"Collegian" article on Cael.
- Thread starter Roar More
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Nice article. It echoes what I thought the biggest surprise of Cael's tenure at PSU - how quickly he took the program to the top. He inherited a team with a losing record that finished 17th at nationals to a winning record and 9th at nationals in his first year, even while redshirting Wright, Taylor and Ruth. I was impressed, but thought it would take another few years to win a title.
Nope, did it in 2011.
Nope, did it in 2011.
I loved the human aspect of the article. Wrestling couldn't have been too much "fun" for Cael when he transitioned to freestyle if he was contemplating to "quit" wrestling.
But yet the pundits will say we won't win next year.
He may not. But, I like his chances.
I prefer a different take on 2009. With a 17th Place finish, it surely was a factor in Cael's hiring, but that team was as snake-bit as any Penn State team in my nearly 50 years of following PSU Wrestling.
Expectations were high after a 3rd Place finish in 2008, and they were ranked preseason #7. Injuries were the story from there on out. Dave Erwin, Phil Bomberger, and Andrew Haile were injured during the season and did not compete in the post-season. Dan Vallimont moved to 165 late in the year with Erwin's injury, and his 13-4 record before moving up a weight was about .500 the rest of the way, and a 3rd Place NCAA finish at 157 the year before became a DNP.
The worst of all the bad news happened at B1G's and NCAA's. Bubba Jenkins entered the post-season undefeated, lost his first bout of the year at B1G's, suffering an injury, and ended 0-2 at NCAA's after a #2 seeding. Jake Strayer was called for an illegal hold at NCAA's and forfeited, ending his AA dream that year. I remember this so vividly, I was sad for both these wrestlers, and the others that were injured.
There were great stories, Q's 6th Place finish and Tank's 8th at NCAA's, both as freshmen.
In 2010, Vallimont wrestled at entire season at the same weight, ending 2nd at NCAA's, while Tank improved to 5th, and transfer Cyler Sanderson finished 6th.
I guess, as Paul Harvey said, "and that's the rest of the story". Not quite as dramatic as one would think, just looking at NCAA finish. Time for a change? Yes. And the rest is history, as they say.
