ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Penn State senior Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah) added yet another wrestling national title to Penn State's growing list of accomplishments with a thrilling 5-4 win over Pittsburgh's Tyler Wilps in the 174-pound NCAA finals. Brown, a three-time All-American, earned his first NCAA title with the victory after coming up short in the finals as a sophomore.
Brown's win was capped off by a lengthy delay as the match ended with each bench challenging a bout deciding call. In the end, Penn State's challenge won the day and Brown walked away with a 5-4 win and the NCAA title. Brown won Penn State's 30th national title and is the 23rd individual to claim one.
The Brown/Wilps match-up was the first ever national final between Penn State and Pitt and it would produce a thrilling end. Brown began the match working for control on his feet, forcing Wilps to the outside circle while looking to work his offense. The duo traded low shots at the :35 mark with no on connecting. Brown continued to press Wilps but the bout moved to the second tied 0-0. Wilps chose down to start the middle period and Brown was able to control the action for :33 before Wilps escaped to a 1-0 lead. Brown took yet another shot, not able to finish as Wilps worked his way out of bounds once again. Brown forced the Panther into a first stall warning but Wilps then connected on a single leg that nearly took Brown to the mat. Brown was able to fight off the move and force a reset with :22 left in the period.
Trailing by one, Brown chose down to start the third period and steadily worked his way to an escape and a 1-1 tie at the 1:32 mark. Brown worked in on another single leg and got the takedown as Wilps worked to get out of bounds. The takedown gave the Lion a 3-1 lead at the 1:02 mark. Wilps was awarded an escape at the :42 mark but the Penn State bench challenged the call. The call was overturned and Brown maintained the 3-1 lead. Wilps did quickly escape on the reset to cut Brown's lead to 3-2. He then quickly took Brown down to take a 4-3 lead with :20 on the clock. Wilps, who was called for stalling early in the bout, hung on to Brown's leg for five seconds and Brown picked up the stall point to tie the match at 4-4. With :03 left, Brown worked for an escape and Wilps appeared to lock his hands as the period ended. The non-call was challenged by Penn State and after a long review, the locked hands was awarded and Brown was given the point. Pitt then immediately challenged as to whether the penalty occurred before time expired and the officials confirmed that it did and Brown collected the 5-4 win, claiming his NCAA title.
Brown became Penn State's 24th three-time All-American with his quarterfinal victory and his finals win over Wilps marks the fifth straight year Penn State has crowned a national champion. The Utah native is head coach Cael Sanderson's 11th national champion and his ninth at Penn State.
The newest Penn State national champion, Brown went 5-0 at nationals and ends his year with a 29-3 record. Brown was the national runner-up in 2013 and the fifth place finisher in 2014. In 2013, as a sophomore and a national runner-up, Brown was named the Elite 89 Award winner as the nation's top wrestling scholar athlete. Brown ends his Penn State career with a 118-16 career record. He leaves Penn State alone in 11th place on the school's all-time wins list.
Junior Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), the No. 2 seed at 197, rebounded from a quarterfinal upset in outstanding fashion and roared back to place third. McIntosh went 6-1 at this year's championships and is now a two-time All-American. The junior ends his season with a 32-3 overall record.
Sophomore Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), the No. 7 seed at 133, ended his tournament run as An All-American and the fifth place finisher. He went 4-2 at this year's NCAA tournament and ends his year with a 26-9 overall record.
Senior Jimmy Lawson (Toms River, N.J.), the No. 8 seed at 125, ended the NCAA Championships as a first time All-American, the sixth place finisher and with a 4-3 record. He ends his season with a 19-6 record overall.
Junior Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.), the No. 11 seed at 125, ended the tournament with a 4-3 mark as the 8th place finisher and an All-American. He closed out the year with a 27-9 overall record.
Sophomore Zack Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.) concluded his tournament on Friday with a 1-2 mark including a major. Beitz posted a 19-11 overall record on the year. Freshman Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), the No. 14 seed at 184, bowed out in last night's session with a 2-2 mark in the `round of 12'. McCutcheon went 26-14 on the year.
Brown's win gave Penn State a final record of 26-13 at this year's NCAA Championship. Sanderson's squad returns home with five All-Americans and a sixth place finish off 67.5 points. The lkjl place finish breaks Penn State's string of four straight NCAA titles but is the sixth top ten finish in Sanderson's six years at the help of the Nittany Lions. Sanderson has now coaches 46 All-Americans, 31 at Penn State. This year's haul of hardware winners brings Penn State's All-American total to 194.
Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at www.twitter.com/pennstateWREST and on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling. The 2014-15 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships - Team Score - Top Ten FINALSaturday, March 21, 2015 - Scottrade Center - St. Louis, Mo.1: Ohio State - 102.02: Iowa - 84.03: Edinboro - 75.54: Missouri - 73.55: Cornell - 71.56: PENN STATE - 67.57: Oklahoma State - 65.08: Minnesota - 59.59: Nebraska - 59.010: Virginia Tech - 56.0