Editor’s Note: Penn State wrestlers will be competing for their third consecutive NCAA title, Saturday night in Des Moines. The tournament concludes with the national finals at 8 p.m. ET. The finals will be televised on ESPN. The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team holds a slim three point lead over Oklahoma State. Senior Quentin Wright the No. 2 seed at 197, will wrestle for the the individual title. He faces No. 1 seed Dustin Kilgore of Kent State.
For Penn State senior 197-pounder Quentin Wright, returning home from the 2013 NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships without a second NCAA championship won’t be the end of the world.
The former Bald Eagle Area High School standout is known as a champion on the mat, but off the mat his wrestling exploits don’t define him anymore.
“After I won the national title two years ago I came to realize that wrestling’s not the end of everything. Really, just go out there and wrestle your best and don’t have regrets. Leave everything out there when you wrestle,” he said.
That’s saying a lot for Wright.
As a true freshman, he was pulled out of a redshirt year due to an injury to the starter. He then proceeded to put together a solid 15-7 regular-season record and placed sixth at the NCAA tournament. His only losses were to fifth-year seniors.
After redshirting the next year, Wright struggled a bit to find his way during the 2010-11 season at 184 pounds. But, in the postseason, he caught fire, going 4-0 on his way to a Big Ten championship and 5-0 at the NCAA tournament on his way to the championship.
The 2011-12 season brought another run to the NCAA final only with a different ending. He met Cornell’s Steve Bosak, a fellow Centre County native that Wright knew and had worked out with throughout his formative wrestling years. Bosak prevented a Wright repeat with a 4-2 sudden victory win.
This year, Wright is a perfect 27-0 entering the tournament. He cruised to another Big Ten championship, this time at 197 pounds. He enters the national tournament seeded second behind undefeated Dustin Kilgore, a two-time All-American from Kent State who was the 197-pound champion in 2010-11.
So, is it possible for a wrestler as accomplished as Wright to leave Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, Saturday without another gold medal and not have regrets?
“Definitely. You never know what might happen. I might get hurt. You never know. Something major could happen. But you always prepare to give it your best. I always say, I’ll do my best, let God do the rest and I’ll be satisfied,” he said.
“Wrestling to me is just a game, but you want to go out there to win at that game. After the match, I want to be able to think back and say, ‘I played well. I wrestled well. I did it to the best of my abilities and I have no regrets. Everything outside (of wrestling) gives me that peace to have that attitude.”
It’s what Wright claims outside of wrestling that gives him the peace of mind to put a sport in its proper perspective.
“My senior year has been a lot more relaxed,” he said. “I’m finishing up school, I’m married (to Lauren last summer), I’ve got a little one on the way, a little boy, 2033 national champion, or so. Life’s about the journey, so I’m just enjoying that journey.”
Still, that journey includes one more NCAA tournament.
“It’s the last one,” Wright said. “I have to show everything I’ve got out there and turn it up.”
Turning it up for Wright comes in two forms. The first is high-amplitude throws, headlocks and inside trips. The second is a steady diet of devastating freight-train doubles. Both strategies are available in Wright’s arsenal.
“It depends on how the match is going, what they’re doing. You’ve got to be flexible out there. It depends on what’s open. Sometimes I don’t push the pace enough. Sometimes I push the pace too much,” he said.
“I’ve learned those lessons throughout the other 27 matches I’ve had this year, to really know what’s going to work in different situations when I get out there that first, second, third, fourth, fifth match at nationals.”
Planning for a fifth match at nationals would mean another trip to the finals. And, if the seeds hold up, a trip to the finals would probably mean a showdown with Kilgore. Wright admitted he had been training for everyone in the field, but with an eye toward Kilgore.
“Oh, yeah. You’ve always got to have a Plan B, C and D. You’ve always got to have something that you practice it, you can do it, but it’s not necessarily your go-to. Or you have something that’s a little rusty, but when called upon you can use it,” Wright said.
The humble senior has shared in a team title while basking in the spotlight of an individual championship and he’s helped win a team title while falling a step short.
So, which would mean more to him, a second individual championship or a third team championship?
“Definitely a team championship for Penn State. The team championship is the ultimate goal because we’re a team here. We’re doing this together,” he said. “But, in order to do that, I’ve got to get a second title. That’s how it works.”
