Last weekend's matches were supposed to be the most difficult for senior Bryan Heller. By the end, he arguably had his best.

With Northwestern and Iowa in town, Heller was scheduled to wrestle the No. 1 and No. 6 141-pounders in the country. Before the Northwestern match, Heller learned that an injured No. 1 Ryan Lang would be replaced by sophomore James Kohlberg (6-14).

For someone who has lost his last five matches, Heller (16-7) was rather disappointed to not see the top wrestler in the nation.

"I would've liked to wrestle him," Heller said. "I gotta wrestle him in the Big Tens and nationals. It's better to get a look at him now, because you never know what's going to happen."

Whether or not he was happy with his opponent, the match against Kohlberg was exactly what Heller needed. After battling a virus a couple of weeks ago, Heller had been working to get his strength back to compete with the stronger grapplers in his weight class.

The 12-5 decision on Friday night was only a precedent to his performance on Sunday afternoon.

No substitutions this time. Heller would have to prove that he was back with a strong showing against No. 6 Alex Tsirtsis. Heller found himself down a point by the end of the first period, but all he needed was a break to get Tsirtsis on his back 3:31 into the match. Heller got the pinning call.

Amid his exuberant screams, he looked over the Rec Hall crowd and pointed to two particular people he wanted to share the moment with.

"I just looked up at my parents," Heller said. "I looked at our fans; I didn't even look [at Iowa's bench]. I didn't care what they were thinking, just what we were thinking."

According to several of the wrestlers and Penn State coach Troy Sunderland, that was the win that took Iowa out of the match only three bouts into it. The score was still tight, but with Penn State winning the bouts at 133 and 149, it was clear where the momentum stood.

"Sometimes, I don't focus enough on when we do something you know that we, on paper, shouldn't do," Sunderland said. "It was just a great match for him, and I'm proud of him.

"You can't say anything more. I told him after the match to remember this feeling and this day forever. It's just a great day for him, a great accomplishment pinning the No. 6 guy in the country and just wrestling hard and good things happen."

The path to this final breakout win was rocky for Heller at times. He wrestled in most of Penn State's duals during his redshirt freshman year at the 133-pound weight class. The following year, Jake Strayer, a redshirt freshman at the time, took over the starting position.

Heller went from competing in almost all of the duals in one year, to competing in only one the next. In order to get back in the starting line-up, he gained some weight to compete in the 141-pound weight class. This year, he solidified the starting position with an undefeated run in this year's Wrestle-Offs and in the first nine matches of the season.

Although he has one more year of eligibility, Heller feels this year is "the year" for him to end his career. As a recreation, park and tourism management major, he needs only an internship to complete his degree and graduate this year.

Heller weighed the opportunities for a while and told Sunderland a couple of weeks ago that he would be leaving and therefore would be recognized as a senior during Sunday's Senior Day ceremonies. He certainly didn't disappoint in his last match at Rec Hall.

After his upset pin, Heller was posed with the question of returning next year, but the future holds too many opportunities. Heller wants to pursue something in the surfing industry, an activity that has fascinated him for years.

And he has no regrets about his decision to make the move into that new phase of his life sooner rather than later.

"I made my decision, and I'm not questioning my decision," Heller said. "I'm just going to take this for the rest of my life."