TODAY’S ACTION

 

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; Nov. 29, 2011 -- The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (1-1, 0-1 B1G), ranked No. 5 nationally, will send the bulk of its roster into action at the 2011 Nittany Lion Open on Sunday, Dec. 4.  The event takes place in Rec Hall beginning at 8:30 a.m. and is not part of Penn State’s season ticket package.  Tickets can be purchased at the door on the day of the event.

 

The Open, which is not a team scored event, will feature hundreds of wrestlers from around the nation including, potentially, plenty of ranked wrestlers.  Teams set to send wrestlers into action at the event include No. 5 Penn State, No. 8 Pittsburgh, No. 10 Lehigh, No. 13 Maryland, No. 14 Virginia Tech, No. 16 Rutgers, No. 19 Central Michigan, No. 20 Kent State, No. 23 Virginia and No. 25 Binghamton.

 

While final registrants will change and vary up until the brackets are drawn early Sunday morning, upwards of 40 to 60 ranked wreslters could conceivable take to the Rec Hall mats.  Penn State’s eight ranked grapplers will be in act5ion as will the bulk of its entire roster, both attached and unattached.  Penn State will send No. 1 Frank Molinaro (149), No. 1 David Taylor (165), No. 2 Ed Ruth (174), No. 5 Cameron Wade (285), No. 6 Quentin Wright (184), No. 10 Morgan McIntosh (197), No. 11 Dylan Alton (157) and No. 18 Nico Megaludis (125) into action as well as Derek Reber at 133 and Sam Sherlock at 141.

 

Other top ten ranked wrestlers who could wrestle on Sunday include No. 3 Nic Bedelyon of Kent State and No. 8 Matt Snyder of Virginia at 125; No. 7 Devin Carter of Virginia and No. 10 A.J. Schopp of Edinboro at 133; No. 10 Tyler Small of Kent State at 141; No. 3 Tyler Nauman of Pitt, No. 4 Mario Mason of Rutgers and No. 9 Donnie Vinson of Binghamton at 149; No. 5 Jesse Dong of Virginia Tech, No. 6 Justin Lister of Binghamton and No. 8 James Fleming of Clarion at 157; No. 2 Josh Asper of Maryland, No. 6 Scott Winston of Rutgers and No. 7 Bekzod Abdurakhmanov of Clarion at 165; No. 9 Te Edwards of Old Dominion at 174, No. 9 Ben Bennett of Central Michigan at 184; No. 4 Chris Honeycutt of Eidnboro and No. 7 Matt Wilps of Pitt at 197; and No. 9 Peter Sturgeon of Central Michigan and No. 10 Spencer Myers of Maryland at heavyweight.

 

Penn State will take part in two key eastern duals next weekend.  The Nittany Lions visit No. 10 Lehigh on Friday, Dec. 9, at 7 p.m. in their first road dual and then host West Virginia on Sunday, Dec. 11, at 2 p.m. in Rec Hall.  Fans can purchase a very limited number of single dual tickets by calling 814-865-5555.  Tickets are priced at $8 for adults and $5 for youth (18 and under) and can be purchased from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day or in person at the Bryce Jordan Center box office.  A maximum of four tickets may be purchased per person. The full season slate of live dual meet and tournament action will air locally on WRSC AM (1390 AM) with Friday evening duals being simulcast on WRSC FM (103.1 FM).  Lock Haven’s WBPZ (1230 AM) will also carry the entire season live and further affiliates may be added soon.  WIEZ 670 AM (Huntingdon/Lewistown) will carry all Sunday duals during the regular season plus the Big Ten and NCAA Championships in March.  The regular season schedule of radio broadcasts will be streamed live at www.GoPSUsports.com as part of Penn State’s All-Access package, which will also feature live video streams of many home events. Ticket information is accessed easily online at www.GoPSUsports.com/tickets/m-wrestl-tickets.html .  Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at www.twitter.com/pennstatepat and on Penn State Wrestling’s facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling. The 2011-12 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.

