Last night was the greatest night in PSU wrestling history. And whichever's second isn't close. The wrestlers and staff deserve monumental credit, with the team essentially running off and hiding from the rest of the field in the Championship Round, scoring a team-record 146.5 points in the process, despite coming into the tournament down two starters -- three if you want to include 197. The recruiting advantage accompanying that kind of achievement, on display to a national audience, is priceless. Nothing remotely like it is available anywhere at any price.
Yet, great as it was, in the final analysis last night is still only one night.
For the last seven years the wrestling program has been on a major, major upswing under Cael Sanderson, fulfilling Dan Gable's prophecy of several decades back that PSU wrestling was a sleeping giant which, if ever awakened by the right coach, had the potential to exceed even the success Iowa was then enjoying.
It appears the right coach arrived in 2009 and the rest, up to and including last night, has been history. During his first season as PSU Head Coach, redshirting his best recruits, Cael Sanderson got his team home seventh at Nationals -- ten spots better than his predecessor's final team the previous year. Each of the next four years brought a national title until career-ending shoulder injuries to the Alton twins precipitated redshirts for two additional starters, Nico Megaludis and Zain Retherford, in 2015, resulting in a team which, missing a total of four scheduled starters, was nevertheless able to finish sixth in the nation. Then another championship in 2016, followed one year later by last night's crescendo.
PSU wrestling is now a dominant fixture on the national stage, and appears likely to remain that way, at least so long as Cael Sanderson remains the head coach. Teams with which it couldn't really compete year-in-year-out in the past are currently wrestling for second place.
But nothing in life lasts forever and, enjoy as we might PSU's past, present, and prospective future wrestling dominance under Sanderson, PSU fans ought never lose sight of the reality that sports, as do many things in life, tend to be cyclical in the long run, that uncontrollables and unknowables are always lurking to impact the team's fortunes, and that other teams have had their days in the sun and will have them again.
Or, in a nutshell, "Memento mori ...".
Yet, great as it was, in the final analysis last night is still only one night.
For the last seven years the wrestling program has been on a major, major upswing under Cael Sanderson, fulfilling Dan Gable's prophecy of several decades back that PSU wrestling was a sleeping giant which, if ever awakened by the right coach, had the potential to exceed even the success Iowa was then enjoying.
It appears the right coach arrived in 2009 and the rest, up to and including last night, has been history. During his first season as PSU Head Coach, redshirting his best recruits, Cael Sanderson got his team home seventh at Nationals -- ten spots better than his predecessor's final team the previous year. Each of the next four years brought a national title until career-ending shoulder injuries to the Alton twins precipitated redshirts for two additional starters, Nico Megaludis and Zain Retherford, in 2015, resulting in a team which, missing a total of four scheduled starters, was nevertheless able to finish sixth in the nation. Then another championship in 2016, followed one year later by last night's crescendo.
PSU wrestling is now a dominant fixture on the national stage, and appears likely to remain that way, at least so long as Cael Sanderson remains the head coach. Teams with which it couldn't really compete year-in-year-out in the past are currently wrestling for second place.
But nothing in life lasts forever and, enjoy as we might PSU's past, present, and prospective future wrestling dominance under Sanderson, PSU fans ought never lose sight of the reality that sports, as do many things in life, tend to be cyclical in the long run, that uncontrollables and unknowables are always lurking to impact the team's fortunes, and that other teams have had their days in the sun and will have them again.
Or, in a nutshell, "Memento mori ...".
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