UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; October 29, 2013 -- The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team will prepare for the start of the 2013-14 season with an exhibition classic and two open tournaments.  Head coach Cael Sanderson will send two wrestlers to the 2013 NWCA All-Star Classic on the campus of George Mason University.  The event in Fairfax, Va., is set for Saturday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m. in GMU’s Patriot Center.

 

Two of Penn State’s four returning NCAA finalists will take part in the exhibition event.  Senior David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), ranked No. 1 at 165; and junior Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah), ranked No. 3 at 174; will both wrestle at the event.  The first Nittany Lion to compete at the event will be No. 1 Taylor.  A three-time All-American, three-time finalist and ‘12 NCAA champion, the 2012 Hodge Trophy winner will take on Iowa State’s Michael Moreno, who is ranked No. 4.  Taylor is 100-3 through three seasons at Penn State.  Moreno, who was a sixth-place All-American last year, was 31-10 as a sophomore a season ago.

 

Brown, an NCAA finalist and All-American in his first year as a starter in ‘12-13, went 29-5 last year and is 56-7 through two seasons at Penn State.  Brown’s second place finish a year ago at 174 has him ranked No. 3 heading into this year behind No. 2 Chris Perry of Oklahoma State (who defeated Brown 2-1 in a tie-breaker in the NCAA finals) and No. 1 Andrew Howe of Oklahoma.  Brown will meet Howe in this year’s NWCA event at 174.  Howe red-shirted a year ago after transferring to OU from Wisconsin.  He is a three-time Big Ten Champion and three-time All-American, placing second as a freshman, winning as a sophomore and taking third as a junior.

 

The Nittany Lions will send some wrestlers to the Clarion Knight Point Open on Sunday, Nov. 3, starting at 9 a.m.  A number of Lions will travel unattached to the event.  Next weekend, a strong contingent of Penn Staters will head to the Binghamton Bearcat Open on Sunday, Nov. 10, at 9 a.m.  Most of the group will wrestle unattached as Sanderson’s squad prepares for the season opener the following weekend.

 

In addition to prepping for the season’s opening bell, wrestling fans from all over the region now have the chance to purchase hard-to-find tickets to see Penn State wrestle.  With the full season of Rec Hall wrestling once again sold out in advance of the year’s start, the general public has two great opportunities to see the Nittany Lions in action this season.  A limited number of standing room only (SRO) tickets for seven Rec Hall duals as well as single dual tickets for Penn State’s match-up with Pittsburgh in the Bryce Jordan Center will be made available to the public beginning on Tuesday, Oct. 29.

 

Tickets to the Dec. 8 event against Pitt in the BJC will be $10 for adults and $5 for youth with a group rate of $4 per ticket for groups of 15 or more.  SRO tickets for Penn State’s seven duals in Rec Hall are also $10 for adults and $5 for youth (there are no group packages for the SRO sale).  Penn State’s seven Rec Hall dates include Lock Haven (Nov. 24), Ohio State (Dec. 21), Purdue (Jan. 12), Northwestern (Jan. 19), Illinois (Jan. 24), Oklahoma State (Feb. 16) and Clarion (Feb. 23).

 

Fans can purchase tickets beginning on Oct. 29 by visiting the Athletic Department Ticket Office between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. or by calling 1-800-NITTANY.   Tickets to the Bryce Jordan Center dual may also be purchased online through Ticketmaster at www.GoPSUsports.com.  Fans will be notified which Rec Hall duals have SRO availability at that time.

 

Penn State opens up the 2013-14 season at Rider on Sat., Nov. 16, and at Lehigh on Sun., Nov. 17.  The dual at Rider will be televised live on The Comcast Sports Network.  Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at www.twitter.com/pennstateWREST and on Penn State Wrestling’s facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling.   The 2013-14 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.

 

 

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

WT    NAME                         EL   HT/HS                                                       REC

125     #2 Nico Megaludis     Jr.    Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional 2X AA, 0-0

 

133     Jordan Conaway        So.  Abbottstown, Pa./New Oxford ‘13 NQ, 0-0

           #11 Jimmy Gulibon   Fr.   Latrobe, Pa./Derry Area                           0-0

 

149     #8 Andrew Alton       Jr.    Mill Hall, Pa./Central Mountain 2X NQ, 0-0

 

157     #6 Dylan Alton           Jr.    Mill Hall, Pa./Central Mountain 2X NQ, ‘12 AA, 0-0

 

165     #1 David Taylor         Sr.   St. Paris, Ohio/St. Paris Graham 3X AA, ‘ 12 NC 0-0

 

174     #3 Matt Brown           Jr.    West Valley City, Utah/Cyprus ‘13 AA, 0-0

 

184     #1 Ed Ruth                  Sr.   Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Township 3X AA, 2X NC, 0-0

 

197     #4 Morgan McIntosh        So.            Santa Ana, Calif./Calvary Chapel ‘12 NQ, 0-0

 

285     #10 Jimmy Lawson    Jr.    Tom’s River, N.J./Manchester Township ‘13 NQ, 0-0

 

 

Individual rankings are Intermat as of 10/13 -- Pre-season

 

THIS WEEK (and next!)

* Penn State’s annual Wrestling Media Day is set for Tuesday, Oct. 29, from 2 to 3:15 p.m. in the Rec Hall Press Room (for Cael Sanderson) and the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex (for the wrestlers). The event is for media only.

* All-Americans David Taylor and Matt Brown take part in the NWCA All-Star Classic at George Mason on Saturday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m.

* Some Lions travel unattached to Clarion Knight Point Open on Sunday, Nov. 3, 9 a.m.

* Many Lions travel, mostly unattached to Binghamton Bearcat Open on Sunday, Nov. 10, 9 a.m.

 

UP NEXT

Season opener at Rider, Saturday, Nov. 16, 4 p.m., live on Comcast, followed by dual at Lehigh on Sunday, Nov. 17, at 3 p.m.

ON THE AIR

TV - None.

Live Web Video - None

Radio - Full season live on WRSC (103.1 FM/1390 AM) State College; WPBZ 1230 AM Lock Haven; 1370 WWCB Corry; WLAK (103.5 FM) Huntingdon; WMRF (95.7 FM) Lewistown; WIEZ (670 AM) Lewistown.

Web - All radio broadcasts are streamed live at GoPSUsports.com as part of the All-Access package as are select home duals.

 

 

Patrick Donghia

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

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

Assistant Director of Athletics Communication

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