Penn State Wrestling: Ranking all 10 NCAA Championship Teams
By Chris Snyder
No. 7 – 2013
Dual Record: 13-1
Conference Champions: 4
165 David Taylor
174 Matt Brown
184 Ed Ruth
197 Quentin Wright
All-Americans: 5
125 Nico Megaludis
165 David Taylor
174 Matt Brown
184 Ed Ruth
197 Quentin Wright
NCAA Champions: 2
184 Ed Ruth
197 Quentin Wright
NCAA Final Team Standings
1. Penn State 123.5
2. Oklahoma State 119.5
3. Minnesota 110.5
Dan Hodge Trophy
Ed Ruth – finalist
The biggest difference between the 2013 and 2014 Penn State Wrestling teams is simply the fact the 2013 squad still had Quentin Wright on it. The fifth-year senior had a perfect 32-0 record on the season and took home his second NCAA title at 197 pounds.
It also helped to have all five of your All-Americans finish either one or two in the 2014 NCAA Wrestling Championships.
The second-place finishers included Matt Brown picking up his first podium finish at 174, Nico Magaludis making it to his second consecutive NCAA finals match at 125, and David Taylor losing his second match of the year to all-world wrestler Kyle Dake.
Combine these high finishes with Quentin Wright winning his second NCAA title and Ed Ruth winning his second consecutive title, and it equals the 2013 title team being slightly higher in my book than the 2014 team.