Best that never won a national title

Fratamico

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Oct 18, 2021
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I don't know if this is Kosher or not but this question is being debated elsewhere. I rarely post or contribute to debates but need to get my 2 cents in on this one. Being as old as dirt I hearken back to the 60's and have to put forth a name not mentioned in the other debate as of yet. To this point in the debate Daton Fix seems, to date, to be the obvious choice to me; but he still has an opportunity to achieve success with a national title. My choice is a kid named Bob Fehrs, from Michigan, who in the 60's finished as a runner up, 3 times, to Mike Caruso of Lehigh. In 1965 Fehrs lost 6-5, in 66 he lost 9-6 and in 67 he lost 7-6. Feel free to put forth your choices. WE ARE!
 

SRATH

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Oct 30, 2021
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I thought you were going with teams and I would going to remind OSU of their 2018 team......it is what we do.

Carry on.......I hope folks provide some real insight here. It would be tough to be a runner up three times.
 

El_Jefe

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Oct 11, 2021
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A few to get this rolling:
Coon
Trenge
Fix

McIntosh -- beat 2 multi-time world champs within 2 weeks

This will ruffle some feathers, but DeSanto -- he has beaten numerous national champs and finalists, and in the past 3 years has only lost to RBY, Fix, and Gross.

And of course Downey.
 

Still in State Colllege

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Oct 12, 2021
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A few to get this rolling:
Coon
Trenge
Fix

McIntosh -- beat 2 multi-time world champs within 2 weeks

This will ruffle some feathers, but DeSanto -- he has beaten numerous national champs and finalists, and in the past 3 years has only lost to RBY, Fix, and Gross.

And of course Downey.
I think where it is different for a guy like DeSanto versus Fix is that Fix is also a World Silver Medalist. DeSanto is more like a Brandon Sorenson. Very good wrestler but not good enough to beat the guy ahead of him.
 
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El_Jefe

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Oct 11, 2021
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I think where it is different for a guy like DeSanto versus Fix is that Fix is also a World Silver Medalist. DeSanto is more like a Brandon Sorenson. Very good wrestler but not good enough to beat the guy ahead of him.
That's true in regards to Fix vs DeSanto H2H.

It's not that simple more broadly with DeSanto. He has beaten the guys ahead of both him and Fix, just hasn't beaten Fix.

DeSanto beat RBY 2x, Fix is 0-2 with no offensive points. Beat Suriano, Fix lost to him, again with no offensive points. Also beat Gross.
 

Lions1

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Nov 1, 2021
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I will go with Tyler Caldwell that finished 5, 2, 3, and 2.

Lost in the NCAA finals to Jordan Burroughs and David Taylor which won the Dan Hodge Trophy those years and both went on to win Olympic Gold Medals.

Can anybody else say they got by beat in the NCAA finals by two guys that would move on to capture Olympic Golds"? To lazy to look up.......
 
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El_Jefe

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Oct 11, 2021
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I will go with Tyler Caldwell that finished 5, 2, 3, and 2.

Lost in the NCAA finals to Jordan Burroughs and David Taylor which won the Dan Hodge Trophy those years and both went on to win Olympic Gold Medals.

Can anybody else say they got by beat in the NCAA finals by two guys that would move on to capture Olympic Golds"? To lazy to look up.......
Good answer! I'd put McIntosh ahead of him, because Morgan beat 2 world champs. But Caldwell deserves to be in the discussion.
 
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Fratamico

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Oct 18, 2021
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I don't know if this is Kosher or not but this question is being debated elsewhere. I rarely post or contribute to debates but need to get my 2 cents in on this one. Being as old as dirt I hearken back to the 60's and have to put forth a name not mentioned in the other debate as of yet. To this point in the debate Daton Fix seems, to date, to be the obvious choice to me; but he still has an opportunity to achieve success with a national title. My choice is a kid named Bob Fehrs, from Michigan, who in the 60's finished as a runner up, 3 times, to Mike Caruso of Lehigh. In 1965 Fehrs lost 6-5, in 66 he lost 9-6 and in 67 he lost 7-6. Feel free to put forth your choices. WE ARE!
More on Mike Caruso; Back in the 60's freshman were ineligible to wrestle, therefore they wrestled fewer matches than today's collegiate wrestlers. Southern scuffles, Nittany Lion opens, team duals, et al were none existent so fewer matches were prevalent. Still, Mike Caruso ended his collegiate wrestling career 57-1, he lost that lone match as a sophomore. Had that not happened a tie would exist today between Mike and Cael, even though Cael wrestled nearly three times as many matches.

