After a successful season that has proved to be arguably the most productive in the history of the Cal State Fullerton wrestling team, the season’s climax came in bitter-sweet fashion at the Pac 10 championship last week when the Titans qualified four wrestlers and an alternate to the NCAA’s National Championship Thursday.

Despite a season full of ground-breaking accomplishments for the Titans, including breaking into the top-20 in national polls for the first time ever, scoring more points than ever in team history and winning the Pac 10 dual title,

the Titans were somewhat disappointed with the outcome of the Pac 10 tournament in Oregon, where they finished 5th overall.

In the midst of disappointment there was a bright spot, as senior Morgan Atkinson became the first Titan wrestler in over 30 years to capture his second Pac 10 championship at the 149 weight division. Atkinson capped off an undefeated season in the Pac 10 with a 3-0 performance at the championship, with a default victory over Boise State’s Adam Hall in the finals.

“It means a lot, coming into college nobody expected me to be the first two-time Pac 10 champ ever,” Atkinson said. “So to do that, it’s just amazing and it’s a lot of relief now.”

Titan Head Coach Dan Hicks is extremely proud of his prized recruit from Temecula Valley, feeling Atkinson’s two championships are well-deserved.

“To be two-time Pac 10 champion is a big deal, not too many guys can do that,” Hicks said. “He’s done everything we’ve asked of him and he’s been a great leader.”

Atkinson now prepares for the NCAA National Championship, where he will be joined by senior Ian Murphy, juniors John Drake and TJ Dillashaw, and freshman Todd Noel, who will serve as an alternate for the tournament.

“It’s been a fun season. We did good as a team all year, but Pac 10’s was a little bit of a disappointment.” Murphy, who took third place while scoring a tournament-high three pins, said.

Although the Titans came within one or two matches from taking second at the tournament, they were  short-changed of a possible better result with the loss of heavyweight Wade Sauer competed. Sauer, who had been ranked first in the Pac 10 and No. 4 in the nation, was side-lined with a season-ending neck injury in his last regular season match, shortening his very promising season.

“We felt like we were right on the verge. [We] had a good season all year long, then injury takes us out of the fight for the title,” Hicks said. “It’s a little bitter-sweet, you know. It was a good season, but God, we were so close. We’ve come so far [since] the five years before I got here [when] we hadn’t won a Pac 10 dual.”

With the Pac 10 tournament in the books, the Titans continue to train daily. They are gearing up for the National championship in St. Louis, where they hope to make even more history.

Atkinson and Murphy lead the charge and both have lofty aspirations.

“My ultimate goal is to win NCAA’s. I want to win every match I can, but if I fall short of that, I’ve never been an All American, so I’d love to be an All-American.” Atkinson said.

A wrestler must place at Nationals to become an All-American. Sauer became the ninth Titan wrestler to accomplish that feat last season.

“I hope to be a national champion,” Murphy said. “I’ve wrestled all the guys in the top six. I beat some of them, lost to some of them in real close matches. So if I could put it together on that day, I think I could win it.”

The Titans still should be proud of their historic season, a season Hicks believes is just a sign of things to come. He refuses to let any disappointment slow down the team’s momentum.

“It’s never done, we just try to regroup, catch our breath and give it your all again.” Hicks said.