Three-time NCAA champion and Penn State wrestling alumnus Ed Ruth announced yesterday that he will pack his bags and head west to train for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Ruth will leave his home state to train with the prestigious Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club, based out of Scottsdale, Arizona.

Sunkist Kids has produced some of the world’s top Olympic wrestlers — including Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson. Ruth will leave Nittany Lion Wrestling Club (NLWC) where he and fellow national champion David Taylor have been training since graduation last year.

Ruth opened up about his decision in an interview with Flowrestling‘s Christian Pyles. Ruth said he felt he’d been in Pennsylvania too long and needed a change of scenery. The Harrisburg native explained that there were no hard feelings when he told coaches at NLWC about his departure.

There’s been speculation for some time that Ruth has had his eye on training for a mixed martial arts career. He assured fans that he’s focused on wrestling at the moment but is ready for his foray into MMA.

“Right now, I’ve got tunnel vision on wrestling,” Ruth said. “I’m definitely going to go the MMA route. I definitely want to get into a whole new discipline. My [wrestling] career is coming towards an end within the next couple of years.”

You can check out Ruth’s full interview here.

Photo: Mark Selders/GoPSUSports.com