 

#5 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (1-1, 0-1 B1G)

 

NAME   Wt.                                                             El.                  HT/HS

Andrew Alton                                                           141/149      So.-So.                      Mill Hall, Pa./Central Mountain

Dylan Alton                                                              149/157      So.-Fr.                      Mill Hall, Pa./Central Mountain

Seth Beitz                                                                   149/157      So.-Fr.                                            Juniata, Pa./Juniata

Matt Brown                                                               165/174      So.-Fr.                       West Valley City, Utah/Cyprus

Collin Campbell                                                       HWT            Fr.-Fr.                                Hurdle Mills, N.C./Person

Andrew Church                                                       174/184      Jr.-So.                                        Erie, Pa./Fort LeBoeuf

Jordan Conaway                                                       125               Fr.-Fr.                        Abbottstown, Pa./New Oxford

Dirk Cowburn                                                          165/174      So.-Fr.                         Coudersport, Pa./Coudersport

David Crowell                                                           197               Sr.-Sr.                                          Easton, Pa./Nazareth

James English                                                            149/157      Sr.-Jr.                                         York, Pa./Central York

Nick Fischer                                                              157/165      Sr.-Jr.                                  Unionville, Pa./Unionville

James Frascella                                                         165/174      Fr.-Fr.                                          Carmel, Ind./Carmel

Luke Frey                                                                  141/149      Fr.-Fr.                     Montoursville, Pa./Montoursville

Jon Gingrich                                                             HWT            So.-Fr.                          Wingate, Pa./Bald Eagle Area

Rex Lutz                                                                    165               Fr.-Fr.                                      Easton, Pa./Penn Argyl

Morgan McIntosh                                                    184/197      Fr.-Fr.                    Santa Ana, Calif./Calvary Chapel

Nico Megaludis                                                        125               Fr.-Fr.                  Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional

Frank Molinaro                                                         149               Sr.-Sr.                    Barnegat, N.J./Southern Regional

Kyle Moran                                                               149               So.-Fr.                                            Oxford, Pa./Oxford

Justin Ortega                                                            184/197      Sr.-Jr.                                             Oxford, Pa./Oxford

David Owens                                                            141               Fr.-Fr.                                      Derry, N.H./Pinkerton

Bryan Pearsall                                                           133/141      Sr.-Jr.                                              Lititz, Pa./Warwick

Brandon Phillips                                                       174               So.-Fr.                                  Timonium, Md./Delaney

Derek Reber                                                             125/133      Sr.-Jr.                                  Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg

Nick Ruggear                                                            197               So.-So.                                            Oxford, Pa./Oxford

Ed Ruth                                                                                           174/184                                                               Jr.-So. Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Township

Sam Sherlock                                                             133/141      So.-Fr.                        West Mifflin, Pa./West Mifflin

David Taylor                                                             157/165      Jr.-So.                       St. Paris, Ohio/St. Paris Graham

James Vollrath                                                          157               Jr.-So.                   Richboro, Pa./Council Rock South

Cameron Wade                                                        HWT            Sr.-Sr.                   Twinsburg, Ohio/St. Peter Chanel

Michael Waters                                                        125/133      Fr.-Fr.                                        Advance, N.C./Davie

Quentin Wright                                                       184/197      Sr.-Jr.                            Wingate, Pa./Bald Eagle Area

 

NOTE: This list is TENTATIVE and LIKELY to change!

 

 

 

 

 

