Maryland wrestler Jimmy Sheptock comes up short in title match

Maryland senior Jimmy Sheptock placed second in the 184-pound division at the 2014 NCAA championships Saturday night, losing to Penn State's Ed Ruth, 7-2, in the final at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.

The senior's finish is the highest for a Terp since Gobel Kline won the title at 152pounds in 1969.

It was also the first second-place finish for Maryland since Ernie Fischer was the runner-up at 167 pounds in 1954.

“I'm really proud of Jimmy,” Maryland coach Kerry McCoy said. “He had an awesome career and will go down as one of our program's best.”

Sheptock, however, expressed disappointment with the near-miss.

“I'm a two-time All-American, but it wasn't the result I wanted,” he said. “Your goal is to be a national champ all year, and I'm not going to shortchange myself and say that I'm happy with this performance, because I'm not.

Sheptock, who had lost to Ruth on two previous occasions in college, had no answer Saturday for the now three-time champion.

“[Ruth] is a great wrestler,” Sheptock said. “He's lost once in the last three years. He's a four-time All-American and wrestles way different than anyone else does.”

Ruth set the tone for the match with a takedown in the opening 20 seconds of the bout.

Sheptock quickly escaped, but Ruth secured another takedown and rode out Sheptock for the remainder of the period.

Sheptock chose the down position in the second period. Despite numerous explosions from the bottom, Ruth was able to control him and maintain the ride for the entire period.

Sheptock finishes his career as once of the most decorated wrestlers in Maryland history. He is a two-time All-American and a three-time ACC champion. He also won the Midlands title in 2013.

He finished the season with a 33-1 record. His career record is 129-20.

Jason Bryant contributed to this article.