University Park, Pa. — Penn State wrestler Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) claimed the 84 kg/185 lbs. national title at the 2010 University World Team Trials this past weekend in Colorado Springs, Colo. Wright, wrestling for the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club and a red-shirt sophomore this coming year, downed Cornell's Mack Lewnes in the finals.
Wright lost the first match to Lewnes, the 2010 NCAA Runner-Up at 174, before posting a fall at the 1:11 mark in the second match to keep his title hopes alive. Wright then won the third match 2-5, 4-1, 5-3 to win the crown.
Champions in each weight class in the University World Team Trials position themselves for a trip to the University World Championships on Oct. 26-30 in Turin, Italy. Any wrestler who finishes in the top three at next month's U.S. World Team Trials in freestyle, and is eligible for the University division, can challenge the University World Team Trials champion for the spot on the University World Team.
Wright was a 2009 All-American as a true freshman, taking sixth at 174 for the Nittany Lions. He went 33-13 mark his rookie year, was the 2009 Big Ten Runner-Up and won four bouts in his first trip to nationals to take sixth.
Final Results -- 84 kg/185 lbs.:
Quentin Wright (Penn State/Wingate, Pa./Nittany Lion WC) def. Mack Lewnes (Cornell/Annapolis, Md./New York AC), 2 matches to 1
Lewnes dec. Wright, 4-3, 0-2, 2-0
Wright pinned Lewnes, 1:11
Wright dec. Lewnes, 2-5, 4-1, 5-3