How Penn State Won Its Second Consecutive N.C.A.A. Wrestling Title STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- It was over before the five Penn State wrestlers competing in Saturday night's championship round even took the mat. The Nittany Lions claimed their second straight national championship in St. Louis before the final round even began. Penn State held a 15.0-point advantage on Minnesota after Saturday morning's session, putting the team title out of reach, regardless of what happened in that night's finals. But Penn State's work was far from done for the weekend, as five Lions prepared to compete for individual national titles. It was Frank Molinaro who gave Penn State its first individual title of the night. Molinaro became Penn State's fifth four-time All-American, the first since Phil Davis accomplished the feat in 2008 and also capped off an undefeated 33-0 season. But the senior 149-pounder's final round win did not come as easy as many of his first 32 wins did this year. During the final moments of a narrow 6-5 win in the tournament's second round, Molinaro revealed his knee had "popped out." The senior thought his dream of winning a national title in his final season was over, he said after he won the championship. "I just lost it," he said. I ran off the mat. I just thought it was all being taken away from me there. Everyone was trying to calm me down, I was freaking out. Fortunately for Molinaro, he is coached by Cael Sanderson and the two had a talk. Molinaro admitted he couldn't challenge what his legendary coach was telling him. The coach ultimately restored his 149-pounder's confidence that he still had it in him to win the title a few nights later. "They don't make movies about guys who have perfect seasons and win the nationals and everything is happy-go-lucky," Molinaro recalled his coach saying to him after the injury. It's adversity and the test. Sanderson did not elaborate Saturday night on the pep talk he had with Molinaro but he did say, "[Molinaro] just needed to be reminded who he was and what his purpose was." But Penn State was just getting started after Molinaro claimed the 149-pound title. David Taylor was the next Lion to take the mat at 165-pounds. Taylor's lone career loss at Penn State came in last year's 157-pound national final against Arizona State's Bubba Jenkins. This year, Taylor was not to be denied and recorded nine takedowns and a near fall in his championship match en route to a 22-7 technical fall at the 5:55 mark. Leading up to the finals, Taylor dominated the rest of the field and recorded four pins in a combined 8:46. The 165-pound sophomore was the Gorriaran Award winner for the most falls in the least amount of time throughout the championship. He was also named the 2012 NCAA Most Dominant Wrestler for the season and the 2012 NCAA Wrestling Championships Most Outstanding Wrestler at the conclusion of the tournament. "I'm not a history buff in any way, but I don't know if there's ever been a more dominant performance at the N.C.A.A. tournament than what we just saw right there," Sanderson said. Taylor capped off a 32-0 season and is now 70-1 after his second season at Penn State. But he said he would not let himself feel as though he was getting better as the year went on, to make sure he stayed focused at his ultimate goal: a national championship. The sophomore said he realized during the N.C.A.A. championships how much better he felt this year compared to last. Following Taylor's 165-pound final, a smiling Ed Ruth came skipping out of the tunnel for his 174-pound showdown against Stanford's Nick Amuchastegui. It was one of the most anticipated matches of the weekend, as both wrestlers came in undefeated and were destined to be on a collision course in the finals all season long. Last year in the N.C.A.A. quarterfinals, Ruth was forced to default due to injury against Amuchastegui. But Ruth dominated this year's with a 13-2 major decision. Ever the free spirit, after his post-match interview with ESPN, Ruth ran around the perimeter of the Scottrade Center floor pumping his fist in celebration and acknowledging the large contingent of Penn State fans that were attendance. The championship performances by the three Penn Staters pleased their coach, as well. I'm real happy for the guys. I think they wrestled great," Sanderson said. They went out and did what they needed to do. Although Saturday proved to be a day of mostly celebration for Penn State, two Lions suffered tough losses in the championship round. True freshman Nico Megaludis" run as a 10 seed to the finals was ended by a 4-1 decision at the hands of top-seeded Matt McDonough of Iowa. Defending national champion Quentin Wright lost the 184-pound final when he was taken down by Steve Bosak of Cornell in sudden victory. "Not everybody quite reached their goal," Sanderson said. And as a coach your heart kind of goes more with them because you kind of expect to win. Timothy Schoen covers the Nittany Lions wrestling team for The Daily Collegian at Penn State.