Penn State Wrestling: Ranking all 10 NCAA Championship Teams
By Chris Snyder
No. 8 – 2014
Dual Record: 15-1
Conference Champions: 2
165 David Taylor
184 Ed Ruth
All-Americans: 7
125 Nico Megaludis
141 Zain Retherford
149 James English
165 David Taylor
174 Matt Brown
184 Ed Ruth
197 Morgan McIntosh
NCAA Champions: 2
165 David Taylor
184 Ed Ruth
NCAA Final Team Standings
1. Penn State 109.5
2. Minnesota 104.0
3. Oklahoma State 96.5
Dan Hodge Trophy
David Taylor – winner
Ed Ruth – finalist
When the 2014 NCAA Wrestling Championships concluded, Penn State Wrestling finished the tournament by being crowned champions of the collegiate world for the fourth time in the last four years.
It was an incredible feat by any measure and something which was seemingly unheard of for a team not named Iowa, Oklahoma State, or Minnesota. Prior to the Nittany Lions’ run from 2011 to 2014, those “Big 3” of wrestling won each and every NCAA team title dating back to 1989.
And Cael Sanderson and the Nittany Lions did it four years in a row. However, it wasn’t an easy ride to the finish line in 2014.
The team was clearly anchored by all-time Nittany Lion greats Ed Ruth and David Taylor. I can’t possibly put into words how good these two guys were, but I can give you some stats.
Ruth and Taylor were a combined 68-1 and scored bonus points a staggering 90% of the time. This includes 17 technical falls and 27 pins. So roughly 40% of the time when you toed the line opposite of Ed Ruth or David Taylor, you were getting pinned.
It’s no surprise both Ruth and Taylor were finalists for the 2014 Dan Hodge Trophy, with David Taylor ultimately taking home the hardware.
But the rest of the 2014 team weren’t nearly on the same level as Ruth and Taylor. Zain Retherford was a true freshman, Nico Megaludis and Matt Brown were competitive but not for titles, and Morgan McIntosh was working his way up.
So the 2014 team feels about right in the eighth spot. At least to me.