Last year, the Penn wrestling team showed up to the NCAA Championships in St. Louis four-strong, with just one ranked wrestler in then-senior Matt Feast.
The result? A 30th-place finish -- despite a top-25 national ranking coming in -- with only Feast managing to place in the tournament.
In stark contrast to last year's somewhat gloomy outlook, the Quakers have arrived at this year's nationals in Oklahoma City with six qualifiers, three ranked in the top 12. Fresh off two Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association first-place finishes, one second and three thirds, Penn is looking to make some noise on the national stage as competition begins today.
For first-year coach Zeke Jones and his six qualifiers, the bar is set as high as it can be in college wrestling.
"I think we've got six good shots at becoming high All-Americans and national champions," Jones said. "All six of our kids are top-20-type people, so they're certainly capable of getting into the top eight."
The best opportunity for the No. 23 Quakers (11-5) to do just that will be in the 133-pound weightclass.
Junior Matt Valenti earned bids to the NCAAs in each of his first two seasons at Penn. Heading into his third season last year after having achieved All-American status the season before, there was little reason to doubt he would do it again.
And then came season-ending shoulder surgery.
In this, his first year back, he has compiled a 31-2 record after having moved up from 125 pounds. At EIWAs two weeks ago, he took first place in the conference. Now, after working hard to silence any critics who thought he couldn't make the comeback, Valenti is once again poised to make a run at college wrestling's biggest event.
"I'm real excited to be back out here," he said. "I had a good showing last time I was out, and I'm excited to improve on that."
In his first-round bout, No. 6-seeded Valenti will wrestle Brandon Strong of Air Force, an opponent whom he knows little about.
If the seedings hold, the Newton, N.J. native could find himself in an Eastern Finals rematch against 11-seed Robbie Preston of Harvard. When the two faced off in at EIWAs two weeks ago, Valenti took a 4-2 win.
"I like the matchup going into it," Valenti said of the potential rematch. "I know it's someone that I've beaten before. Obviously, it was a really close match, but he's someone that I know well and someone that I believe I've figured out pretty well."
But Valenti's return isn't the only compelling story for the Quakers in Oklahoma.
Among the six qualifiers, two are freshmen. Caesar Grajales (141 pounds) and Matt Dragon (149) were invited to the tournament by virtue of their third- and first-place finishes, respectively, at EIWAs. Dragon (29-6) comes in seeded 12th, while his classmate Grajales (25-10) is without a ranking.
"It's pretty exciting being a freshman down here," Dragon said. "Not too many freshmen get the opportunity to wrestle at nationals. I'm going to take advantage of it, being fresh, being young. I'm just going to go after it."
If either first-timer is looking for guidance, he needs look no further than his junior captain, Valenti, who himself wrestled to the tournament's Round of 12 his freshman year.
"I'm just talking to these guys about my experiences out here as a freshman," Valenti said. "I'm just trying to tell these guys that they need to take care of themselves, focus on themselves, and that it's just another match -- it's nothing special."
At 125, senior Mike Silengo will try to close out his career with a solid performance. After going 19-7 on the season, the Baptist, Colo., native finished third at the EIWA Championships.
Now, unranked in his first ever NCAA Tournament, Silengo is in for a familiar encounter in the first round. By the luck -- or lack thereof -- of the draw, Penn's lightweight is paired with defending national champion and No. 1-ranked Joe Dubuque of Indiana.
The two met earlier this season at the Virginia Duals. Just as the Quakers were narrowly edged by the Hoosiers, so too did Silengo just come up short against his opponent. But despite Dubuque's ranking, the 10-12 sudden-victory loss shows that an upset is not entirely out of the question this time around.
"Mike really believes he can beat him and has had success against him, so I think we feel pretty good about that matchup," Jones said.
Rounding out the qualifiers for the Quakers are junior Matt Herrington (174) and senior Dustin Wiles (184). Herrington, who went 17-5 on the season and placed second at EIWAs, is seeded 12th in his bracket. Wiles, who competed at Nationals last year, placed third at Easterns and will be unranked.
"I feel like I gained some good experience last year," Wiles said. "I got to see the big arena and all the people. That's behind me now. Now all I really have to focus on is competing, and I'm pretty excited about it."
Since Jones arrived at Penn, the team has seen marked improvement in several areas. Still, much of the take-away from the coach's first year will be determined by the team's performance today through Saturday.
