Penn State Wrestling: Creating the Dream Team

Putting together the best of the best Nittany Lions of all time at each weight class to create a Penn State Wrestling Dream Team

The title of this article says it all. My mission here, if I choose to accept it, is to try (and I strongly emphasis “try”) and put together the best Penn State Wrestling Dream Team of all time.

Which isn’t going to be an easy task.

College wrestling has changed quite a bit since Howard Johnston won Penn State’s first NCAA individual title back on 1935. It’s changed substantially since Joe and Dick Lemyre and Hud Samson prowled the mat in Rec Hall back in the early 1950’s and it continued to change when Andy Matter dominated his opponents in the early 1970’s.

Heck, it’s changed even since Cael Sanderson cemented himself as one of the best coaches in collegiate wrestling history after taking the job with the Nittany Lions.

And another big change college wrestling has seen over the many years are the weight classes. But to keep things simple, I’m going to create this Penn State Dream Team based on the 10 current weight classes. So I may have to shoe horn some guys from the weight they wrestled in back in the day to fit the current structure.

So with that, let’s create a Penn State Dream Team!

125

Jeff Prescott

Years: 1989-1992
Record: 88-15-2
Conf. Titles: 3
NCAA Titles: 2

For as much as Cael Sanderson has struggled lately in finding consistent and competitive grapplers at 125, Penn State has had an incredibly rich history at the lightweight class. And after pouring through the plethora of talented guys who competed at 118, 125, and 126 over the years, I can confidently say this was one of the harder choices.

But at the end of the day, it was impossible to ignore the accomplishments of the guy I’m going with at 125.

And that guy is Jeff Prescott.

Prescott came to Happy Valley in the fall of 1988, where he put together a rather pedestrian freshman season going 12-7-1 while not placing in the conference tournament and not participating in the 1989 NCAA Championships.

Then things started to turn around for the talented sophomore in the 1989-1990 season. Prescott took the next step forward in his training and preparation, which paid off handsomely as he compiled a record of 24-6-1. Jeff also showed signs of being a bonus point machine in racking up bonus points in 17 of his 31 total matches.

In only his second season on the mat, Prescott went on to win his first conference title and became an All-American by finishing fifth in the 1990 NCAA Wrestling Champions.

The confidence he gained in these high finishes in both the conference and in the NCAA’s snowballed in his final two season. Prescott took home his second consecutive conference title and won his first NCAA title in the 1990-1991 season. During that year, Jeff finished 22-1 and earned bonus points in a whopping 21 matches.

Prescott wasn’t just beating everyone at 118, he was steam rolling them.

And the train continued to roll into his season year (1991-1992 season) as Prescott bumped up to compete at 126 for the majority of the year. Jeff’s only blemish in his 30-1 record was at the hands of Iowa’s Terry Brands (technical fall) late in the year.

But no need to worry there, Prescott went on a strict diet of water, celery, and air and shed several pounds to drop back down to 118. And for the third consecutive season, Prescott was crowned the conference champ at 118. And for the second year in a row, Jeff Prescott was a national champion.

Prescott put together a combined record of 52-2 in his final two seasons in Happy Valley and was a three time All-American and two time NCAA Champion. Of all of the greats who donned the blue and white singlets at 118, 125, and 126, Prescott is the only one to accomplish this.

Honorable Mention (in order)

Jim Martin

Years: 1986-1989
Record: 155-9-4 – Most wins in Penn State history
Conf. Titles: 2
NCAA Titles: 1

Sanshiro Abe

Years: 1993-1996
Record: 125-15
Conf. Titles: 3
NCAA Titles: 1

Carl DeStefanis

Years: 1981-1984
Record: 114-16-1
Conf. Titles: 3
NCAA Titles: 1

Jeremy Hunter

Years: 1997-2000
Record: 123-17
Conf. Titles: 1
NCAA Titles: 1

John Fritz

Years: 1972-1975
Record: 71-10-4
Conf. Titles: 1
NCAA Titles: 1

Nico Megaludis

Years: 2012-2016
Record: 119-19
Conf. Titles: 0
NCAA Titles: 1