It didn't take long for junior Phil Bomberger to sum up the first half of the Penn State wrestling team's season yesterday.
His eyes got big, and he was introspective when he said, "It's been quite a journey."
So far the team has steamrolled No. 23 Maryland, No. 16 Hofstra and Lehigh. Last Sunday, Penn State pulled off its most impressive win of the season, a thriller against then-No. 3 Oklahoma State.
"The first half of the season has been unbelievable with what we've been able to do, but we expected everything to happen," Bomberger said. "We're gonna keep moving forward and just put it in the past."
The team will get a break after finals week, but will only have a few days to reflect on the seven weeks in which it has vaulted from No. 11 to No. 3 in the USA Today/InterMat/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll.
Wrestlers will return to practice on Dec. 28 to prepare for what will be a grueling second half.
Penn State will welcome Cornell to Rec Hall on Jan. 4 and then take part in National Duals in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Jan. 12 and 13. The Lions will return to Cedar Rapids to face the nations top-ranked Hawkeyes a week later.
Penn State coach Troy Sunderland hopes his wrestlers will begin to prepare on their own over the break.
"Everyone on the team has things that they can improve upon, and that's really the key," he said. "Each step along the process, we learn a little more, continue to develop and continue to minimize mistakes."
Bomberger understands his coach's expectations.
"We still have to be working out, running," he said. "It's just going to be nice getting away from this room and going home and going to our high school wrestling rooms. So it's not really time off."
As Stefan Tighe waited to work out yesterday, his black eye told another story. Penn State wrestlers haven't been immune to injuries.
The break will allow his wrestlers to recover from half a season's worth of minor injuries and "overall muscle and body fatigue," Sunderland said.
"The overall key to our success is to continue to avoid injuries," Sunderland said. "They'll have the sore shins, fingers, necks, shoulders -- just little things that [the break] will help heal their bodies."
The team's most serious injury occurred during its first dual against Maryland when senior co-captain Tim Haas re-injured his knee. The team expects him back for the Cornell dual.
When Sunderland's wrestlers return to the mats in the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex, the coach wants them to stay focused on the matches -- not rankings.
"I don't want our guys focusing much on them," he said. "If you start looking at the rankings then you start trying to defend something you haven't gotten yet."
The coach has noticed that his team's determination has grown with every win and hopes that trend continues during the second half.
"It's one thing for us to say we're one of the best teams in the country, and we believe we're going to win National Duals and the Big Ten and the NCAAs," he said. "But now I think the guys have bought into that and realized how good we are and how good we can be."