"We've worked all year for this tournament," Dragon said.
Valenti-
"I'm real excited to be back out here. I had a good showing last time I was out and I'm excited to improve on that."
"It's not going to take anything really outstanding or completely remarkable; it's just going to take me wrestling well every single match, not making any mistakes, wrestling each match and not looking forward, not looking back, just one at a time."
"The coaches and I have been working on fine-tuning a couple of things. Just working on finishing a couple of takedowns, a couple of little things in top and bottom. But at this point, and at this level, it's just little tiny details that are going to make a big difference."
"I am exactly where I want to be right now. I feel like I'm in great condition and great shape technically, and in a great position for the start of this tournament."
"I actually don't know much about him at all. I know that he wrestled one of our guys last year and beat one of our guys last year, but other than that I don't know a real lot."
"I'm really just focusing on this match. Obviously, I know that if I win this one, I'm going to have an Eastern finals rematch the next round. Every match after you get out here is going to be tough. You have to expect each match to be a one-point, or a two-point match. I expect it to be harder and harder to win every match."
"I like the matchup going into it. I know it's someone that I've beaten before. Obviously, it was a really close match, but he's someone that I know well and someone that I believe I've figured out pretty well. I think it puts me in a good position."
"I'm just talking to these guys about my experiences out here as a freshman. I actually came out and took a beating in the first round and had to wrestle back a bunch of matches. But the hardest part about being out here for the first time is that it's very easy to get caught up in the crowd -- it's the biggest crowd that we'll wrestle in front of all year -- and to just get so excited and so into all these other matches that are going on around that you don't focus on yourself, on your match. I'm just trying to tell these guys that they need to take care of themselves, focus on themselves, and that it's just another match, it's nothing special."
Zeke-
"Our guys are really ready to go. They're prepared, they feel healthy, and I think they're coming in with a good mindset. I think Mike and Dubuque obviously is going to be a good first-round matchup for us. Mike really believes he can beat him and has had success against him, so I think we feel pretty good about that matchup. ... Anytime you get a national champion in the first round, it can send shivers up peoples' spines, but to Mike, I think he feels really confident."
"Overall, I feel good about where we're at."
"Their weight is under control, and I think they feel pretty good about getting out there and battling right away."
"I think we've got six good shots and becoming high All-Americans and national champions. All six of our kids are top-20 type people, so they're certainly capable of getting into the top eight."
"I don't know that being seeded or not is going to be a big factor to us. Either way, I think with all our bouts we're capable of winning."
"We have a great opportunity here in this tournament to compete at a high level and to forge into a top-20, top-10 position, and -- if things go all our way -- to take home a trophy."
"They've certainly had a lot of success through all their age groups at the national tournaments. It's their first time in the NCAA Tournament, but it's certainly not their first time in a national tournament, where they've always had success. For Dragon and Grajales, I think it will be that similar feeling. ... Looking in their eyes, they look like they're focused and ready to take care of business. I think they're ready to go, and it will be fun to watch two freshman have that attitude that they don't have anything to lose because they're young and they've performed well at national tournaments before.
Wiles-
"It doesn't really change too much. I feel like it's a pretty good draw for me actually, and I'm pretty confident about the matchup. I'll just have to get a good warmup in the morning before the match."
"I feel like I gained some good experience last year. I got to see the big arena and all the people. That's behind me now. Now all I really have to focus on is competing, and I'm pretty excited about it."
"Basically, we're just trying to get them to just try and relax, and realize that it's just another tournament. They have to wrestle like they've been wrestling all year and they'll do well."
"I think every guy we've got out here has a good shot at being an All-American. I think if everyone puts it together and wrestles a good tournament, we can do some damage and finish pretty high.
Dragon-
"It's pretty exciting being a freshman down here. Not too many freshmen get the opportunity to wrestle at nationals. I'm going to take advantage of it, being fresh, being young. I'm just going to go after it. I have some goals that I still have to accomplish this year, and hopefully I'll accomplish them this weekend. I'll try to make it a learning experience, but also an experience I won't forget."
"The older guys, all year they've pushed us freshmen to be able to peak at the right time, to be able to have the right mentality and not be afraid. That's the main thing with college, you've got to go after it, you can't be afraid, you can't hold back. We've worked all year for this tournament."
