1965 and 1988 had five PA champions. 2017 and 1989 had four.
http://www.westyorkwrestlingalumni.com/patoncaachamps.htm
http://www.westyorkwrestlingalumni.com/patoncaachamps.htm
NCAA champions from PA
- Thread starter CoastFan
- Start date
Correct you are. I ran out of fingers on the one hand.
Also, two of the wrestling champs had successful NFL careers: Jim Nance and Carlton Haselrig.
That just staggers the mind. It's ridiculous (in a very good way).
One of the points for posting this is to show the obvious amount of wrestling talent produced by PA over the decades. There are comments made from time to time by fans of another school or two that Penn State wrestling fans "discovered" the sport when Cael arrived. Some of the comments may be all in good natured "smack" talking, others not so much.
PA guys know about PA wrestling history. The issue from Penn State's perspective is that the talent was spread over a lot of programs. Take 1988 and the six national champions. No school had more than one. In 1965 (5 champs), no school had more than one. Penn State had none.
A review of individual years shows very well how the talent was spread. If my finger counting was better this time, there are 26 different schools which have had national champs from PA, from as far away as Cal State - Bakersfield.
With Cael, there's that proverbial new sheriff in town. 2017 looked different. Of course besides the PA talent, he can bring in top guys from everywhere. It is a remarkable run.
PA guys know about PA wrestling history. The issue from Penn State's perspective is that the talent was spread over a lot of programs. Take 1988 and the six national champions. No school had more than one. In 1965 (5 champs), no school had more than one. Penn State had none.
A review of individual years shows very well how the talent was spread. If my finger counting was better this time, there are 26 different schools which have had national champs from PA, from as far away as Cal State - Bakersfield.
With Cael, there's that proverbial new sheriff in town. 2017 looked different. Of course besides the PA talent, he can bring in top guys from everywhere. It is a remarkable run.
28??
Bloomsburg
Cal-Bakersfield
Clarion State
Cornell
East Stroudsburg
Edinboro
Iowa State
Lehigh
Lock Haven
Maryland
Moorhead State
North Carolina
North Carolina State
Northwestern
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Penn State
Pennsylvania
Pitt-Johnstown
Pittsburgh
Slippery Rock
Syracuse
U of Illinois
U.S. Naval Academy
Waynesburg
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Yale
Thanks for the correction. For some reason, my ability to do some simple counting (the 1988 champions counting is a prime example) has greatly eroded over the decades. I run out of fingers and then I have a problem.
Anyhow, there's a lot of different schools which have fielded PA collegiate champions over the years. I doubt if any other state comes close, although I certainly am not going to try to do any counting.
For the list time period considered,
So if/when Spencer Lee reaches the top step, Iowa will have their first PA sired champion?
Only, MD, NW, and ILL are other BIG schools with a PA raised champion.
Curious if anyone has thoughts about the best PA wrestlers at the top schools. How about other BIG programs?
Not, as in, the geeky, nerdy announcer that looks to have never actually played a sport in his life, right?!
Then again, there IS Ron Jaworski, which my sons couldn't believe was a very good NFL QB at one time...
Waller Oklahoma 2003 NCAA 2x AAA runner up, 1x champ. Mt. Pleasant
Greg Jones WVU 3x NCAA. 1x AAA. Greensburg Salem
There has been much talk of Cael coming to PSU and keeping more of the PA talent "home" at PSU. I went back to 1985 and compared the % of NCAA champs from PA that went to PSU BEFORE Cael came and then SINCE.
From 1985-2010 only 4/38 of the PA NCAA champs went to PSU
From 2011-2017 10/14 of the PA NCAA champs went to PSU
Quite a change!
From 1985-2010 only 4/38 of the PA NCAA champs went to PSU
From 2011-2017 10/14 of the PA NCAA champs went to PSU
Quite a change!
So, this year, PA could conceivably have how many? I'm guessing four would be a reasonable estimate. Here are candidates with possible (even if in some cases very unlikely) shots: Spencer Lee, Pletcher or DeSanto (long shots), Zacherl, Zain, Nolf or Kemmerer, Joseph, Ryan Preisch. Anyone missing?
Most of this discussion is about individual PA wrestlers and their success at the national level.
Also what should be remembered is the success of Pa colleges in the 1980s at the NCAAs.
For instance in 1987 5 PA colleges finished in the top 10 in the NCAA tournament.
Penn State. 3rd
Bloomsburg 5th
Clarion. 6th
Edinboro 8th
Lehigh. 10th
A majority of the above teams roster would have been made up of PA kids.
Pretty impressive.
Also what should be remembered is the success of Pa colleges in the 1980s at the NCAAs.
For instance in 1987 5 PA colleges finished in the top 10 in the NCAA tournament.
Penn State. 3rd
Bloomsburg 5th
Clarion. 6th
Edinboro 8th
Lehigh. 10th
A majority of the above teams roster would have been made up of PA kids.
Pretty impressive.
Seeing that list makes me sad to see what has happened to so many of those in-state programs, particularly the former teachers colleges!
Looking back at the full list, it is surprising that there are five and even six year gaps with no PA champions. And there is even a recent year, 2015?, without a PA champ.
Looks like Champs in 61 years of the 89 seasons listed.
Looks like Champs in 61 years of the 89 seasons listed.
I like to think that my inferior competition back in the day did not stymie the development of Jeff & his brother Chris.
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