Cael Sanderson, now in his third year as mentor of the Nittany Lions, came to Penn State after three extremely successful years as the head coach at his alma mater. Sanderson’s teams did not finish any lower than fifth at the NCAA Championships and never had a wrestler not qualify for nationals, getting 30 of 30 grapplers through to the championship tournament. In 2007, Sanderson’s rookie campaign, he led ISU to a 13-3 dual meet record and the first of three straight Big 12 Championships. An NCAA Runner-Up finished in Detroit capped off a wildly successful year as the Cyclones crowned one national championship and Sanderson was honored as Big 12 Coach of the Year, National Rookie Coach of the Year and National Coach of the Year. The next year, Sanderson led ISU to a 16-4 dual meet mark, another Big 12 title and a fifth place finish at nationals. Iowa State’s seven All-Americans in 2008 were the most at the school since 1993. In his final year at ISU, Sanderson’s team went 15-3 in duals, won its third straight Big 12 title and took third place at the NCAA Championships in St. Louis (just 12 points out of first place). The Cyclones also crowned another national champion. In three years, Sanderson’s teams went 44-10, won three conference crowns, qualified all 30 wrestlers for nationals, and earned 15 All-America awards and two individual national titles. In his first year at Penn State (2009-10), he guided the Lions to a 13-6-1 dual meet mark, 5-3 in Big Ten action, and crowned his first Big Ten Champion.  The Lions finished No. 10 in the final USA Today/Coaches dual meet poll and placed ninth at NCAAs. Last year, Sanderson guided the Nittany Lions to its first-ever Southern Scuffle Co-Championship (2010-11) and its first Virginia Duals Championship since 1991 (2010-11).  In guiding Penn State to a 6-1-1 conference mark, Sanderson equaled the most Big Ten dual meet wins in Penn State history in just his second year at the helm of the Nittany Lions (Penn State won six Big Ten duals in 1998).  Sanderson led Penn State to the school’s first ever Big Ten Championship on March 5-6 and was named 2011 Big Ten Coach of the Year.   Saving the best for last, he led the Nittany Lions to the 2011 NCAA National Championship in Philadelphia on March 17-19, Penn State’s first since 1953 and Sanderson’s first as a collegiate head coach.  Coach Sanderson now sports a 75-18-2 dual meet mark in his sixth year as a collegiate head coach.   He is 31-8-2 in his third year at Penn State. 

THREE LIONS GRAB WINS IN MINNESOTA DUAL

Penn State’s loss to Minnesota on 11/20 in front of a sold out Rec Hall crowd of over 6,200 including three dominating wins from a trio of Penn State All-Americans.  No. 1 David Taylor handled No. 8 Cody Yohn with ease, notching a 16-1 technical fall in only 4:29 at 165.  No. 1 Frank Molinaro roughed up No. 5 Dylan Ness, notching five takedowns to roll to a 16-10 win at 149.  No. 2 Ed Ruth pinned Gopher Eric Ortiz at the 2:27 mark at 174.

TAYLOR’S STUNNING DUAL MEET POINT AVERAGE

While a mere 21 matches into his collegiate dual meet career, sophomore David Taylor has already surpassed the 100 point mark in dual meet points.  Taylor is now 21-0 in collegiate duals with 104 dual meet points.  That’s an average of 4.95 dual points per match (win or loss, or in this case, all wins!).

FIVE LIONS WIN TITLES AT LAKER OPEN

Five of Penn State’s ten-man contingent taking part unattached at the Mercyhurst Laker Open came home with first place titles with seven of the nine playing in the top three.  Penn State earned five firsts, a second and a third place showing in Erie. Red-shirt freshman Kyle Moran went 4-0 at 141 to win the first place title while classmate Seth Beitz was 5-0 with a pin at 149 to win the title.  Red-shirt freshman Matt Brown was superb with a 5-0 mark to win the crown at 174.  Brown notched two pins and three tech falls to roll to the title.  Brown defeated teammate Andrew Church in the finals at 174.  Church was 3-1 with a major to place second in front of a hometown crowd. Junior Justin Ortega was a perfect 4-0 at 197 to win the title while red-shirt freshman Jon Gingrich won another heavyweight title, this time going 4-0 with three pins to win it all.  True freshman Collin Campbell took third at heavyweight, going 4-1 with a major.  Also competing for Penn State was true freshman Mike Waters, who went 2-2 at 141; true freshman Rex Lutz, who won once at 165, and red-shirt freshman Brandon Phillips, who was 3-2 at 174.

