University Park, Pa. -- Penn State Nittany Lion senior heavyweight Aaron Anspach (Columbia, Pa.) lost to the defending national champion in the heavyweight title bout at the 2007 NCAA Wrestling Championships on Saturday, March 17, in Auburn Hills, Mich. Still, his appearance in the tournament's final championship match-up earned him All-America status as he helped Penn State to an 11th place finish in the team race, just three points out of eighth.
The No. 2 seed in the tournament's big man division, Anspach met No. 1 seed Cole Konrad of Minnesota in the event's final title match-up. Konrad, the defending national champion, entered the bout riding a 75-match win streak dating back to his title run last year. The duo was energized to start the bout with Konrad forcing the tempo. Anspach took the first real shot of the bout, getting both arms around Konrad's upper legs. But the Minnesota big man, who owned a 30-plus-pound weight advantage, slipped out of bounds to keep the bout scoreless. Off the reset, Konrad got his arms around Anspach's shoulders and sent the Nittany Lion senior to his back. Konrad finished off the move by pinning Anspach at the 1:53 mark.
Anspach still went 4-1 in the tournament and ends the year with a 22-4 mark. Three of those losses were to Konrad. A fifth-year senior who has missed two seasons due to injury, Anspach has petitioned the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility and may return next season. That decision could come in April. Anspach's national runner-up finish is the fourth-highest HWT finish in Penn State's 99 years of wrestling.
Penn State's seven qualifiers and three All-Americans combined to go 19-13 overall in the tournament. The Nittany Lions' 54.0 points is the 14th-highest total in school history for head coach Troy Sunderland's squad. Penn State has crowned three or more All-Americans five times in the past decade alone.
Joining Anspach as All-Americans are sophomore Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.), who was unseeded at 133 and finished seventh, and junior Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.), who finished fifth as the No. 4 seed and is now a three-time All-American.
The Nittany Lions went 14-5 this year and were 5-3 in Big Ten duals. Penn State was fourth in the nation in home attendance as well, averaging 3,475 people per home dual match. Penn State's average was less than 300 per event behind second place Oklahoma State and only 34 per event behind third place Minnesota.