Entering the season No. 11 in the country, the expectations for Nathan Galloway were high. Then his rank, along with those expectations, quickly fell, resulting in the fifth-year senior leaving the No. 10 Penn State wrestling team, Galloway and head coach Troy Sunderland confirmed yesterday.

Galloway leaves the Nittany Lions with a 90-54 record and three NCAA Championship appearances in the 157-pound weight class. The State College native said the problems began years ago, but he wanted to stay at Penn State for his education.

"I came here to see Penn State get their program back to being one of the best teams in the country," Galloway said. "My loyalty to Penn State really was very much what kept me here.

"I also always told people I came to college for an education and I'm also a wrestler. Penn State's [Information Sciences and Technology] program, which is my major, is such a good program that I kind of allowed myself to get through a lot of troubles in regards to wrestling."

The thought of leaving the wrestling program became more tempting after Galloway's rocky start to this season. The year started with a winless performance at Wrestle-Offs, the biggest surprise of the intra-squad scrimmage. His confidence and strength were issues, too, leading to his 14-7 record this season.

Tension among Galloway and his coaches escalated over Christmas break, one of the main factors in his decision, Galloway said.

"Me and the coaching staff had a lack of communication, I would put it," Galloway said. "Whenever all of it got resolved, there were a lot of people, including myself mainly, that felt it wouldn't be appropriate for me to return to the team.

"There was a lot of controversy about how things were handled. I was fairly upset. At that point, I thought it was probably best for me to move on, finish out my degree, and the transfer became a possibility a few days after that."

Galloway plans on transferring soon to Kent State, Maryland or Rider to compete this semester. The decision and transfer should be made in the next couple of days, he said. Galloway, who needs to obtain only three credits to complete his Penn State degree, said he plans to return at some point to do just that.

"I had a pretty good career at Penn State, maybe not in regards to the expectations for me when I came in here," Galloway said. "But 90 career wins and three appearances at nationals isn't too shabby of a career. I feel like I've accomplished a lot. Did I accomplish my goals? No, but I learned a lot while I was here. I'm not at all disappointed with the decision I made, and I feel like everything is going to work out well for the Penn State wrestling team, myself, and wherever I go in the future."

Penn State freshman Bubba Jenkins was removed from redshirt status in lieu of Galloway's departure, and he has been training to assume the starting position at the 157-pound weight class. Jenkins began competing at last weekend's Virginia Duals and finished with a 3-1 record.

Sunderland, who was curt in his response to the situation, said he felt Jenkins is prepared for this opportunity and wished the best for Galloway.

"I really don't have much of a comment," Sunderland said, "We wish [Galloway] well ... we thank him for everything he's done for our program."