Penn State Wrestling: Most Dominant Seasons by a Nittany Lions Wrestler – Jim Martin 1988
Jim Martin wasn’t just great, he’s an all-time Nittany Lions legend.
And he’s one of the most dominant lightweights Penn State and the nation has ever seen. Furthermore, we at NittanyCentral are going to dive into Martin’s junior campaign, where he took home an individual title at 126 pounds.
In our first edition of “Most Dominant Seasons” we spotlighted Andy Matter’s undefeated senior year as he secured his second straight national title.
Well, now it’s time to turn the page and take a look at another dominant season on the mat for Penn State Wrestling.
Jim Martin Freshman & Sophomore Years for Penn State Wrestling
Jim Martin kicked off his Nittany Lion career by winning 12 straight matches. Unfortunately for him, No. 13 proved to be unlucky as he fell 5-3 to Syracuse’s Tony Cotroneo 5-3.
Following his first career loss, Martin then went on another heater. This time he rattled off 16 straight wins, which landed him in the finals of the 1986 EWL Championships.
And if you followed Penn State Wrestling in the mid to late 80s, then the following name will for sure be familiar to you.
Ricky Bonomo – Bloomsburg University
Between Martin’s freshman and sophomore years in Happy Valley, he and Bonomo would lock horns four separate times.
The first of which was in the finals of the aforementioned 1986 EWLs.
And in their first matchup, Bonomo was simply too much to handle as Jim dropped his second match of the year via a 13-7 decision. A second-place finish in the EWLs is never anything to hang your head about. Especially considering the 1986 NCAA Championships were right around the corner.
There, Martin ripped off three consecutive major decisions in the NCAAs to punch his ticket to the semifinals.
Hey look, there’s another Ricky Bonomo sighting … sigh.
Jim’s fourth match of the NCAA’s also ended with a major decision, but it was him on the wrong end of it (14-5). The loss dropped Martin to the consolation bracket, where he won his first match and then dropped the next one to Minnesota’s Ed Giese to finish in fourth.
Moving on to his sophomore season, Martin compiled a record of 29-1 heading into the 1987 EWL Championships. And following a close 6-5 semifinals win against Cleveland State’s Paul Kapper, Jim Martin and Ricky Bonomo would clash in the finals once again.
Ricky appeared to have all the answers as he won his second straight match over Martin 10-5.
And while an EWL alluded Jim for a second time, there was still hope in the 1987 NCAA Championships.
1987 NCAA Championships
Jim was relatively untested in the opening two rounds and in the quarterfinals as he racked up a 15-5 major decision, 16-1 technical fall, and 8-2 decision. Edinboro’s Dave Rowan gave Martin everything he had in the semifinals, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the strength of the Nittany Lion. Jim won 6-4 and he was moving onto his first ever NCAA finals appearance, where his opponent would be … **checks notes** … give me a break … Ricky Freaking Bonomo.
I would love to say Jim Martin exercised the demons he had with Bonomo but this just wasn’t the case.
Was the match closer than before? Sure, it was.
But a loss is a loss no matter how you look at it. Ricky Bonomo was just a better grappler than Jim Martin, and he proved it time and time again.
It was two-for-two in runner-up finishes in the EWL and All-American honors. However the best was yet to come.
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Jim Martin Junior Year for Penn State Wrestling
Martin owned a record of 30-1-1 following the conclusion of the 1988 EWL Championships. And in those 30 wins Jim had accomplished the following:
-Won his first EWL title
-10 major decisions
-4 technical falls
-7 pins
Jim Martin was wrestling on a different planet than everyone else.
He then opened up the 1988 NCAA Championships with a 13-6 win and a 17-2 technical fall. However, Martin was pushed to the brink in each of his next three matches.
Jim did just enough to sneak by Montclair’s Peter Gonzalez 3-2 and he kept the pedal to the metal in a high scoring 8-7 win against Oklahoma State’s Kendall Cross in the semis.
Martin had secured a place in the NCAA finals in back-to-back seasons, would now be the time he makes it to the promised land?
I’ll be honest, his opponent, Iowa’s No. 1 seed Brad Penrith, looked literally unstoppable throughout the tournament. If there were betting odds on this match, my guess is that Martin would be somewhere around +500.
And the finals match played out pretty much exactly how everyone expected it. Penrith was strong, and he was riding Martin early into the final period up 4-0. With a little more than a minute remaining in the match, Jim rolled and was able to shock Penrith with a reversal of his own.
Martin rode Penrith HARD and with less than 30 seconds to go in the match, Jim turned Brad’s back as the referee awarded two back points and the score was tied 4-4. The final seconds ticked away, and with the riding point advantage, Jim Martin won the improbable match 5-4, and he was crowned an NCAA Champion.
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Jim Martin’s Career for Penn State Wrestling
Martin capped his phenomenal Nittany Lion career by finishing with a record of 43-1-3.
This included his second EWL title and his fourth straight All-American finish in the NCAA Championships (3rd).
Additionally, he rode into the sunset with the following career numbers:
Years: 1986-1989
Record: 155-9-4
Conference titles: 2 (1988 & 1989)
NCAA finish: 4th (1986), 2nd (1987), 1st (1988), 3rd (1989)
Penn State Accolades
No. 1 in all-time wins (155)
No. 15 in all-time win percentage (92.3%)
No. 6 in all-time bonus point wins (92)
No. 17 in all-time bonus point win percentage (56.1%)
T-No. 3 in all-time technical fall wins (27)
No. 4 in all-time major decision wins (37)
2nd Nittany Lion to become a four-time All-American
Pretty darn good, right?
MORE Penn State Wrestling News from NittanyCentral:
Penn State Wrestling’s Recruiting Pipeline: States That Matter Most
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Education: Penn State University
Location: State College, PA
Even though he had no prior journalism experience, Chris has now covered Penn State Wrestling and Penn State Football for the past three years, including as the Penn State Wrestling Beat Writer for VictoryBellRings.com, part of the FanSided network.
And it's clear he also likes constant torture as he's been a PSU Basketball fan for way too long.
Several years back, Chris made the seamless transition from PGA Professional to computer programmer and thoroughly enjoys following and writing about all things related to Penn State sports during his spare time.