As attendance soared for home matches this season, Davis' breakneck mentality and crowd-pleasing ability were invaluable for the Lions.

In Penn State's first competition this season, the 197-pounder set up a stunning 18-17 come-from-behind victory with a third-period pin that put the Lions within striking distance against rival Lehigh at the Pennsylvania State Dual Championship. In the closing seconds of the second period, Davis manhandled his opponent, throwing him forcefully out of bounds.

As the buzzer sounded signaling the end of the period, Davis jumped to his feet without a second's hesitation. He ran back to the neutral position, his hands at the ready with fingers moving like a spider's legs. There was nothing but confidence in his eyes.

In the final 20 seconds of the match, Davis flipped his opponent on his back and sent the crowd into an uproar as it rose to its feet. The referee slammed his hand down on the mat declaring the pin, and before he could reach the center of the mat, there stood Davis. With his clenched fist held defiantly in the air, he did a little dance, not out of disrespect for his opponent, but out of pure jubilation.

Davis ran toward the sidelines after being declared the winner, heaving his headgear across the room. It was at this point that every fan knew it was going to be a special year for Davis.

Davis' tireless work ethic in the practice room has helped him in his rapid succession to the head of the class at Penn State. It's not uncommon to find him running extra sprints, doing pull-ups, riding the exercise bike or wrestling around with Penn State assistant coach Dave Hart.

"He gets a lot of credit for his athletic ability, but his biggest thing is his determination," said Hart, who serves as Davis' sparring partner in practice. "He always expects to win, and not all guys are like that."

Davis redshirted his freshman year of 2003 but quickly took advantage of the hole at 197 when Joel Edwards moved to heavyweight in 2004. His coaches were pleasantly surprised when he climbed from the underground to achieve All-America status.

"It was one of his goals to become an All-American," Sunderland said. "He accomplished that so quickly, he had to reassess his goals and re-analyze how good he can be."

By the time Davis had elevated himself to the status of All-American as a freshman, he wasn't satisfied with it.

"I only wanted to be a national champ," Davis said.

It's Saturday, March 18. Davis' first shot at a national title, and it's in front of the entire nation on ESPN. The determination and pain in Davis' eyes was visible as he continued to try to fight his way inside on Oklahoma State's Jacob Rosholt.

After 18 straight victories, Davis found himself down 5-0 early, spending precious energy trying to avoid a pin. He had finally been licked, but he was the last one to know.

As he tried to work inside, Rosholt continued to wrestle defensively. As Davis tried to find a way to evade Rosholt's guard, Rosholt poked him in the eye.

That's when Davis did something totally uncharacteristic. He lashed out at Rosholt, using his hand as a club. Suddenly, for an instant, he was that scrawny kid that Rawles first met -- raw and unrefined. The referee awarded Rosholt a penalty point to put the match out of reach for Davis.

"I try not to lose my cool," Davis said, "but he kept poking me in the eye and the refs wouldn't do anything. I had to take matters into my own hands."

Hart, who Davis calls "the toughest guy he's ever met," said he would not condone Davis' actions under normal circumstances, but in this situation it was justified.

"Phil's a clean wrestler," Hart said. "He doesn't cheap shot guys. At the same time, if somebody's doing something to him, in a wrestling match you can't allow yourself to become intimidated."

Davis quickly regained his composure, but went on to lose the final match, 10-3. He did it with pride, and he wrestled his match. His never-quit mentality was obvious to everyone, especially when making such a valiant effort after being exhausted in the first round of the title fight.

He attacked time and time again, a proud lion with his mane of dreadlocks flying through the air. The lion knows it has been defeated, but will never admit it to itself.

"Guys tend to be conservative and go for sure-thing moves," Davis said of the finals. "That's not the match I wanted to wrestle. I knew before the match that he was gonna be more comfortable. I wanted to go in and just make it a crazy match, take it away from where he felt comfortable. If I had left it to a one-point game, he's comfortable and that's not how I want him.

"I don't feel like I ever get tired wrestling. Even when I feel like I can't go anymore, I know he's already quit."

Davis finds no comfort in the fact that he got second place. He knows all too well what it's like to be overlooked. As Jerry Seinfield once said, referring to the silver medal, "greatest guy in the world -- never heard of him."

Davis can only hope fate is trying to teach him one more hard lesson before he finally finds his moment of greatness.

"The fact that I'm a sophomore, and I have more time to win it still hasn't really occurred to me. I wanted to win this one," Davis said.

Next year, Davis plans to have even more intensity and has set two goals for himself. One is to become Penn State's first national champion since 2003. The other is an even more ambitious task.

"I don't want to get scored on next year. I just want to give up 50 escapes and that's about it," Davis said. "No takedowns, no back points, no reversals, no penalty points. I want to be able to take guys down, let them up, take guys down, let them up and pin them."

Hart thinks Davis has the ability to do it.

"I think Phil can almost not give up any points period," Hart said. "He's almost that dominant."

Davis said he doesn't plan on changing anything else, except for his hairstyle. The long dreadlocks that have become part of his identity did not have enough luck to carry Davis over that final hump.

"Pretty soon I'll probably cut it off," Davis said. "I'm pretty sure I'm gonna have to. The fans love my hair now, though. Maybe next year I'll dye it or do something crazy."

After the upsetting loss, it's still difficult for Davis to think about it. He said he hasn't seen the video recording of the match, and it'll probably take a few months to work up the stomach to watch it.

Though Davis may have lost this year, his old coach and friend Rawles said it best in his words of confident comfort.

"I will share this. He will be a national champ. He has that character to be that. He's always been a crowd-pleaser," Rawles said. "Troy made the best move. He saw something in him, and I'm glad Troy took that chance because he's gonna be a great wrestler. It's been a good ride. A great ride. And this is just the beginning."