Last year, Pat Glory '18 was only two points away from a potential national championship in the 2022 NCAA 125-pound championship match at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.  The feeling of missing out remained in his mind as Pat returned for his fourth and final season at Princeton University.  Only this time, Pat returned to the 125-pound championship and dominated the entire match, defeating Purdue's Matt Ramos 4-1 for Princeton's first champion in 72 years.

"Walking off this stage taking second is the worst feeling in the world," Glory said in his post-win interview with ESPN. "I just wanted to come out here and prove to everybody I could do it and that Pat Glory is a national champion."  Similar to his senior year at Delbarton, Glory entered the tournament 20-0, ranked #2 behind Spencer Lee of Iowa, looking for his fourth NCAA title.  In the first round, Glory won by pin over Reece Witcraft of Oklahoma State by fall at 32 seconds.  Later that evening, Glory would win by major decision 10-0 over Brett Ungar of Cornell.  On Friday, Glory returned to the mat for the quarterfinals, defeating Brandon Courtney of ASU 8-4 to advance to the evenings semifinal round.  With a chance to advance to his second straight NCAA final, Glory dominated the mat, defeating #3 Liam Cronin of Nebraska 8-2 to return to the final round on Saturday night.  The expectation the entire weekend would be a matchup in the final with Spencer Lee, but that would not come to fruition, as Lee was upset by #4 seed Ramos, who pinned Lee to advance to the final vs. Glory.  

"We had a game plan for Spencer Lee coming into the tournament (and for the past few years for that matter)," said Glory. "After the semifinals we realized that it was going to be Matt Ramos and began watching some film to figure out what our game plan would be in wrestling against him instead. Regardless of who the opponent is you cannot completely change your wrestling style to counter an opponent's strengths, but you can at least recognize the areas that they are comfortable in and be aware of them prior to the match."

After making his final weigh in on Saturday morning, Glory began his preparation for Ramos while the finals began at 157lbs.  With the American flag draped around his body, Pat entered the arena to Toby Keith's "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue," a nod to Old Glory.  The match began with both wrestlers vying for a takedown, but with no luck.  After a 0-0 first period, Glory got the 1-0 lead he needed, escaping from Ramos early.  In the third period, Glory would get the takedown he needed, grabbing Ramos's leg for a beautiful two-point takedown and a 3-0 lead.  With the ride time in his advantage, Glory would earn a 4th point late in the period.  With only a second left, Ramos would earn a stall point, but it was too late, and as the final whistle blew, Glory would fall to the mat in emotion, knowing he just became a national champion.

Says Glory, "In that moment I was just over the moon. I just couldn't wait to celebrate with my coaches, my family, my girlfriend (who flew 15 hours with her mom to get out to Tulsa for the finals), and all of the fans. It was such a surreal moment and one that I will remember for the rest of my life."  

After the post match interviews, hugs and press conferences, and a much deserved shower, Glory and his family celebrated with friends and teammates.  The Monday family (teammate Quincy) are rooted in Tulsa, Oklahoma set up a big post-final celebration at the Greenwood Cultural Center.  Glory was bombarded with hugs and cheers from Alumni, Family, Friends of Princeton wrestling, and of course, his high school coach Bryan Stoll who was in attendance in Tulsa to watch his championship run.  As Glory says, "we ate great food and celebrated another amazing season that was capped off with a great NCAA tournament for the Tigers. It was such a special night and we all had such an emotional rollercoaster of a night."

Along with being Princeton's first NCAA National championship wrestler since 1951, Glory is the first Delbarton graduate to ever become an NCAA DI National Championship wrestler.  "It's amazing to see a guy achieve his life's dream right in front of my eyes," says Coach Stoll.  "I'm so proud of him and all he has accomplished."

All of us at Delbarton congratulate Pat Glory on his national championship and wish him the best in all of his future plans.  Hopefully we'll see Pat again on the mat, this time trading in the orange and black for the red, white and blue!