PHILADELPHIA — Jon Reader’s final stand was made at the top of the podium Saturday night.

Iowa State’s senior wrestler won the 174-pound title at the NCAA Championships, defeating Stanford’s Nick Amuchastegui in a 10-3 decision, to finish off his perfect season and become the 68th national champion in ISU history.

“I don’t like giving guys breaks, I wanted to be in his face,” said Reader, who is the 11th national champion for Iowa State in the past decade. “Last night I was disappointed with the way I performed. I was a little anxious and excited to wrestle, but I came out tonight and made Iowa State proud.”

Reader’s title comes as redemption one year after losing in the first round and falling one match shy of All-America status in the wrestlebacks at 165 pounds of the national tournament.

“I had an embarrassing tournament last year,” Reader said. “But this year I spent a lot of time with the Paulson’s and coach [Kevin] Jackson this summer just really sharpening my skills.”

For a team that was going through a major rebuilding year, Reader was the epitome of the coachable athlete for Jackson and his staff.

“You just can’t ask for a better kid,” said former ISU wrestler Travis Paulson, one of Reader’s training partners and mentors. “He does everything right, gets enough sleep every night, isn’t going out partying, he just lives the lifestyle. And when you do that, you’re going to improve the way he does.”

Reader is now Jackson’s third NCAA champion after Jake Varner and David Zabriskie captured titles at 197 and heavyweight to cap off a third-place finish at last season’s tournament.

However, this year Iowa State did not have as strong of a showing team-wise, finishing 20th with 31.5 points, 18 of which were accounted for by Reader. But Jackson said Reader’s success is a positive product of his program.

“We know what we’re doing at Iowa State,” Jackson said. “We know we can coach a guy up and put him in a situation to have him be successful, have him go out to a national finals and win.”

Finishing his senior campaign 39-0 drives Reader’s career record to 124-23, tying him with Jim Gibbons for eighth in all-time victories in ISU history.

“I think it’s great when you get guys that are on top of the podium,” Reader said. “We were young this year, but when you get to this part of the season it’s all about you, and you’ve got to be a gladiator, and you’ve got to take care of your part.

“Each guy has 10 percent of the team, and I just did my part.”