The gap between NCAA Wrestling Tournament sessions gave Penn State senior 125-pounder Mark McKnight more than four hours to ponder the third Round of 12 bout of his college career. So McKnight did what comes natural. He performed tasks that might confuse others. McKnight ate and slept, which suggested he didn’t let the magnitude of Friday night’s bout against Illinois senior Gabe Flores alter his emotions. McKnight’s career curled through one more bend as he defeated Flores 5-4 in a tiebreaker to earn All-American honors for the first time. McKnight then defeated Old Dominion’s James Nicholson 3-1 in the sudden-victory period of his next consolation bout to ensure he will finish no worse than sixth despite entering the tournament 13-9 and unseeded. “I’m relieved,” McKnight said. “I have been there before and this is long overdue. I know the feeling of losing. It’s definitely better than losing.”

McKnight lost in the Round of 12 as a freshman and sophomore at the University of Buffalo. He then transferred to Penn State, sat out a year and went 2-2 at last year’s national tournament. He placed eighth at this month’s Big Ten Tournament, but a wildcard selection extended his career. “I’m the king of being inconsistent,” McKnight said. “It’s not due to my athletic ability and my talent. That’s not the question. It’s myself. The only person that can beat me is me. I have beaten myself a lot this year, but I have also helped myself grow.” Flores was another person who has beaten McKnight. Flores, a veteran whose career has been filled with near misses, entered Friday 3-0 against McKnight.

The final McKnight-Flores bout featured multiple scrambles. McKnight recorded the initial takedown yet allowed one during the third period. After a sudden-victory period that included another scramble, McKnight escaped during the first tiebreaker and then rode Flores for 30 seconds. Like everything associated with McKnight’s career, the ending didn’t look easy. Flores tried to execute a roll with five seconds remaining. The victory was McKnight’s fourth of the tournament. He defeated Oklahoma State’s Tyler Shinn in the opening round, lost to Iowa’s Charlie Falck in the second round and enters today’s consolation semifinals on a four-bout winning streak.

McKnight should enter the final day of his career fresh. Coach Troy Sunderland said he told the confounding senior to not attend practices between the Big Ten and national championships. “We didn’t kick him out,” Sunderland said. “We said, ‘Don’t go to practice. Go clear your mind.’ We knew he had the ability. We tried every other scenario from the hard training to the repetition drills. He’s a free spirit and sometimes free spirits need to clear their mind. It worked out for him.”

Central Pa. showdown

Sometimes the NCAA Championships can resemble an event staged in Pennsylvania. For example, Penn State freshman Garrett Scott faced Army sophomore Matt Kyler in the 141-pound Round of 12. Scott was a three-time PIAA Class AA champion at Juniata Valley while Kyler won a PIAA Class AAA 103-pound title at Clearfield. Kyler has grown nicely since high school and he pinned Scott in 6:43 to become Army’s only All-American. Kyler was leading 8-3 when he completed the fall. Kyler received an appreciative applause from the entire Scot-trade Center after the victory. “It felt real good especially the way that I finished it,” said Kyler, who lost to Scott in overtime during this season’s Nittany Lion Open. “I don’t show much emotion after a match, but that was a big win. It’s pretty emotional. I’m glad that I could finish and get it done.” Kyler has a significant history with Penn State. He was recruited by the school and he attended assistant coach John Hughes’ youth camps. “I have a lot respect for Matt Kyler,” Sunderland said. “He’s one of those kids where we cheer for him when we are wrestling anybody but Penn State. If there’s anybody I would like to lose to, it’s Matt Kyler because he’s a class individual.”

One point away

Pitt senior and State College graduate Matt Kocher received a wicked break during the Round of 12. Cornell’s Jordan Leen upset Edinboro’s Gregor Gillespie, the No. 1 seed and last year’s 149- pound national champion, during the quarterfinals. The upset dropped Gillespie into the consolation bracket where he defeated Kocher 1-0 in the Round of 12. The loss ended a day where Kocher put himself one win away from becoming a two-time All-American by defeating Northern Iowa’s Tyson Reiner by technical fall and West Virginia’s Zac Fryling 3-0. Kocher, who finished fifth last year, ended his season 23-7 and his career 147-43. He’s second on Pitt’s all-time wins list behind current Maryland coach Pat Santoro.

The Nasty 11

Okay, everybody knows the Big Ten features spectacular wrestling. But it’s still entertaining to crunch the numbers. The conference produced 19 semifinalists, including three at 125 and 133 pounds. The Big Ten recorded at least one semifinalist in all 10 weights and 10 of the conference’s 11 programs sent wrestlers into the semifinals. Purdue was the only program that didn’t reach the center mats Friday night.

Thanks to Guy Cipriano and the "Centre Daily Times" (State College, Pa.) for the article