By Krista Hutz Daily Pennsylvanian
Philadelphia, PA (CSTV U-WIRE) — What do Richard DiBatista, Brett Matter and Matt Valenti have in common?
The three wrestlers have gone down in Penn’s history as national champions, and on Saturday they were all gathered in the same room for the first time, at the annual wrestling banquet.
DiBatista holds the distinction of being the only Penn wrestler to win the title twice in a row, taking home first place at 175 pounds in 1941 and 1942.
Matter finished on top at 157 in 2000, while Valenti accomplished the same feat just a month ago at 133.
Winning the national championship is “the greatest achievement a wrestler can get, “DiBatista said.
Yet each wrestler took a different route to Penn and to the national stage.
DiBatista came to Penn on a football scholarship, in the days before Ivy League regulations prohibited athletic scholarships and when players wore leather helmets.
“If it hadn’t been for football, I don’t think I would have come to Penn, “DiBatista said.
But after two national championships, the Lower Merion, Pa., native showed that wrestling was the sport he excelled at.
Matter’s road to Penn was influenced by his older brother Clint, also a Quakers wrestler.
“A lot of people told me going to Penn was a sacrifice, “Matter said.
Through the coaching of Roger Reina, Penn wrestling had been improving in the 1990s, but the program was not a “powerhouse on the national scene, “according to Matter.
Valenti, along with Matter, cited educational opportunities as a big drive.
“I wanted to make sure I’d have a life after wrestling, “Valenti said.
But despite the different roads that the wrestlers took, they are bound together by their high level of motivation.
“You can just tell that their work ethic and drive is a little different than other people you talk to, “Valenti said of DiBatista and Matter.
Perhaps because of that, each found himself in a championship match.
Both Matter and Valenti were ranked as the underdogs, yet they said they were not nervous.
“You have to enter with a level of confidence that you can’t be beaten, “Matter said.
Matter’s win had special significance because it was the first time in over 50 years that a Quakers wrestler brought home the title.
Valenti, on the other hand, was only nervous when he found out that he would have to walk up steps to reach the wrestling platform.
“My senior year at Junior Nationals, I had to go up stairs to the platform, and I tripped on the top one, “Valenti said.
Valenti spoke to Matter before the championships and had received words of advice from him.
DiBatista was placed in a unique situation in his final match — he wrestled 29 year-old Al Crawford from Appalachian State.
“He went there for that purpose only, “DiBatista said. “He quit right after he lost.”
Neither DiBatista nor Matter continued their wrestling careers after college.
DiBatista’s was cut short with the outbreak of WWII, and the NCAA Championships weren’t held for three years.
For personal reasons, Matter decided not to continue.
“It would have been hard for me to compete when I was already satisfied, “Matter said.
Valenti’s career is still in the making. He has a chance to go down in program history by following DiBatista to become the second Quakers wrestler to win two national titles. The 2008 Olympics might be another place Valenti will find himself.
“I’m definitely playing with the 2008 Olympics, “Valenti said. “I’ll see how my body is holding up after another year.”
While national champions at Penn don’t come often, new coach Zeke Jones and the Quakers are trying to reverse that trend.
But for now, there are only three, and that makes their accomplishments that much more significant.
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