FOUR LION FRESHMEN SHINE IN PENN STATE DEBUTS

Four new faces picked up big wins for Penn State in their collegiate debuts in the Nittany Lions’ 39-3 win over Bloomsburg in the season opener on 11/13.  True freshman Nico Megaludis pinned Bloomsburg’s Sean Boylan at the 2:15 mark at 125, giving Penn State an early leg up in the dual.  Red-shirt freshman Sam Sherlock then downed Huskie Matt Rappo 10-5 at 141 and classmate Dylan Alton downed No. 14 Frank Hickman 10-8 at 157.  True freshman Morgan McIntosh then posted a 6-0 win over Huskie Richard Perry at 197.

LIONS USE THREE FIRST PERIOD PINS TO BLAST HUSKIES

Penn State used three early pins to rout the Bloomsburg Huskies before 6,059 fans in the team’s season opener in Rec Hall on 11/13.  True freshman Nico Megaludis got a pin over BU’s Sean Boylan at the 2:15 mark at 125, getting the Nittany Lion season off to a fast start.  All-American David Taylor pinned BU’s Kevin Hartnett at the 2:21 mark at 165 and All-American Quentin Wright pinned Huskie Mike Mirra at the 1:55 mark at 184.  Penn State also picked up tech fall from All-American Frank Molinaro at 149 and a major from Cameron Wade at HWT.

SIX LIONS WIN CROWNS AT ESU OPEN

Eighteen Nittany Lion wrestlers trekked to East Stroudsburg University for the ESU Open on Saturday with six Penn Staters grabbing individual crowns.  In all, 14 of Penn State’s 18 entrants placed at the event.  Red-shirt freshman Matt Brown went 5-0 with two pins and three majors to win the title at 174.  True freshman Jordan Conaway went 4-0 with a pin and a major to win the title at 125.  One win, the major, was against a non-collegiate wrestler, meaning Conaway was officially 3-0 on the day.  True freshman Luke Frey was 4-0 at 141, winning the title and picking up two tech falls along the way.  Sophomore Andrew Alton dominated 149, going 5-0 with two pins and two majors to win the title.  One pin was against a non-collegiate wrestler, meaning Alton went 4-0 with a pin officially.  Sophomore James Vollrath was 5-0 with a pin, a tech and a major to win the title at 157.  Rounding out Penn State’s champions was red-shirt freshman Jonathan Gingrich, who went 5-0 with a major and a pin at heavyweight.  His pin was against an NC grappler, giving him a 4-0 official mark on the day.

FREY, CHURCH AND CONAWAY PLACE AT CLARION OPEN

Six members of Penn State’s wrestling team competed unattached at the 2011 Clarion Knight Point Open on Sunday.  True freshmen Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.) and Luke Frey (Montoursville, Pa.) and sophomore Andrew Church (Erie, Pa.) each placed at their respective weights. Frey, a true freshman from Montoursville, took the runner-up spot at 141, advancing to the finals with three wins including a major and a tech fall before dropping a 5-1 decision in the finals to unattached Daniel Neff.  Conaway, an Abbottstown native, placed third at 125 with a 4-1 mark that included two tech falls and a 13-7 loss in the semifinals to the eventual champion.  Church, an Erie native, went 3-1 at 174 and advanced to the finals before losing to take the runner-up spot. Other Nittany Lions competing included Michael Waters (Advance, N.C.), who went 2-2 at 141; Brandon Phillips (Timonium, Md.), who went 2-2 at 174; and Collin Campbell (Hurdle Mills, N.C.), who went 2-2 at heavyweight.

IOWA DUAL SOLD OUT INCLUDING SRO, OHIO STATE SOLD OUT W/ SOME SRO REMAINING; OTHERS NEARING SAME STATUS

A mere 90 minutes after the public sale of single dual tickets began, Penn State’s Jan. 22 dual match against Iowa has sold out, including 300 standing room only tickets.  With over 6,500 tickets now distributed for the match-up with the Hawkeyes, the single dual allotments for Penn State’s remaining six home events are also disappearing fast. Rec Hall’s listed capacity is 6,502 including the 300 SRO ducats.  Both Minnesota and Ohio State duals are also sold out with limited SRO tickets remaining for each.  Less than 600 tickets remain for all other Penn State duals (against Bloomsburg, West Virginia, Michigan and Pitt). Fans can purchase these very limited single dual tickets by calling 814-865-5555.  Tickets are priced at $8 for adults and $5 for youth (18 and under) and can be purchased from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day or in person at the Bryce Jordan Center box office.  A maximum of four tickets may be purchased per person.

