How Penn State wrestling is moving on from its first dual meet loss in nearly 5 years
This first week back from Thanksgiving break is a bit different than most for Penn State wrestling, as the team is dealing with something it’s not too familiar with — coming back after a loss.
The Nittany Lions broke their 60 straight dual winning streak that dates all the way back to Feb. 15, 2015 on Nov. 22, when they fell 19-18 in Arizona State in Tempe. With the exception of the sixth-year seniors, none of Penn State’s wrestlers had previously dealt with a collegiate dual loss.
But while “losing sucks,” in the words of senior Mark Hall, the Nittany Lions were able to quickly process their disappointment and turn their attention to the next challenges at hand — duals against No. 13 Lehigh and Penn this weekend.
“I think it was about 24 hours where we were all pretty down, and then the second we got back to practice it was back to work,” senior heavyweight Anthony Cassar said Tuesday outside of the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex. “That’s been how it’s been going for the past few years I’ve been here, win or lose we get back to work and we have a positive attitude, so that’s something I really enjoy and value about this team.”
The team’s ability to move on from the loss is in part thanks to senior leaders like Hall and Cassar, who both said they offered words of encouragement to their younger teammates.
For Hall, the best piece of advice he could give on losing was simple: “Remember that feeling.”
As a six-time individual state title winner and six-time team state title winner at Apple Valley High School in Minnesota, losing is not something Hall has been too familiar with himself in his career. While the 2017 national champ and three-time NCAA finalist hasn’t lost often on the collegiate level, either, he did lose early — his first match out of redshirt, to be exact.
“Losing definitely sucks, but the right way can be a very good learning experience,” he said. “I remember when I pulled my redshirt, my first match I lost at Carver-Hawkeye and, you know, I used that as a learning experience and it’s really helped me grow as not only a wrestler but a man as well.”
Hall went on from that match to win the national championship as a true freshman at 174 pounds.
In a way, getting that first loss off his back early his true freshman year helped free him from the burden of the sky-high expectations placed upon him to be undefeated. He’s hoping the same will be true for his team, now that “the streak” has ended.
“We don’t have to worry about the streak anymore, we can just go out and compete hard, and not have to be nervous about anything,” he said.
Heading into the final bout of the Arizona State dual, the top-ranked Cassar had the opportunity to win it for his team with either a pin or technical fall over then-No. 5 Tanner Hall.
With the dual on the line, the defending national champ wrapped his opponent up in a double leg and took him right to his back. From the TV broadcast, it looked as though Cassar had Hall pinned to keep “the streak” alive. However, the official didn’t think so, and Hall got himself out of danger.
It was so close, however, that Cassar himself believed he had Hall pinned.
“I was feeling good before, like I was ready to take on this responsibility, putting the team on my back and go out there and put him on his back,” he said. “I thought that I had it, it was pretty close but at the end of the day I didn’t get it and couldn’t get back to it the rest of the match but I think he fought well and wrestled a good match.”
While the wrestlers appear to have, for the most part, moved on — Cassar was cracking jokes with reporters, making sure his hair looked OK for the camera — the coaches still have some work to do to make sure their team learns from the loss and makes the necessary improvements to be prepared for the NCAA tournament in March.
Head coach Cael Sanderson’s expression was solemn when asked what he took away from the loss.
“I didn’t have these guys ready to go. We knew going into the match we needed to win one of those tight matches, and we didn’t,” he said. “We had some guys wrestle really well, and but as far as overall, obviously we weren’t ready to go. More than anything it’s just an opportunity and you either take advantage of it and go wrestle greater, or you don’t, and we didn’t. So hopefully we learn from that.”
This story was originally published December 4, 2019 at 10:33 AM.
