The duo’s relationship was the same before and after their seven minutes on national television. They chatted throughout the tournament, even after winning semifinal bouts late Saturday. When their bout ended, Cyler patted Salazar’s back, shook his hand and headed toward the corner, where his older brother, Cody, and assistant coach Troy Letters sat. Cael stood behind the bench. Steve Sanderson, Cyler, Cody and Cael’s father, Wasatch’s former coach and a freelance photographer, took pictures matside. Cael and Cody went through Wasatch’s program before Cyler and Salazar. “You never know,” Steve said. “When you have Cael and all those guys right ahead of them, you know you have kids that can wrestle and compete with anybody. But how do you know they are going to matchup five years from now?” The first sign of a potential matchup emerged last summer when Cyler transferred from Iowa State to Penn State. “We talked about it when he transferred,” Salazar said. “I said, ‘I’ll see you in the Big Ten finals.’ Even over Christmas break when we were working out in Utah we were talking about it.” The chatter started turning into reality when No. 1 seed Dustin Schlatter of Minnesota weighed in, but forfeited out of the tournament because of an injury. Cyler and Salazar easily won quarterfinal and semifinal bouts.
Cyler controlled the final, taking Salazar down twice in the first period. Salazar trimmed the lead to 5-3 with a second-period takedown, but Cyler escaped and added another takedown to bring an 8-3 lead into the third. “It was a little bit emotional,” Cyler said. “You have to wrestle whoever is there. He’s going to do a great job at the national tournament.” Cyler was Penn State’s lone finalist. But the Nittany Lions are guaranteed of taking six wrestlers to Omaha, including first-time NCAA qualifiers David Erwin and Cameron Wade. Erwin, a fifth-year senior, secured his spot at 184 by defeating Wisconsin’s Travis Rutt 6-2 in the consolation semifinals. The conference tournament had haunted Erwin before this weekend. He arrived here 0-4 in the event and missed last year’s tournament because of a second shoulder surgery. He went 3-2 this year, losing to Iowa’s Phil Keddy in the semifinals and Ohio State’s Mike Pucillo in the consolation finals. Erwin lost both bouts 4-1. “I’m relieved to get through it,” he said. “I haven’t had the best of luck here. It’s good to get a couple of wins.”
Wade, a sophomore who missed last year’s NCAA tournament by a victory, experienced delayed relief. He lost to Wisconsin’s Eric Bugenhagen 2-1 in the consolation semifinals to drop into the fifth-place bout, which determined heavyweight’s final NCAA berth. Wade’s final bout didn’t last long as he pinned Michigan’s Ben Apland in 1:13. “It’s really relieving to get this out of the way.” he said. “It’s definitely not the place I wanted to take, but I’m going to nationals. It’s about wrestling well at nationals.” Senior Dan Vallimont earned his fourth NCAA tournament berth by finishing third at 165. Vallimont ended his tournament when Iowa’s Ryan Morningstar took an injury default in the consolation finals. Vallimont led 4-2 when a knee injury prevented Morningstar from completing the final nine seconds. “It’s a good place to start heading into nationals,” said Vallimont, who went 3-1. “I felt like I wrestled well this weekend.” Junior 125-pounder Brad Pataky and sophomore 149-pounder Frank Molinaro finished fourth after squandering leads in the consolation finals. Pataky led Minnesota’s Zach Sanders 8-3 after the first period. But Sanders took Pataky down five times in the final two periods to win 13-11. “I’m disappointed in myself,” Pataky said. “I made little mistakes that I’m going to correct.”
Molinaro held a 2-2 lead against Wisconsin’s Kyle Ruschell and appeared on his way to another takedown in the second before getting pinned in a scramble. Senior Adam Lynch went 0-2 Sunday, losing to Purdue’s Juan Archuleta 15-5 and Cole Schmitt 18-3 to finish sixth at 141. The Big Ten only received four NCAA qualifiers at the weight, so Lynch must wait until Wednesday to learn whether he receives an at-large spot. The Nittany Lions went 17-18 during the weekend. Bryan Pearsall (133), Justin Ortega (174) and Clay Steadman (197) were eliminated Saturday. “We had some highs and we had some lows,” Cael Sanderson said. “I think the guys wrestled well. We’re not happy obviously, but hopefully Lynch will get a wildcard.”
Jay Borschel (174) and heavyweight Dan Erekson won their weights to help Iowa defend its title with 156.5 points. Minnesota finished second with 119.5 points. The Nittany Lions scored 91 points. The finals included an upset at 149, where Ohio State’s Lance Palmer scored five points with less than 20 seconds remaining to stun Iowa’s Brent Metcalf 8-3. The loss was the third of Metcalf’s career and first to a Big Ten opponent. Minnesota’s Jayson Ness (133) and Mike Thorn (141), Wisconsin’s Andrew Howe (165) and Trevor Brandvold (197), Illinois’ John Dergo (184) and Indiana’s Angel Escobedo (125) also captured titles.
Thanks to the "Centre Daily Times" (State College, Pa.) for the article