In 1967 I had the pleasure of being present in REC HALL to witness PSU's upset of the Engineers from Lehigh (known now as the Mountain Hawks). In that dual meet Wally Clark (Clearfield, PA.) wrestled Mike Caruso in a very competitive loss. (The same Wally Clark that showed me the lights at 95ibs in our home gym at good ole' BHS in 1961). More importantly though Vince Fitz from PSU upset previously undefeated (in dual meets) Joe Peritore from Lehigh. The final team score that night was 18-12, which came down to the heavyweight match, where our heavyweight (the best defensive tackle to ever play football for Penn State) Mike Reid defeated their grappler to secure the victory. In that match, our future head coach, Rich Lorenzo was also victorious. The din that night was deafening. Comparable (for those of a new wrestling generation) to Zain's victory over Logan and Snyder's regular decision over Nick.
 

WV lion

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Oct 17, 2021
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Kemmerer up until this tournament he has only lost to psu wrestlers at nationals, in this one, hidlay twice with only one shoulder
 
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DavidM

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Oct 13, 2021
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More on Mike Caruso; Back in the 60's freshman were ineligible to wrestle, therefore they wrestled fewer matches than today's collegiate wrestlers. Southern scuffles, Nittany Lion opens, team duals, et al were none existent so fewer matches were prevalent. Still, Mike Caruso ended his collegiate wrestling career 57-1, he lost that lone match as a sophomore. Had that not happened a tie would exist today between Mike and Cael, even though Cael wrestled nearly three times as many matches.

In 1967 I had the pleasure of being present in REC HALL to witness PSU's upset of the Engineers from Lehigh (known now as the Mountain Hawks). In that dual meet Wally Clark (Clearfield, PA.) wrestled Mike Caruso in a very competitive loss. (The same Wally Clark that showed me the lights at 95ibs in our home gym at good ole' BHS in 1961). More importantly though Vince Fitz from PSU upset previously undefeated (in dual meets) Joe Peritore from Lehigh. The final team score that night was 18-12, which came down to the heavyweight match, where our heavyweight (the best defensive tackle to ever play football for Penn State) Mike Reid defeated their grappler to secure the victory. In that match, our future head coach, Rich Lorenzo was also victorious. The din that night was deafening. Comparable (for those of a new wrestling generation) to Zain's victory over Logan and Snyder's regular decision over Nick.
Yeah, I was there as well. I remember Reid coming out and he looked like he was made out of steel. That was a fantastic experience.
 
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SurgeOne

Well-known member
Oct 30, 2021
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I don't know if this is Kosher or not but this question is being debated elsewhere. I rarely post or contribute to debates but need to get my 2 cents in on this one. Being as old as dirt I hearken back to the 60's and have to put forth a name not mentioned in the other debate as of yet. To this point in the debate Daton Fix seems, to date, to be the obvious choice to me; but he still has an opportunity to achieve success with a national title. My choice is a kid named Bob Fehrs, from Michigan, who in the 60's finished as a runner up, 3 times, to Mike Caruso of Lehigh. In 1965 Fehrs lost 6-5, in 66 he lost 9-6 and in 67 he lost 7-6. Feel free to put forth your choices. WE ARE!
Cael Sanderson: was talented but could never quite put it all together. Same with his coaching history
 

BaccaFarmer

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Oct 12, 2021
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More on Mike Caruso; Back in the 60's freshman were ineligible to wrestle, therefore they wrestled fewer matches than today's collegiate wrestlers. Southern scuffles, Nittany Lion opens, team duals, et al were none existent so fewer matches were prevalent. Still, Mike Caruso ended his collegiate wrestling career 57-1, he lost that lone match as a sophomore. Had that not happened a tie would exist today between Mike and Cael, even though Cael wrestled nearly three times as many matches.

In 1967 I had the pleasure of being present in REC HALL to witness PSU's upset of the Engineers from Lehigh (known now as the Mountain Hawks). In that dual meet Wally Clark (Clearfield, PA.) wrestled Mike Caruso in a very competitive loss. (The same Wally Clark that showed me the lights at 95ibs in our home gym at good ole' BHS in 1961). More importantly though Vince Fitz from PSU upset previously undefeated (in dual meets) Joe Peritore from Lehigh. The final team score that night was 18-12, which came down to the heavyweight match, where our heavyweight (the best defensive tackle to ever play football for Penn State) Mike Reid defeated their grappler to secure the victory. In that match, our future head coach, Rich Lorenzo was also victorious. The din that night was deafening. Comparable (for those of a new wrestling generation) to Zain's victory over Logan and Snyder's regular decision over Nick.
I had a roommate who was a “room guy” on that 67’ team. Your post brought back fond memories. Yes …. that was an epic dual. Mike Reid …. now there was a stud.
 
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El_Jefe

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Oct 11, 2021
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Kemmerer up until this tournament he has only lost to psu wrestlers at nationals, in this one, hidlay twice with only one shoulder
Kemerer lost to Berger and Palacio at nationals too.
 
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