Penn State sophomore Andrew Long placed third on Saturday. Tony Rotundo photo.

PHILADELPHIA – The roar came just 10 minutes into Saturday morning’s session.

Penn State’s Andrew Long flipped Cornell’s Mike Grey onto his back, the referee slapped the mat and the Penn State crowd erupted Saturday morning before 17,289 fans at the Wells Fargo Center.

Long’s pin in the consolation semifinals at 133 pounds provided the spark to keep the second-ranked Nittany Lions rolling and a short time later Penn State clinched its second NCAA Championships title. The Nittany Lions won their first title 58 years ago.

Penn State, boosted by Long’s third-place finish and Ed Ruth’s third-place finish at 174, enter Saturday night’s finals with 103.5 points. The Nittany Lions have finalists in Frank Molinaro (149), David Taylor (157) and Quentin Wright (184).

“You definitely have extra motivation for your matches when you are battling for a team title,” Long said. “You don’t want it to be a distraction. It’s really enjoyable when the whole team is having success. I want to thank the coaches at Penn State for giving me this opportunity –  they have helped me grow and they have helped me focus on what’s really important. Our fans have really been supportive as well. They are some of the best fans I’ve ever seen.”

Long transferred to Penn State after finishing second in this event for Iowa State as a freshman 125-pounder last year. The transfer provided the final piece in the Nittany Lions’ championship puzzle.

“Andrew has provided a huge spark for us,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said. “He brings a lot of intensity to our team with the way he wrestles. He really came back strong today and his performance obviously was a big key in this tournament.”

Ruth’s third-place win over Cornell’s Mack Lewnes officially clinched the team title for the Nittany Lions.

“Ed came back and beat some really tough kids,” Sanderson said. “I’m really proud of the way he wrestled. Ed and Andrew made it easier for our guys in the finals. Now they don’t have the pressure of the team race to worry about and they can just focus on their match.”

Sanderson, a four-time undefeated national champion for Iowa State, was asked about winning his first NCAA team title as a coach. Sanderson is in just his second year at Penn State after three years as head coach at Iowa State.

“We still have work to do,” Sanderson said. “We can talk about that after the finals.”

Top-ranked Cornell is in second place with 89.5 points. Cornell sophomore Kyle Dake (149) is seeking his second straight national title. Dake won at 141 last year.

Third-ranked Iowa, winners of the last three NCAA titles, is in third place with 86.5 points. Hawkeye 184-pounder Grant Gambrall, the No. 12 seed, capped a strong tournament by placing third. Iowa sophomore Matt McDonough (125) is seeking his second straight national title.

The finals are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and will be televised live on ESPN.

Wisconsin’s Andrew Howe, a returning champion, battled back from a semifinal loss to place third at 165 on Saturday. Howe, a junior, missed nearly two months this season with a hamstring injury. Howe is a three-time All-American after placing second in this event as a freshman.

Howe is a top freestyle prospect who won the U.S. Open last year at 74 kg/163 lbs. before placing second at the U.S. World Team Trials.

Nebraska senior Jordan Burroughs (165) will be seeking his second NCAA title on Saturday night in Philadelphia.

TOP 10 TEAMS
Penn State 103.5, Cornell 89.5, Iowa 86.5, Oklahoma State 66.5, American 65, Minnesota 61, Boise State 57.5, Lehigh 54.5, Wisconsin 54.5, Arizona State 52.5.

FINALS MATCHES

125 POUNDS
No. 1 Anthony Robles (Arizona State) vs. No. 2 Matt McDonough (Iowa)

133 POUNDS
No. 1 Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 2 Andrew Hochstrasser (Boise State)

141 POUNDS
No. 1 Kellen Russell (Michigan) vs. No. 3 Boris Novachkov (Cal Poly)

149 POUNDS
No. 4 Kyle Dake (Cornell) vs. No. 2 Frank Molinaro (Penn State)

157 POUNDS
No. 4 Bubba Jenkins (Arizona State) vs. No. 3 David Taylor (Penn State)

165 POUNDS
No. 1 Jordan Burroughs (Nebraska) vs. No. 3 Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma)

174 POUNDS
No. 1 Jon Reader (Iowa State) vs. No. 7 Nick Amuchastegui (Stanford)

184 POUNDS
No. 9 Quentin Wright (Penn State) vs. No. 2 Robert Hamlin (Lehigh)

197 POUNDS
No. 4 Dustin Kilgore (Kent State) vs. No. 2 Clayton Foster (Oklahoma State)

285 POUNDS
No. 1 Zach Rey (Lehigh) vs. No. 3 Ryan Flores (American)