Riddles surrounding Jenkins and the Nittany Lions other four sophomores should be solved during this weekend’s Big Ten Championships at Williams Arena in Minneapolis. The two-day tournament begins with preliminary bouts at noon today. The top seven finishers at each weight automatically qualify for this month’s NCAA Championships in St. Louis. All 10 Nittany Lions are seeded in the top eight of their respective weights. “We are hungry because we know this could be our year,” Jenkins said. “Everybody is fighting to get to the top of the podium regardless of what their seed is and what they did. You can see it in the workouts. You can see it in runs.”
Whether they will see it this weekend depends on wrestlers such as Jenkins who are aging fast. Last year, Jenkins entered the postseason as a true freshman 157-pounder and placed sixth in the conference championships to advance to the NCAA Championships. This year, the expectations are different. And the competition could be tougher. Jenkins is the fourth seed in the brutal 149-pound bracket that includes three wrestlers — Minnesota’s Dustin Schlatter, Michigan’s Josh Churella and Lang — who have participated in NCAA finals.
Still, seeds are irrelevant at Jenkins’ weight. Lang, the conference champ at 141 last year, received the seventh seed, and Jenkins will begin the tournament against Ohio State’s Lance Palmer. Metcalf, one of four Virginia Tech transfers that turned Iowa into the nation’s No. 1 team, is seeded No. 1. Palmer, an All American last year, handed Jenkins his first loss at the NWCA National Duals. Jenkins avenged the loss 12 days later. What happens today is anybody’s guess. “It’s going to be real challenging,” said Jenkins, who enters the tournament 20-3. “I accept the challenges and I like challenges. I feel like it’s going to push me to limits. We know each other and it should be a brawl.” Between his bouts with Palmer, Jenkins faced Metcalf. Jenkins sent Metcalf to his back during the first period, but faded and didn’t make it a full seven minutes before a rowdy Carver-Hawkeye Arena crowd. The loss — and the images he replayed from it this week — humbled the confident Jenkins. “If you get a butt whipping like that, it’s definitely motivation,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins hasn’t been the only young Nittany Lion studying previous setbacks and triumphs. Sophomores Dan Vallimont (157), Dave Rella (165) and David Erwin (174) and junior Phil Bomberger (184) are making their second appearances in the conference tournament. Senior Tim Haas (133), sophomore John Laboranti (285) and freshman Garrett Scott (141) are participating in their first college postseason. Seniors Phil Davis (197) and Mark McKnight (125) are the only Nittany Lions with multiple years of postseason memories. McKnight spent his first two years at Buffalo, leaving Davis, the 2006 champion, as Penn State’s primary Big Ten tournament storyteller. Davis, Vallimont, McKnight and Davis are the only previous national qualifiers in the lineup. Davis is the only Nittany Lion who has reached the NCAA awards podium.
To complicate matters, Penn State hasn’t participated in an individual tournament this season. The Nittany Lions received their best postseason primer during January’s two-day national duals. “I think the guys are ready to go,” coach Troy Sunderland said. “They have been through the tough back-to-back matches at nationals duals. We didn’t respond well the second day, but the key is to take it one match at a time and not worry about what the rest of the bracket is doing. They need to keep tunnel vision.” Sunderland’s right. The tournament can appear daunting when seeds are considered. Davis (17-1) and Vallimont (24-1) are the Nittany Lions’ highest seeds. They are both seeded second behind the wrestlers who handed them their only losses.
The Nittany Lions’ biggest enigma could be Scott, the three-time PIAA Class AA champion from Juniata Valley. Scott hasn’t lost during a postseason tournament since his freshman year of high school. Scott, though, enters today having wrestled just 19 college bouts. “I’m not sure whether number of matches matter with him,” Sunderland said. “It might be a better thing because he’s unique in what he does and he’s difficult to stop what he does. You don’t see that every day. That might be a blessing for him.” Scott will receive a chance to avenge one of his three losses during the quarterfinals. Fourth-seeded Dan LeClere of Iowa used a third-period takedown to defeat Scott 4-3 in January.
If Scott and Jenkins prevail in the quarterfinals, the Nittany Lions might be in position to emerge from a group of tightly-packed teams chasing Iowa. If they falter, Penn State might need big tournaments from Vallimont and Davis and some upsets to improve upon last year’s second straight fourth-place finish. Penn State’s best Big Ten performances under Sunderland were third-place showing in 1999 and 2003.
Thanks to Guy Cipriano and the "Centre Daily Times" (State College, Pa.) for the article