PENN STATE RANKED NO. 5 IN LATEST NWCA/USA TODAY COACHES POLL; EIGHT LIONS RANKED BY INTERMAT

Eight members of the Nittany Lion wrestling team are ranked in the latest version of the Intermat national individual rankings. Three Nittany Lion All-Americans are ranked No. 1 or 2.  Penn State is No. 5 in the latest NWCA/USA Today Coaches dual meet poll and Intermat gives the Lions a No. 4 nod in its tournament power index (TPI). Three-time All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.) is 2-0 on the year and ranked No. 1 at 149.  All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), is 2-0 thus far and is No. 1 at 165 and All-American Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) is 2-0 at ranked No. 2 at 174.  Senior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio) is 1-1 at heavyweight and is ranked No. 5. Two-time All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) is No. 6 at 184 with a 1-1 mark. 

 

True freshman Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.) is 1-1 at 197 and ranked No. 10 while red-shirt freshman Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) is 1-1 at 157 and ranked No. 11.  True freshman Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.) is 1-1 at 125 and ranked No. 18.   Penn State is No. 5 in the latest Coaches Poll, with Iowa, Oklahoma State, Cornell and Minnesota in the top four spots.  Ohio State sits at No. 6, followed by Illinois, Pitt, Michigan and Lehigh.  Northwestern (17) and Nebraska (21) round out the Big Ten entrants in the top 25 with Purdue and Wisconsin receiving votes.  Iowa tops Intermat’s TPI with 106.5 points, followed by Oklahoma State with 92.5, Minnesota with 90.5 and Penn State with 87.0.

 

 

WRESTLING RADIO NETWORK READY FOR ‘11-12 SEASON

The Penn State Wrestling Radio Show will begin yet another season on Wednesday, Nov. 2, while multiple local stations will once again broadcast the entire 2011-12 Nittany Lion season.  The march to St. Louis begins with the Intrasquad dual on Nov. 3 and concludes with the national championships in late-March. The wrestling radio season begins on Nov. 2 when Jeff Byers hosts the first edition of the Penn State Wrestling Show.  The show will air every Wednesday from 6 to 6:30 p.m. and will air across the state on the Pennsylvania Sports Network.  Local affiliate 3WZ (95.3 FM) will serve as the flagship station for the show that will features coaches, wrestlers and other individuals affiliated with the Nittany Lion wrestling program.  The 30-minute show welcomes calls from fans, who can call into the show at 814-237-0953. In addition to 3WZ, the weekly show can be heard on the following stations: WCPA (900 AM) Clearfield/DuBois; WIEZ (670 AM) Lewistown/Huntingdon; WLYC (1050 AM) Williamsport/Lewisburg; WLYC (104.1 FM) Montoursville/Jersey Shore; WBPZ (1230 AM) Lock Haven; WTZN (1310 AM) Troy/Canton; WTTC (1550 AM) Towanda/Elmira, N.Y.; WGET (1330 AM) Gettysburg/Hanover. The full season slate of live dual meet and tournament action will air locally on WRSC AM (1390 AM) with Friday evening duals being simulcast on WRSC FM (103.1 FM).  Lock Haven’s WBPZ (1230 AM) will also carry the entire season live and further affiliates may be added soon.  Lewistown/Huntingdon’s WIEZ (670 AM) will carry every Sunday dual and the post-season.  The regular season schedule of radio broadcasts will be streamed live at www.GoPSUsports.com as part of Penn State’s All-Access package, which will also feature  live video streams of many home events.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Patrick Donghia

Penn State Wrestling Twitter:  http://twitter.com/pennstatepat

Penn State Wrestling Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling

Assistant Director of Athletics Communication

Ph: 814 865 1757 -- email: pad11@psu.edu