Perfection.

An ideal I always sought, played, and hope for, and, sadly enough, something I never achieved. For many college athletes, the pursuit of perfection is perhaps the motivation to train and compete, but in Big Ten Wrestling, perfection is a norm.

Example A: Brent Metcalf (Iowa, 149 lbs.)

After transferring to Iowa from Virginia Tech, Metcalf was required to sit out a season, but he has made up for lost time. The 2008 defending national champion in his weight class, Metcalf is undefeated at 27–0 this season and has won his past 58 matches dating back to 2007. At the pace he's going, a second national title is within reach.

Example B: Jake Herbert (Northwestern, 184 lbs.)

Herbert is making the most of his senior season at Northwestern. He redshirted last season to train for Beijing and has returned a stronger wrestler – I think his 24 – 0 record indicates that. His tip-top performance extends beyond this season's record. Herbert will graduate as Northwestern's winningest wrestler (according to winning percentage), and as of now, he hasn't dropped a match at home. That streak may be the most telling of all when he goes head-to-head with No. 2 Mike Pucillo of Ohio State and No. 3 Phil Keddy of Iowa this weekend. Listen to what he has to say in my interview.

Example C: Iowa (22 – 0 record, ranked 1st in InterMat Division I Team rankings)

There's only one word to describe the Hawks this season: Stacked! Eight of their ten starters are ranked in the top 10 and two of those earning the top rank in their respective weight classes. Iowa was tested early in the season when the wrestling world watched an enthralling victory against Iowa State in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. So many eyes in fact, it set a national collegiate dual meet attendance record with 15,955 fans.

Most often, perfection is determined by numbers. Records, rankings, stats, and percentages are all objective measurements. Iowa State's Cael Sanderson was perfect in every sense of the word as a college wrestler. Sanderson graduated with a 159 – 0 career record and collected 4 NCAA titles. I think perfect is an understatement.

To play Devil's advocate, how would you determine perfection in subjective terms?  Lastly, how would you know you're perfect without the numbers?

Example D: Penn State Women's Volleyball (38–0, 2008 National Champs)

The Penn State Women's volleyball team was recently honored during halftime at the Penn State men's basketball game. With the national trophy in tow, the team took center court to be acknowledged for on an almost-perfect season. I say "almost-perfect" because they dropped the third and fourth games in the semifinal match against Nebraska – the first time they had dropped a game all season. However, the team battled back in the fifth game and beat Nebraska to advance to the national title game and win. What's important to recognize here is the path to perfection wasn't perfect. For many it never is, but the seemingly elusive attainment of a blemish-free season is persevered through adversity, and at times, against all odds. Russ Rose and his team were in an unfamiliar scenario, but sometimes losing makes you human again.

Looking at the numbers, a perfect record implies a spotless performance every competition, but that may never be the case. I'm sure there were times Cael Sanderson was trailing in a match or times when a win streak is busted on the national stage, but it's how an athlete battles back. The character, grit, and hunger empower the attainment of ultimate athletic perfection.

Without the numbers and records, perfection can be determined by medals and trophies, but to quote Iowa-legend Dan Gable, "Gold medals aren't really made of gold. They're made of sweat, determination, and hard-to-find alloy called guts." Subjectively speaking.

For more about Iowa wrestling, take a listen to my interview with Phil Keddy: