NOTES 4-0 at 184 with three pins to win the title. The 2009 All-American at 174 downed Nittany Lion true freshman Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) 6-4 in the title bout. Wright’s four wins improves him to 14-1 with nine pins in his red-shirt year. Ruth went 3-1 with a pin and a major to take second place and improved to 14-3 with three pins during this red-shirt campaign. True freshman James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) was once again impressive at 157, going 5-2 to take fourth place. Vollrath had three pins and was 18-8 with six pins during his red-shirt year.
TAYLOR, KEMERER & WRIGHT WIN ‘BORO OPEN TITLES Eleven members of the Penn State wrestling team headed north to take part in the 2010 Edinboro Open and eight of that group earned places at the event. Red-shirts David Taylor, Jake Kemerer and Quentin Wright all earned titles. Each of Penn State’s entrants was unattached at the non-traditional tournament and, since bouts were not of regulation length (six minutes with three separate two-minute periods instead of seven minutes); none of the results count on the wrestlers records. Taylor stormed through the 157-pound weight class to claim his third Open title of the year, getting two pins in the process. Kemerer was a perfect 4-0 at 165 with a pin and a major to win the crown, his first Open title of the year. Wright went 4-0 at 184 with one pin to win the crown, his third of the year as well. Freshman James Vollrath was solid at 157 as well, taking third with a pin and two majors. His only loss was to Taylor. Nick Fischer also had a good tournament, going 3-2 to take fourth at 157. He lost to Vollrath in the consolation finals. Freshman Tom Reynolds placed fourth at 133 with a 4-2 mark, losing in the consolation finals. Freshman James English went 5-2 at 149 to take fourth, falling in the conso finals as well. Freshman Ed Ruth took second place at 184, defeating red-shirting Edinboro star Chris Honeycutt in the semifinals before losing in overtime to teammate Wright in the finals. Ruth went 3-1 on the day.
MOLINARO TAKES DOWN #12 CHEZA, SANDERSON GETS 4TH STRAIGHT PIN TO LEAD LIONS OVER SPARTANS Sophomore Frank Molinaro posted a convincing 11-6 win over No. 12 David Cheza and senior Cyler Sanderson notched his fourth straight pin to lead Penn State to a 26-12 rout of visiting Michigan State on Senior Night in Rec Hall. The duo claimed two of Penn State’s seven wins on the night, as Sanderson was joined by fellow seniors Adam Lynch, Dan Vallimont and David Erwin in claiming victories in final duals in Rec Hall.
4 DUAL WIN STREAK FEATURES SOME LOPSIDED NUMBERS The Nittany Lions have rolled off four straight Big Ten dual meet wins, downing No. 12 Wisconsin, Northwestern, Michigan and Michigan State by winning 27 of 40 bouts and outscoring its four opponents by a combined score of 114-47. Penn State has collected seven pins, five majors and two technical falls.
LIONS GO UNDEFEATED AT HOME, AVERAGE ATTENDANCE OVER 4,300 FOR 2009-10
SANDERSON AND WADE PIN THEIR WAY THROUGH EARLY FEBRUARY WEEKEND Senior Cyler Sanderson and sophomore Cameron Wade pinned their way through Penn State’s February 5-7 weekend in Rec Hall. Sanderson picked up two first period falls, pinning NU’s Kevin Bialka at the 1:59 mark in PSU’s 37-10 win over the Wildcats and then pinning Michigan’s Dave Johnson at the 2:46 mark in the Lions’ 29-10 win over Michigan. Wade needed just a touch more time but was equally impressive. The sophomore heavyweight pinned NU’s Marcus Shrewsbury at the 1:29 mark and then got the fall over Michigan’s Ben Apland at the 4:16 mark. David Erwin added a pin at 184 against NU’s Aaron Jones to give PSU five pins in two dual meet victories.
MOLINARO DOWNS #13 NADHIR TO LEAD NITTANY LIONS OVER WILDCATS Sophomore All-American Frank Molinaro shut out No. 13 Andrew Nadhir of Northwestern, notching a 9-0 major over his foe to lead Penn State to a 37-10 win over the Wildcats. Penn State amassed 16 bonus points in the win, getting three pins (from Cyler Sanderson, David Erwin and Cameron Wade), a tech fall (from Brad Pataky), two majors (from Molinaro and Dan Vallimont) and a forfeit (from Adam Lynch).
MOLINARO TAKES DOWN #2 RUSCHELL IN PENN STATE’S DUAL MEET WIN AT WISCONSIN Sophomore Frank Molinaro made a four-point move in the first period pay off on his way to a 6-5 win over No. 2 Kyle Ruschell of Wisconsin in Penn State’s 22-15 dual meet win at UW on Jan. 31. The senior Badger is the highest-ranked wrestler that Molinaro has beaten to date.
LYNCH DOWNS #20 SCHMITT OF WISCONSIN Adam Lynch posted yet another win over a ranked foe in Penn State’s dual meet in at Wisconsin, getting a 5-4 victory over No. 20 Cole Schmitt in Penn State’s road win. Lynch improved to 3-1 in Big Ten duals, with every win coming against a ranked opponent.
ERWIN PERFECT IN IOWA CITY AND MADISON Senior David Erwin went 2-0 during Penn State’s Big Ten road swing through Iowa City and Madison. Erwin got an impressive 6-4 win over No. 7 Phil Keddy against Iowa on Jan. 29 and then posted a 2-0 win over No. 16 Travis Rutt at Wisconsin on Jan. 31.
LYNCH DOWNS #5 MARION & ERWIN BEATS #7 KEDDY IN DUAL MEET AT IOWA Senior Adam Lynch continued to flex his muscle in Big Ten action, this time getting an 8-6 sudden victory decision over No. 5 Montel Marion in Penn State’s dual meet at Iowa on Jan. 29. The win was Lynch’s second in a seven-day span over a top 20 opponent. Classmate David Erwin also got a signature win, posting a 6-4 decision over No. 7 Phil Keddy in the dual meet.
The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team ended its home schedule on Friday, Feb. 12, with a 26-12 win over Michigan State to go 5-0 in in home duals for the 2009-10 season. The Nittany Lions averaged a stunning 4,341 fans per dual meet, a figure that is nearly 1,000 more per event than the next highest total since 1998-99 (accurate records prior to that are not available on a yearly basis). Penn State’s 2009-10 average was almost 1,700 more per dual than last year’s average. Final national season averages are usually released in late March.
LIONS STORM WILDCATS AND WOLVERINES Over the Feb. 5 weekend, in duals against Northwestern and Michigan, the Nittany Lions stormed past their visiting foes to win two duals in stellar fashion. Penn State won 14 of 20 bouts and outscored its two Big Ten foes 66-20. Penn State collected five pins, three majors and a technical fall in the two wins as well. The Nittany Lions notched 46-26 takedown advantage in the two duals.
FEBRUARY NOR ‘EASTER CAN’T KEEP LION FANS AWAY The great blizzard of February, 2009, dubbed Snowmageddon on the east coast, dumped up to 16 inches of snow in the Centre Region and exponentially more (up to three feet) further south of State College beginning the evening of February 5. The Nittany Lions hosted Northwestern that evening and the Penn State faithful turned out in full force. Nearly 4,000 fans braved the brutal weather (3,841) to cheer Penn State on to a 37-10 win over visiting Northwestern.
Adam Lynch downed eventual national runner-up Montel Marion of Iowa 6-4 in Penn State’s dual in Iowa City.
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