Wrestlers set to grapple with best in NCAA

Brett Vanderveer has waited a long time for this.

A co-captain on Penn's wrestling team, he is one of seven Quakers competing today at the NCAA National Championships in St. Louis.

But what makes Vanderveer a special case is that it has taken him a half-decade to get there.

While sophomore teammates Matt Valenti and Matt Herrington are making their second trips to Nationals in as many years, the low-profile, fifth-year senior will be getting his first and last chance to accomplish the goals he set as a freshman.

"All the hard work is paying off by the trip to St. Louis," the 157-pound Vanderveer said. "My goal is to be an All-American, and getting to Nationals is the first step in doing that."

The top 12 grapplers in each weight class are ranked and placed into a bracket of 32. Vanderveer, however, was a wild-card selection from the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championships two weeks ago. He will go in unseeded.

By contrast, Penn has two No. 3 seeds in the 125-pound Valenti and junior heavyweight Matt Feast. Senior Doug McGraw is No. 10 at 141, and sophomore Matt Herrington is No. 11 at 174.

"I'm an underdog," Vanderveer said. "I'm going in there [for the] first time, going into Nationals as a fifth-year senior. I won't be seeded, so I'm going to have to knock off some top guys early and gain some momentum."

He added that a wide-open weight class could provide opportunities for an upset. If Vanderveer wins his first match, he will face Illinois' top-seeded Alex Tirapelle.

But there is room for an upset.

In January, Tirapelle struggled to fend off unranked James Woodall of Penn State, eventually winning in overtime, 12-10.

"I think it's a weight class where the top guy and the No. 20 guy -- there's not much difference," Vanderveer said.

On the flip side, the Quakers have to avoid early losses.

Last year at this time, while Penn qualified six wrestlers for Nationals, only Feast was seeded. Accordingly, the expectations were lower.

With four top 12 wrestlers this time around, the Red and Blue not only have to prove that they can compete with the country's elite programs, but that they can tame the juggernauts of collegiate wrestling.

It starts with Valenti and Feast. While the top eight in each weight class are named All-American -- an honor earned by Feast last season -- the two expect to go beyond group recognition.

They're contending for individual titles.

"There's three different components you need to win an NCAA championship," Penn coach Roger Reina said. "You need to be physically ready. You need to be mentally ready -- which includes your own mental preparation, as well as good scouting. And you need to keep focused on wrestling your style and your match, and not get caught up in other peoples' style.

"If all those three things are in place, there's no doubt in my mind that those two guys are going to challenge for national titles this weekend."

Last year's champion at 125 pounds, Cornell's Travis Lee, has been competing at 133 pounds all season. That has opened the door for Valenti and the two grapplers seeded above him -- Nebraska's Jason Powell and Iowa's Luke Eustice.

"I've done all the physical preparation that I can do, and I think from here on out it's just a mental game," Valenti said. "The guy who's mentally sharpest and believes the most when they get out there is going to end up on top. I like my chances a lot."

Despite the strong position of the Penn wrestlers, Reina refused to set quotas. He's not going to gauge success by the number of All-Americans named on day three, but rather, the effort exerted on the mat.

Put into that perspective, the NCAAs are nothing Vanderveer hasn't faced.

"It's just going to be a wrestling tournament," he said. "Once you get out there and they blow the whistle, it's just a regular wrestling match no matter how many people are out there."

Also competing for the Quakers are junior Paul Velekei at 184 pounds and senior Marcus Schontube at 197 pounds.

At last year's tournament, Oklahoma State won the championship and the Quakers finished 29th.

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