While Iowa State senior Cael Sanderson continued his quest for an unbeaten collegiate career, the Penn wrestling team continued its quest to achieve its first top-five ranking in school history.
Both took a step in the right direction last night.
The No. 10 Quakers finished second to the Cyclones, who are ranked sixth in the nation, in the prestigious Keystone Classic at the Palestra. Four Penn wrestlers also came out victorious in their respective weight classes.
Iowa State compiled 155 team points to the Red and Blue's 136. Rider finished third with 125.5 in the nine-team tournament.
"I thought we could've finished first," Penn coach Roger Reina said. "But they're a good team that scored a lot of points with their ranked guys."
Reina referred to the 14 bonus points run up by Sanderson and Joe Heskett, each the top-ranked wrestler in his weight class.
Despite his slight disappointment with the team's finish, Reina was pleased with the progress his team has made since last week's season-opening Cowboy Open.
"I saw improvement over a week ago," Reina said. "That's what we want to see, continued improvements, measured improvements. We took a step forward."
Penn senior co-captain Yoshi Nakamura -- the winner of the 157-pound bracket yesterday --was pleased with his team's performance.
"Iowa State is a top-ranked team and it is our goal to become one," Nakamura said. "We know we can compete with them after the good showing here. Week by week, day by day, we keep chipping away at our goals. We can't jump from the ground to the roof, we have to climb the ladder one rung at a time."
A sign that Penn could come closer to accomplishing its lofty goals is the successful return of senior co-captain Rick Springman -- champion of the 174-pound weight class.
Springman, who is returning from a one-year academic leave of absence, is not yet satisfied with his performance.
"I have a long way to go," Springman said. "I'm heading in the right direction, but I have a lot to overcome mentally and, technically, some work to do."
Also finishing first for Penn were sophomore Mason Lenhard and freshman Matt Feast.
Feast's performance was particularly impressive given that he had to defeat two ranked heavyweights -- Iowa State's Mark Knauer and Brown's Bronson Lingamfelter -- to win.
Meanwhile, Sanderson continued his career dominance by taking the 197-pound weight class with four victories, three of which were pins and one a technical fall.
"I take a lot of pride in my wrestling," Sanderson said. "I just want to enjoy myself."
Sanderson, considered by many to be the top college wrestler of all time, does not allow the fame he brings to each match to affect him on the mat.
"I don't worry about any of that," Sanderson said. "I just focus on one match at a time."
Penn's head coach was impressed with the the Cyclone's phenom grappler.
"To me, what's most exciting about him is he continues to improve and he continues to learn," Reina said.
Despite the many positives that Penn was able to take from the match, the team needs to continue to improve in order to reach the Quakers' goal of finishing as the best Penn squad in school history.
"We've got the potential to be that," Reina said. "But we're not there yet."
