Sunderland saw his title hopes dashed in the last one-half second of his match, when the referees ruled a takedown for Iowa's Terry Steiner. The call was so questionable that even Iowa Coach Dan Gable said he was unsure of the call. As the final seconds ticked off the clock in the last match, the Lions found themselves with 87.5 points. Iowa finished with 123.75. What makes this team special, beside the fact that it earned the highest finish since 1955, is that while second place is a tremendous accomplishment, the Lions were by no means satisfied.
Second place is better than third.
We're not satisfied with second, our goal was to win. Hart was one of five Lions to earn All-America status, joining Kolat, Sunderland, Robbins and Sanshiro Abe. Hart, who finished a disappointing third, lost a semifinal match to Missouri's Shaon Fry when he gave up a takedown with just four ticks left on the clock. The pressure was on and I got tight and it cost me the match. I got third, I guess it's making the best of a bad situation.