OKLAHOMA CITY - It came down to which wrestler scored the first takedown.
Unfortunately for Josh Kindig, it wasn't him.
The Blue Mountain graduate and Oklahoma State junior was defeated 3-1 in sudden victory by Northwestern's Jason Tsirtsis in the 149-pound finals Saturday night at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Competing in his first national championship bout, Kindig (24-9) took a 1-0 lead with a second-period escape. Tsirstis (32-3), a freshman, answered with an escape 9 seconds into the third period to tie the match, and the two wrestlers battled through regulation deadlocked.
In overtime, Tsirtsis, the Big Ten champion, was able to get in on Kindig for ankle pick. Kindig tried to fight it off with a strong whizzer, but Tsirtsis was able to record the takedown 45 seconds into the 1-minute extra session for the victory.
The heartbreaking defeat ended a strong run through the tournament for Kindig, who became the first wrestler from Schuylkill County to wrestle for a national collegiate championship and the area's first All-American since Mount Carmel's Eric Lapotsky placed fifth at 197 pounds for Oklahoma in 2010.
Blue Mountain grad Matt Feast was a three-time All-American at Penn (285 pounds, 2003-05), while
current Blue Mountain coach and former Pine Grove star J.J. Fasnacht placed eighth at 134 pounds at Pittsburgh in 1995.
Seeded 11th, Kindig was the only double-digit seed to reach the championship finals.
Kindig decisioned Ohio State's Ian Paddock 9-5, knocked off sixth-seeded Jake Sueflohn of Nebraska 7-5 and downed No. 14 Scott Sakaguchi 7-5 to reach Friday night's semifinals. There, Kindig decisioned Lehigh's Mitch Minotti 5-2 to advance to the finals.
Kindig's loss officially eliminated Oklahoma State from the national championship team race. The host Cowboys, who had three finalists, needed three victories and bonus points to leap past Penn State and Minnesota.
Penn State eventually won its fourth consecutive NCAA wrestling title, holding off Minnesota 109.5-104.
Oklahoma State placed third with 96.5 points, Iowa was fourth with 78.5 and Edinboro fifth with 62.
Penn State's Ed Ruth won his third national title, beating No. 1 seed Jimmy Sheptock of Maryland 7-2 in the 184-pound final. Sheptock, the No. 1 seed, entered with a 32-0 record.
Penn State's David Taylor, a four-time finalist, closed the night by defeating Oklahoma State's Tyler Caldwell 6-0 in the 165 final to finish with his second national title and a 34-0 record.
Minnesota could have put pressure on Penn State, but Oklahoma State's Alex Dieringer beat Minnesota's Dylan Ness in the 157 final, clinching the title for the Nittany Lions before Taylor's match.