For historical purposes, and to update this each year, I have to recreate a thread from the old site.
From Aug. 12, 2015:
a post on Iowa's board on the same subject for them got me thinking of how long PSU has gone, per weight, since a national championship or since an AA finish.
using the history records on the Penn State Wrestling Club's web site, below is how long it appears PSU has gone since a Championship or an AA finish at each weight class.
a clarification: weight classes have been tweaked a bit by the NCAA over the years, so some of those listed won at a weight that was very close to the weight listed, but not identical.
After 2015 Nationals
National Champ
125: Jeremy Hunter - 2000
133: Scott Lynch - 1984
141: John Hughes - 1995
149: Tank - 2012
157: Never
165: DT - 2014
174: Matt Brown - 2015
184: Ed Ruth - 2014
197: Q - 2013
285: Kerry McCoy - 1997
AAs
125: Jordan Conaway- 2015
133: Jimmy Gulibon - 2015
141: Zain Retherford - 2014
149: James English - 2014
157: Dylan Alton - 2012
165: DT - 2014
174: Matt Brown - 2015
184: Ed Ruth - 2014
197: Morgan McIntosh - 2015
285: Jimmy Lawson - 2015
Seems as though the only weight at which PSU has never had a champ was 157. DT finished 2nd in 2011, and Clint Musser finished 2nd in 1999.
133 is the weight where the longest gap is for a national champ. Since Scott Lynch's title in 1984, Cary Kolat finished 2nd in 1993 (134), and 3rd in 1994 (134), Josh Moore finished 3rd in 2003 and 2nd in 2004, and Andrew Long finished 3rd in 2011. (Jake Strayer finished 7th in 2007 and Jimmy G finished 5th in 2015.)
After 133, the next longest gap is 141. Since John Hughes' title in 1995, Jamarr Billman finished 5th in 1998 (142), Scott Moore finished 4th in 2003, Tank finished 8th in 2009, and the ZainTrain finished 5th in 2014.
The only other weight at which PSU hasn't had a champion this century is 285. Since McCoy's title in 1997, Pat Cummins finished 4th in 2003 and 2nd in 2004, Aaron Anspach finished 2nd in 2007, and LawDog finished 6th in 2015.
My apologies if any of the above data is incorrect. The PSWC records list DT as taking 1st place in 2012 at 157, so it would not surprise me if there are a few other mistakes in their records. I did not attempt to verify each of their records for names/weights I used in the above info.
It is interesting to project whether any of the gaps can be eliminated by the current team.
If Nolf can stay at 157 for a few years, he has a good shot at ending the 157 drought. If he can't hold the weight, Cenzo Joseph seems like the most likely candidate to end the drought, and/or Gary Dinmore might progress to that level as well.
At 133, Jimmy G may have had a shot at ending the drought if he had stayed at 133. Conaway should be in contention this year, though he doesn't enter the year as a top 1-2 guy at the weight. (Beyond that, it's probably dependent upon this year's and next year's recruiting class.)
If the ZainTrain had stayed at 141, I think he would have ended the drought at 141. It seems likely that he'll be at 149 this year. Whether Jimmy can up his game a bit at a new weight remains to be seen.
Lastly, at 285, we'll have to see how Nevills performs. He looked promising last year before he injured his foot. He should be among the elite guys at 285 over the next 4 years (assuming he stays healthy).
Anyway, it was fun to put this together. If there are corrections to be made, please let me know.
Enjoy
From Aug. 12, 2015:
a post on Iowa's board on the same subject for them got me thinking of how long PSU has gone, per weight, since a national championship or since an AA finish.
using the history records on the Penn State Wrestling Club's web site, below is how long it appears PSU has gone since a Championship or an AA finish at each weight class.
a clarification: weight classes have been tweaked a bit by the NCAA over the years, so some of those listed won at a weight that was very close to the weight listed, but not identical.
After 2015 Nationals
National Champ
125: Jeremy Hunter - 2000
133: Scott Lynch - 1984
141: John Hughes - 1995
149: Tank - 2012
157: Never
165: DT - 2014
174: Matt Brown - 2015
184: Ed Ruth - 2014
197: Q - 2013
285: Kerry McCoy - 1997
AAs
125: Jordan Conaway- 2015
133: Jimmy Gulibon - 2015
141: Zain Retherford - 2014
149: James English - 2014
157: Dylan Alton - 2012
165: DT - 2014
174: Matt Brown - 2015
184: Ed Ruth - 2014
197: Morgan McIntosh - 2015
285: Jimmy Lawson - 2015
Seems as though the only weight at which PSU has never had a champ was 157. DT finished 2nd in 2011, and Clint Musser finished 2nd in 1999.
133 is the weight where the longest gap is for a national champ. Since Scott Lynch's title in 1984, Cary Kolat finished 2nd in 1993 (134), and 3rd in 1994 (134), Josh Moore finished 3rd in 2003 and 2nd in 2004, and Andrew Long finished 3rd in 2011. (Jake Strayer finished 7th in 2007 and Jimmy G finished 5th in 2015.)
After 133, the next longest gap is 141. Since John Hughes' title in 1995, Jamarr Billman finished 5th in 1998 (142), Scott Moore finished 4th in 2003, Tank finished 8th in 2009, and the ZainTrain finished 5th in 2014.
The only other weight at which PSU hasn't had a champion this century is 285. Since McCoy's title in 1997, Pat Cummins finished 4th in 2003 and 2nd in 2004, Aaron Anspach finished 2nd in 2007, and LawDog finished 6th in 2015.
My apologies if any of the above data is incorrect. The PSWC records list DT as taking 1st place in 2012 at 157, so it would not surprise me if there are a few other mistakes in their records. I did not attempt to verify each of their records for names/weights I used in the above info.
It is interesting to project whether any of the gaps can be eliminated by the current team.
If Nolf can stay at 157 for a few years, he has a good shot at ending the 157 drought. If he can't hold the weight, Cenzo Joseph seems like the most likely candidate to end the drought, and/or Gary Dinmore might progress to that level as well.
At 133, Jimmy G may have had a shot at ending the drought if he had stayed at 133. Conaway should be in contention this year, though he doesn't enter the year as a top 1-2 guy at the weight. (Beyond that, it's probably dependent upon this year's and next year's recruiting class.)
If the ZainTrain had stayed at 141, I think he would have ended the drought at 141. It seems likely that he'll be at 149 this year. Whether Jimmy can up his game a bit at a new weight remains to be seen.
Lastly, at 285, we'll have to see how Nevills performs. He looked promising last year before he injured his foot. He should be among the elite guys at 285 over the next 4 years (assuming he stays healthy).
Anyway, it was fun to put this together. If there are corrections to be made, please let me know.
Enjoy
