Valenti wins NCAA championship

OKLAHOMA CITY -- This weekend saw two droughts come to climactic endings.

Coming into Friday, the residents of Oklahoma City had not seen a drop of rain for two months -- a long stretch, even by their standards. But the tens of thousands of fans who poured into town for the 2006 NCAA Wrestling Championships saw a deluge that lasted most of the weekend.

And, heading into Saturday's championship finals, no Penn wrestler had won a national title since 2000, when Quakers great Brett Matter did it for the first time in 60 years.

But junior Matt Valenti brought an end to that drought, too.

In front of 16,394 screaming fans at the Ford Center and on ESPN's nationally televised broadcast, sixth-seeded Valenti beat 5-seed Chris Fleeger of Purdue by a score of 3-2 to take the 133-pound crown.

After Matter and 1940s-era legend Richard DiBatista, Valenti is just the third national champion in Penn wrestling history.

"It really hasn't even hit me yet, and I'm sure it probably won't until tonight sometime," Valenti said afterwards.

Coming into the title bout, it was clear that Valenti would have his work cut out for him. In the semifinals, Fleeger turned in a convincing 9-2 decision over top-seeded Shawn Bunch, who had bested Valenti in a tournament earlier this season.

After over a minute of limited action, with each wrestler cautiously feeling out his opponent, Fleeger managed to snare Valenti in a single leg, a move that almost always results in a takedown.

But the Newton, N.J., native expertly wheedled his way out of the hold, almost turning it around on his opponent to score points for himself before settling for the neutral stalemate. The exchange visibly shifted momentum in Valenti's favor and sent a message to Fleeger: This one wasn't going to be so easy.

Asked later how he executed the move, the Penn wrestler himself was equally awed.

"Sometimes I really wish I know exactly what I'm doing out on that mat," he said. "I'm not really sure."

With the score still tied for the beginning of the second period, Valenti started in the top position and used the opportunity to show where his strengths lie. He rode his opponent for the entire two minutes, gaining the riding-time point and preventing Fleeger from escaping.

The third period saw each wrestler get on the board with a reversal, knotting the score at 2-2.

In the end, riding time proved the difference; Valenti left the mat with a 3-2 victory and a national championship in hand.

Perhaps unfairly overshadowed by his history-making teammate, junior Matt Herrington had a career tournament of his own.

Seeded 12th at 174-pounds, the Cambridge, N.Y., native wrestled his way into fifth place, second best for Penn.

No match was more representative of Herrington's gritty, determined run through the consolation bracket than the final one.

Herrington found himself having to beat Lehigh's eighth-seeded Travis Frick -- whom he had lost to two times already this season, including once in the EIWA finals -- or settle for sixth place.

This time, Herrington got the better of his conference nemesis, pinning Frick in under seven minutes.

"It was my match to win or lose; it was up to me to determine" it, Herrington said. "I just decided, this was my last match of the year and I was going to give it all I had."

And for a wrestler who had to contend with injuries in the last two seasons, there was no better way to end his first All-American year.

His performance was "very inspiring for me," Valenti said. "He's a kid who's been struggling a little bit in the past few years, having trouble finding himself. He came through in a huge way the entire tournament and just showed a lot of heart."

Penn came close to beating rival Lehigh and fell behind the highest-placing EIWA team, Cornell, which finished fifth. Home-favorite Oklahoma State ran away with its fourth title in a row.

The Quakers scored 51 team points -- their highest total ever -- cruising to a 12th-place finish.

"In the history of the program, that ranks up as one of our top finishes," Jones said. "To do that, it's absolutely a collective effort."

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