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STATE COLLEGE -- Commercials about investing often end with the narrator intoning in a deep, serious voice "past performance is not indicative of future results."
While that may be true for investments, Penn State wrestling fans know that past performance has been indicative of future Nittany Lion results.
When the 2022 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships kick off at noon Thursday in Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, many will consider the Nittany Lions to be the favorites to win the team title. Based on past performance, that's a pretty safe assumption.
In the past five contested championships, Penn State has pushed 24 wrestlers into the finals and compiled an 18-6 record in those 24 finals bouts. That has helped produce four team championships in five of those years.
So, when Cael Sanderson addressed the assembled media at the conclusion of a Big Ten tournament and offhandedly made a prediction that "We'll wrestle great in two weeks," college wrestling fans read that and just shook their heads, some in affirmation, some in despair.
He said that just after Michigan had completed its magical run to its first Big Ten title in 49 years. After a week to think about lessons learned from his Nittany Lions' 1.5-point loss in the team race, Sanderson said the biggest thing was "just win close matches" and wrestle with enthusiasm. And, of course, score bonus points. Lots of 'em.
"I think every point matters in everything you're doing. It's all the little things. That's why you do all the little things right in your training, in your preparation because one point could be the difference. A pin's worth two points. A tech fall's a point and a half. Anywhere you can pick up a point, you pick up a point. That's why this is a great team race and great team opportunity," he said.
"You've got to score some bonus points and our guys did a really nice job of that at the Big Ten. We scored quite a few bonus points and that kept us in the race. When you get to nationals, you've got to wrestle to score points, team points and individually."
Among Penn State's nine NCAA qualifiers, the Nittany Lions count four No. 1 seeds -- Roman Bravo-Young (133 pounds), Nick Lee (141), Carter Starocci (174) and Max Dean (197) -- and a No. 2 in Aaron Brooks (184). That gives them a great starting point for another title run.
The other four Nittany Lions -- Greg Kerkvliet (No. 4 at 285), Beau Bartlett (13th at 149), Brady Berge (16th at 157) and Drew Hildebrandt (16th at 125) -- will have to produce their share of points, too.
Dean, a native of Lowell, Michigan, which is just a two-hour drive from Detroit, said he thinks he'll have plenty of friends and family rooting him on.
"I'm sure I'll have a lot of family and friends there, but it's nothing new. I'm super lucky. I've got a great support system, obviously among the Penn State wrestling family but also my personal family back home," he said.
"They're always coming out to support me. In terms of wrestling, it doesn't really change anything whether they're there or not. I've got a job to do and I'll got out and do it."
Lee, who will be wrestling in his fourth and final NCAA tournament, said his advice to his younger teammates is to embrace the excitement and take it all in.
"I would say just to enjoy the opportunity. Very few people on Earth are going to be able to wrestle in a national championship, which is probably the most fun tournament on the planet, just with all of the fans there," he said. "I would say, don't try to block things out. Really enjoy it and have fun because it's not an opportunity a lot of people are going to have."
Sanderson has always emphasized that wrestling with gratitude and enthusiasm produces the best results. That seems to be his message again.
"We're never worried about not reaching our goals. We're not worried about losing. We just want to be the best we can be and, regardless of the outcome, we're going to be our best the next day. That's just the pattern that we strive for," he said.
"We just make sure they know they're in phenomenal shape and we just try to stay out of the way, really. At this point, it's not about motivating a kid to go the national tournament. They've wanted to win the national tournament their whole life. So, it's just supporting them right now."