Penn State’s David Taylor controls Iowa’s Derek St. John in the 157 finals. Tony Rotundo photo.

EVANSTON, Ill. – Penn State can point to a lot of places where it won its first Big Ten wrestling championship.

The second-ranked Nittany Lions crowned five champions, but it was a fifth-place finisher that clinched the one-point win over No. 3 Iowa.

Penn State heavyweight Cameron Wade earned one bonus point after winning his fifth-place bout by major decision, giving his team a 139-138 win over Iowa on Sunday afternoon at Northwestern University’s Welsh-Ryan Arena.

“We’re real happy,” said Penn State coach Cael Sanderson, named Big Ten Coach of the Year. “We were down 20 some points yesterday. We kept fighting and hustling. These guys went out and did it. We are real proud of them.

“That was huge, what Cameron did and the way he bounced back. A lot of things won the tournament, but Cameron capped it off.”

The finish Sunday tied for the closest team race in the 98-year history of the Big Ten tournament. The last time that happened was in 1957, when Minnesota edged Michigan by one point. Iowa's point total was the most in league history by a second-place team.

The Hawkeyes had nine wrestlers earn automatic qualifying spots for the NCAA Championships, set for March 17-19 in Philadelphia. Penn State earned seven automatic spots. The Big Ten holds 64 of 281 automatic qualifying spots for the NCAAs. An additional 49 at-large berths will be awarded on Wednesday.

The Hawkeyes, who won this event the past three years, fell just short as Hawkeye heavyweight Blake Rasing and 125-pounder Matt McDonough won titles. Iowa has won 34 league titles. McDonough is a returning NCAA champion who was second at Big Tens last year as a freshman.

Late in Rasing’s 5-2 finals win over Tony Nelson of Minnesota, Rasing took Nelson down and to his back. The match was stopped when Nelson injured his knee. Nelson elected to continue. If he wouldn’t have, Iowa would’ve received two additional team points for an injury default.

Penn State won a key head-to-head battle at 157 when unbeaten freshman David Taylor came back from an early deficit to beat Iowa freshman Derek St. John 8-3 at 157. Taylor was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Year and Freshman of the Year.

Taylor is 34-0. The finals battle with St. John was his closest match of the season.

“David has greater poise than any other athlete I’ve ever seen,” said Sanderson, in just his second year at Penn State. “He’s a competitor and he knows he can score points. St. John is a tough kid who is hard to score on.”

Eighth-seeded Quentin Wright of Penn State was named Outstanding Wrestler after winning the title at 184.

"Don't ever give up on yourself," said Wright, who has battled a shoulder injury this season. "And don't ever give up on your dreams."

The Nittany Lions also crowned champions in Andrew Long (133), Frank Molinaro (149) and Ed Ruth (174).

“Winning this, it's obviously great for our program,” Sanderson said. “It was great to see the way our team came back. It means a lot to win this.”

Long pulled out a 7-3 overtime win over Wisconsin's Tyler Graff. Graff led 3-2 before being penalized for fleeing the mat in the closing seconds of regulation. That penalty point tied the match and sent it into overtime. Long, an NCAA runner-up for Iowa State last year at 125, then won the match with a takedown in sudden victory.

Wisconsin’s Andrew Howe (165) captured his third Big Ten title as did Michigan’s Kellen Russell (141). Both are juniors. Howe is a returning NCAA champion.

Wisconsin’s Trevor Brandvold won his second straight league title at 197. He boosted Penn State’s title hopes when he held off Iowa’s Luke Lofthouse 5-2 in the finals.

TEAM RESULTS
Penn State 139, Iowa 138, Minnesota 109.5, Wisconsin 103.5, Michigan 86.5, Illinois 64, Northwestern 62, Ohio State 57, Purdue 51, Indiana 50, Michigan State 49.5.

FINALS RESULTS

125 pounds
No. 1 Matt McDonough (Iowa) dec. No. 2 Brandon Precin (Northwestern), 3-1

133 Pounds
No. 1 Andrew Long (Penn State) dec. No. 2 Tyler Graff (Wisconsin), 7-3 OT

141 Pounds
No. 1 Kellen Russell (Michigan) dec. No. 3 Mike Thorn (Minnesota), 8-4

149 Pounds
No. 1 Frank Molinaro (Penn State) dec. No. 6 Eric Grajales (Michigan), 3-0

157 Pounds
No. 1 David Taylor (Penn State) dec. No. 2 Derek St. John (Iowa), 8-3

165 Pounds
No. 1 Andrew Howe (Wisconsin) dec. No. 2 Colt Sponseller (Ohio State), 3-1 OT

174 Pounds
No. 1 Ed Ruth (Penn State) dec. No. 2 Nick Heflin (Ohio State), 8-5

184 Pounds
No. 8 Quentin Wright (Penn State) dec. No. 2 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota), 4-3

197 Pounds
No. 1 Trevor Brandvold (Wisconsin) dec. No. 2 Luke Lofthouse (Iowa), 5-2

285 Pounds
No. 3 Blake Rasing (Iowa) def. No. 4 Tony Nelson (Minnesota), 5-2

NCAA Automatic Qualifiers
125 (5): Matt McDonough (Iowa), Brandon Precin (Northwestern), Zach Sanders (Minnesota), Sean Boyle (Michigan), Camden Eppert (Purdue)
133 (8): Andrew Long (Penn State), Tyler Graff (Wisconsin), Tony Ramos (Iowa), Bernard Futrell (Illinois), Zac Stevens (Michigan), Ian Paddock (Ohio State), David Thorn (Minnesota), Levi Mele (Northwestern).
141 (6): Kellen Russell (Michigan), Mike Thorn (Minnesota), Jimmy Kennedy (Illinois), Montell Marion (Iowa), Andrew Alton (Penn State), Kaleb Friedley (Northwestern).
149 (8): Frank Molinaro (Penn State), Eric Grajales (Michigan), Kurt Kinser (Indiana), Andrew Nadir (Northwestern), Eric Terrazas (Illinois), Danny Zilverberg (Minnesota), Dan Osterman (Michigan State), Cole Schmitt (Wisconsin)
157 (6): David Taylor (Penn State), Derek St. John (Iowa), Jason Welch (Northwestern), Paul Young (Indiana), Colton Salazar (Purdue), Sean McMurray (Michigan State).
165 (5): Andrew Howe (Wisconsin), Colt Sponseller (Ohio State), Aaron Janssen (Iowa), Cody Yohn (Minnesota), Dan Yates (Michigan)
174 (5): Ed Ruth (Penn State), Nick Heflin (Ohio State), Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa), Luke Manuel (Purdue), Scott Glasser (Minnesota).
184 (6): Quentin Wright (Penn State), Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota), Travis Rutt (Wisconsin), Cody Magrum (Ohio State), Grant Gambrall (Iowa), Tony Dallago (Illinois).
197 (6): Trevor Brandvold (Wisconsin), Luke Lofthouse (Iowa), Matt Powless (Indiana), Tyler Dickenson (Michigan State), Sonny Yohn (Minnesota), Logan Brown (Purdue).
285 (6): Blake Rasing (Iowa), Tony Nelson (Minnesota), Eric Bugenhagen (Wisconsin), Joe Rizqallah (Michigan State), Cameron Wade (Penn State), Ben Apland (Michigan).