Here’s why winning isn’t what’s most important in Penn State wrestling’s win over Nebraska
Having gone undefeated as a college wrestler, and having guided his team to seven national championships in the past eight years, Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson knows a thing or two about winning.
After his team’s 25-6 win over Nebraska at Rec Hall on Sunday, however, Sanderson said it’s not whether a wrestler wins or loses a match that’s important, as long they’re putting in the work to get better, making adjustments and setting themselves up for long-term success.
Vincenzo Joseph showed the results of those adjustments in his 2-0 win over No. 6 Isaiah White, using improvements made to his top and bottom game to solve the wrestler who’s historically given him issues. For sophomore Nick Lee, however, even knocking off returning All-American Chad Red, 5-4, wasn’t quite enough, as Sanderson was hoping to see more improvement in finishing shots.
“You always got to think long term and try to get better, and that’s more important than just trying to win right now,” Sanderson said. “I’d probably say it’s more important than just winning sometimes, it just depends on the day.”
Sunday was the first time Lee and Red have wrestled since their electric 2016 Indiana state final in which Red bested Lee 6-4. Lee pushed the action through most of Sunday’s 141-pound bout, but was only able to convert on one takedown. He was in deep on a single leg in the third period, but Red ended up getting around and countering for a takedown of his own.
“I think he could be a little sharper and finish that takedown,” Sanderson said. “But I thought he did a nice job, probably did what he had to do to win the match. That’s not really what we want, though, we’re not trying to just figure out how to win matches.”
Not being able to finish shots and letting his opponent counter is what got Lee in trouble last week when he dropped his first match of the season, a 12-10 decision to Wisconsin’s Tristan Moran. That was also one of the main things Sanderson said Lee had been working on since that dual.
Even if Sanderson didn’t see exactly what he wanted out of his sophomore, he’s not concerned. It takes a lot to faze the kid who got pinned in the first round of the NCAA tournament last season and battled back to take fifth.
“That’s the kind of kid he is,” Sanderson said. “It’s hard to hold him down. He has great perspective, just solid individual, very strong character, and that’s what it takes to overcome adversity. He’s got all those qualities.”
Like Lee, Joseph also faced a wrestler on Sunday who had gotten the best of him in high school.
Losing to White twice in high school — once at Fargo and once at Ironman — is something Joseph has not forgotten, bringing up after each match the pair have wrestled on the college level. The last time, White nearly derailed the Nittany Lion’s campaign to become a two-time national champ, pushing him into sudden victory.
“I think the match went a little differently this time,” Joseph said. “I’d like to get to my offense more. I’m sure we are going to be wrestling again in the future. I knew I could ride him on top so I just tried to put a tough ride on and it worked out for the best.”
Joseph is used to winning matches on his feet, but the lengthy White did a good job of hand-fighting and keeping Joseph away from his legs. So Joseph adjusted, using an escape and a second-period rideout to secure his victory over the No. 6 wrestler at 165 pounds.
“It was good to see Vincenzo be able to win a match on a riding-time point,” Sanderson said. “I don’t think that’s something we were seeing a couple years ago, so I think he’s improving in those areas. But they’re going to see each other again — possibly more than once.”
That’s something the top-ranked Joseph is already thinking about. Before the sweat had even dried from his forehead, Joseph already had a plan for how to adjust and improve for his next meeting with White.
“He’s a good wrestler, we’ve been wrestling for years,” he said. “He beat me in high school a few times. He’s fast and good at it. It makes me a little cautious, so I don’t want to run in there. I got to play it a little safer. The next time I’d like to open up more.”
Having gotten that first collegiate win over White at the NCAAs was something Joseph said after that match that he had been looking forward to for awhile, to see how much he improved. Getting that first win gave Joseph the confidence to dive deeper into his gameplan against White and make the necessary adjustments — not only to win, but to become a better wrestler.
Having now avenged his high school loss, Sanderson hopes the same thing happens for Lee. Although winning might not be the most important thing, it does have its long-term advantages.
“Winning is where confidence comes from,” Sanderson said. “And if you’re confident, then you’re probably going to pull the trigger a little bit more and you’re going to believe in yourself a little bit more, and be successful.”
This story was originally published January 20, 2019 at 9:16 PM.
