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2010-11 Big Ten Wrestling Season in Review
April 20, 2011
Big Ten Wrestling Final Release The 2010-11 wrestling season concluded with Penn State winning the program's second NCAA Championship and first since 1953. The Nittany Lions scored 107.5 points to lead the field and were joined by three other Big Ten teams in the top 10. Iowa finished third after notching 86.5 points, while Minnesota took seventh with 61 points and Wisconsin placed 10th with 54.5. The title marks the fifth straight by a Big Ten team after Iowa won the championship in 2008, 2009 and 2010, and Minnesota took home the crown in 2007. Penn State's Quentin Wright led the way for the national champion Nittany Lions, winning the individual title at 184 pounds. Wright, the No. 9 seed in his weight class, defeated three higher-seeded wrestlers in the tournament, including No. 2 Robert Hamlin of Lehigh in the final match. Wright picked up a 5-2 decision in the title bout en route to the national crown. Michigan's Kellen Russell also won an individual title, confirming his No. 1 seed by capturing the 141-pound championship. Russell defeated third-seeded Boris Novachkov of Cal Poly, 3-2, in the final match to close his season with a perfect 37-0 record and a national title. Including Wright and Russell, the Big Ten boasted 27 All-Americans, with eight of the 10 weight classes featuring two or more top-eight finishers. Penn State took home its first Big Ten title at the 2011 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, edging Iowa by just one point to win the conference crown. The Nittany Lions amassed 139 team points, followed by the Hawkeyes with 138. Minnesota finished third with 109.5 points. Penn State swept the individual conference awards, with 157-pounder David Taylor winning Big Ten Wrestler and Freshman of the Year accolades, Wright taking Wrestler of the Championships honors, and coach Cael Sanderson earning the Coach of the Year award.
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