By Kyle Klingman, W.I.N. Staff Writer

Several minutes after Matt Valenti of Penn became an NCAA champion at 133 pounds, he was asked what his thoughts were on winning his second NCAA title. His answer? I didn’t score a takedown.

The only offensive points the Penn senior got in his final college match came off of a reversal late in the first period. After giving up a takedown after two minutes and ten seconds of wrestling, Valenti reversed Scott with 15 seconds left in the period to tie the score, 2-2.

“His poise and confidence is off the charts,” said Penn head coach Zeke Jones. “You can see it. Nothing rattles him. Even when he got taken down, he got that reversal at the end of the period and that was a critical moment in the bout.

“He never seems to get uptight. He understands that there is a lot of time left and that there are a lot of holds to execute in the remaining minutes of the match. I don’t think he ever has a sense of panic.”

The rest of the match was a mere afterthought. Valenti rode Scott the entire second period and escaped early in the third period for a 4-2 win with riding time. It was a matter-of-fact win for the second-seeded Valenti over the fourth-seeded Scott and a rematch of the NWCA All-Star Classic in November, when Valenti also won 6-5.

Despite his disappointment of not scoring a takedown in his championship match, Valenti can take pride in another historic season at Penn. Last year, the Quaker wrestler became only the third wrestler in school history to win an NCAA title. This year, he became the first wrestler at Penn to win two NCAA titles in 65 years.

The only other Penn wrestler to win back-to-back titles during the 103-year history of the program was Dick DiBattista, who won his titles in 1941 and 1942. Entering the tournament, Valenti was well aware that he was on the verge of something special.

However, it’s obvious that Valenti, a native of Newton, N.J., doesn’t dwell on his successes too much. When someone asked if he realized that he was the third New Jersey wrestler in a row to become a two-time NCAA champion his answer was fitting: “I didn’t realize that, no.”

And it was on to the next question.

“He is so unassuming and he’s such a great guy that he could walk into a room and you’d never know he was a national champ,” said Jones. “He’d never tell you about his accomplishments; he would never be boastful. He’s such a great human being and that’s part of his family upbringing.”

Valenti’s family also played a role in winning this year’s national title as well. Valenti’s brother, Andy, who is currently a sophomore 125 pounder at Penn, and his father, Mickey, have been helpful in getting Matt prepared for his NCAA matches.

“I actually had quite a scout team,” said Valenti. “Outside of my coaches, who do a tremendous job with it, my brothers and my dad are out there scouting it all the time. I had wrestled (Scott) before so I knew what was coming. In my warm-ups today I was working on his outside shots and his duck. They helped me prepare for that.

The next step for Valenti is preparing for his life after wrestling. Although he hasn’t ruled out coaching, Valenti pointed to several injuries and the need for surgery as part of the reason for leaving the competitive side of wrestling. It is likely that the match against Scott will be the last of Valenti’s career.

But Zeke Jones has other ideas for his prize wrestler.

“I believe (that was his last match) but I’m going to try and convince him otherwise,” said Jones. “I went right up to him (after the match) and told him that you need to reconsider retiring because God gave you a special gift and he gave you the talent to achieve high levels and he could certainly achieve that level if he chose to.”

No matter what he decides to do next, you can be sure of this: wrestling will continue to play an important role in the life of Matt Valenti.

“This sport has meant the world to me,” said Valenti. “It’s been my life for the past 18 years. I’m going to miss it dearly and couldn’t ask for a better way to go out.”

(You can also read this article by subscribing to W.I.N. Magazine. Either contact our office at 1-888-305-0606 or subscribe through this website by selecting the “Subscribe” section on our front page.)