Quentin Wright ended the folk-style regular season with three straight losses.
When the 185-pound weight class begins at this weekend’s World Team Trials, he will try to extend an opposite streak.
Wright arrives in Oklahoma City holding three straight tournament titles.
Wright won Big Ten and NCAA titles in March. He then opened the freestyle season by capturing the 185-pound title at the University Nationals in April.
The titles in March reserve the Bald Eagle Area graduate a place in Penn State wrestling lore. Winning University Nationals gives him a chance to wrestle for a spot in the world championships.
“I’m wrestling with a lot of confidence,” he said. “I have more fun rolling around and I get more points for it. Plus, throwing people around is something I like to do.”
Wright has won 14 straight bouts since being pinned by Wisconsin’s Travis Rutt on Feb. 18.
“I wouldn’t want to wrestle him,” Penn State director of wrestling operations Matt Dernlan said. “He’s wrestling with such confidence. That’s the name of the game. Right now, he’s as confident as maybe any athlete in the world and it shows with the way he wrestles.”
A victory — or even a deep run this weekend — would be a major accomplishment for Wright. The 185-pound field includes Penn State coach and 2004 Olympic champion Cael Sanderson, former NCAA champions Jake Herbert, Keith Gavin and Chris Pendleton, 2008 Olympian Andy Hrovat and former Penn State All-American James Yonushonis.
The weight class will be contested Saturday and the winner advances to September’s world championships in Istanbul, Turkey.
“The big-time tournaments are what you work for your whole life,” Wright said. “These are the best guys in the United States, so I’m excited to go out there and give it my best effort and see what happens.”
Training for the trials is tricky. Wright is between his sophomore and junior folkstyle seasons, yet he finds balance by practicing four times per week with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. Sanderson, veteran 185- pounder Doug Umbehauer, and 211.5-pounders Jake Varner and Aaron Anspach serve as his primary training partners.
“I get thrown around a lot,” Wright said. “Every once in a while I get a punch in there. Those guys are up at that next level.”
Wright has the makings of a freestyle star on the senior level. Whether he gets there fast enough to make a serious run at qualifying for the 2012 Olympics might be determined this weekend.
The Olympic training cycle, which includes important tournaments in December and the Olympic Trials next April in Iowa City, interferes with the 2011-12 folkstyle season. Wright said he will evaluate his future with Penn State coaches after this weekend.
“I plan to be wrestling for another six, seven years,” he said. “There’s no complete urgency. You want to do it now, but looking at the long term, next year is just another stepping stone and this year is a stepping stone into next year.”
