A national finalist, three All-Americans, eight qualifiers, a top ten finish nationally and a strong Big Ten tournament and dual meet season; all these things are lined up in the immediate memory of Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling coach Troy Sunderland. They stand their, testimony to what hard work and dedication can lead to. They are also viewed, in stark contrast, as the first rungs on a ladder to even loftier heights.
Two of last season??s All-Americans, junior Phil Davis and senior James Yonushonis, return to make a run at national titles. Two other qualifiers, sophomore Jake Strayer and senior Nathan Galloway, return to break through the barricades of All-America status. A second straight top recruiting class, veteran depth at nearly every position and a brand new multi-million dollar wrestling facility are all in place for Penn State as Sunderland and the 2006-07 Nittany Lion wrestlers embark upon what could be a very special year.
??Last year was an interesting season,?? Sunderland said. ??We had a solid dual meet season and did well at nationals. At NCAAs, the top ten teams were tightly bunched and we were right there. We??ve followed that up with a good off-season. Both Mark McKnight and Phil Davis qualified for the final World Team Trials; Davis and James Yonushonis had the chance to go overseas and compete and train in the Ukraine; the veterans really worked hard this summer and the incoming freshmen class includes some individuals who could be impact wrestlers. We??re very excited to get this season underway.??
| Junior Phil Davis returns for a run at the national title at 197 after finishing as 2006 National Runner-Up. |
With five seniors graduated, four of whom were starters and national qualifiers, Sunderland will rely upon the talented veterans in his line-up to get the season off on the right foot and carry the youthful portion of his roster into the 2006-07 Big Ten season. Gone is two-time All-American Eric Bradley at 184, senior qualifier Joel Edwards at HWT, senior qualifier DeWitt Driscoll at 141 and senior qualifier James Woodall at 149. Back is a hungry group of talented wrestlers, headed by two All-Americans with designs on even bigger accomplishments this year.
ONE MORE STEP
Junior Phil Davis finished just one win shy of winning it all at 197. A two-time All-American, Davis is coming off a 25-4 season and is 62-14 in two years as Penn State??s 197-pounder. A strong summer has the Harrisburg native ready to make a run at it all in 2007. Senior James Yonushonis capped a break-out year in 2006 with a 24-9 season and an eighth-place, All-America run at nationals. Yonushonis is a three-year starter with a 53-44 career record. Each wrestler has loftier goals in mind as the new year opens up and each has had outstanding summers heading into the new campaign.
??Both Phil and James have great leadership abilities,?? Sunderland said. ??James is student teaching in the fall term and his still dedicated himself to this team and his final run. Phil has done a great job of becoming an on-the-mat leader, taking the time to incorporate the new freshmen into the wrestling family and stepping into the leadership role.??
In all six wrestlers who have qualified for nationals during the collegiate careers return, led by Davis and Yonushonis. Two qualified last season, each of whom feels All-America laurels are legitimate goals.
BREAKING THROUGH
Sophomore Jake Strayer returns for his second season having finished just one agonizing win shy of becoming a freshman All-American. The talented 133-pounder has used that has motivation, focusing on those crucial seven minutes in Oklahoma City and using them as a driving force towards something bigger, something better. Strayer went 26-6 last year and took third at Big Ten??s before a 3-2 performance left him just off the medal stand at Nationals.
| Sophomore Jake Strayer hopes to make waves at 133 pounds for the Nittany Lions. Strayer finished just one win shy of becoming an All-American in 2006. |
??Jake is one of the guys that has come in this fall right where he left off last season,?? Sunderland said. ??He had a good and productive summer. He??s such a quiet kid but he has a burning desire within him to become an All-American and national champion this year.??
Fifth-year senior Nathan Galloway is a three-time national qualifier who didn??t get to wrestle at nationals as a freshman due to injury. As a sophomore he went 3-2 at nationals and last year he was 2-2 with two pins. One of Penn State??s most experienced wrestlers, Galloway was 15-16 at 157 last year and has a 76-47 career mark.
??Nathan has tasted the success of getting to nationals and getting close to the medal stand,?? Sunderland said. ??But he hasn??t quite broken through and now he has one more shot to get it done. He??ll be challenged in the wrestling room but has proven that he can wrestle at the highest level. Now he has to put it all together over the course of the entire season.??
REAPING THE REWARDS
Senior Aaron Anspach and junior Tim Haas each started during the 2005-06 season but did not get the chance to wrestle at Big Tens as other Lions moved into the starting line-up for a chance at nationals. For Anspach, a final campaign at heavyweight looms as the chance to overcome injuries and taste the fruits of his labors; for Haas, a battle at either 133 or 141 is on the horizon as the consummate team player works for his chance at national glory.
Anspach was 14-8 at HWT last year and is 21-11 during his injury-plagued career. Haas was 14-7 at 125 and 17-8 overall. He will move up to a more natural 133 or even 141 this season.
??Tim Haas did a great job for us last year and making the sacrifice to get down to 125,?? Sunderland said. ??He could be at 133 or even 141 this year. Either way, everyone involved has a tough battle in front of them to earn a spot in the line-up. But Tim has always been there for the team and he??ll get his chance like everyone else.??
??Aaron has had a couple years of injuries that have set him back physically,?? Sunderland continued. ??But he is really back on track now. He had a solid year last season, beating some nationally ranked guys although he didn??t get a chance at Big Tens. We expect a big year from Aaron this year and don??t be surprised if he??s high up on the platform this year.??
A YEAR REMOVED; A YEAR TO GROW
Four Nittany Lions find themselves on the opposite ends of seasons out of the line-up. A two-time national qualifier at Buffalo, Mark McKnight steps back into the spotlight at 125 pounds with a national title as his ultimate goal. Bryan Heller, a qualifier for Penn State in 2005, returns for another run in the blue and white singlet and will battle for a starting spot and national pride at 133 or 141.
??Mark is a career 125-pounder,?? Sunderland said. ??We spend much of last year working to get him bigger and stronger. He??s accomplished that and is where he needs to be to challenge for a national title. One thing he needs to focus on is finishing matches out and not giving his opponent an opportunity at the end of a match.??
??Bryan has worked hard for us as well,?? Sunderland continued. ??He??s going to get a shot to wrestle at 141 or 133 this year and is such a hard worker that anything is possible for him.??
On the other end of the spectrum, two Nittany Lions who had stellar true-freshmen campaigns will more than likely red-shirt this year and take the chance to grow physically and hone their already lofty skill levels. Sophomores David Erwin and Brad Pataky will more than likely take the NCAA campaign off and instead focus on open tournaments and freestyle training. Erwin went 23-8 as a freshman and was ranked among the nation??s elite at 165 last year. Pataky went 15-8 and stepped into the starting line-up at 125 at the year??s end after Tim Haas suffered an injury.
??We feel this is going to be a productive year for them,?? Sunderland said. ??David??s gotten a good deal bigger and will be at 174 or 184 this year in some freestyle tournaments and Brad will train very hard to make a run at world championship and Olympic caliber tournaments. They??re both going to have busy years in both open and freestyle type competitions, so this is going to be an important year of growth for each of them.??
THE VETERAN CORE OF A TITLE RUN
The names are numerous and the opportunities are great. Dan Vallimont, a red-shirt freshman at 149; Neil Bretz, a sophomore at 184; Phil Bomberger, a sophomore at 174 or 184; Brian Cantalupi, a senior at 174 or 184; A.J. Cummins, a senior at 197 or 184; Jack Decker, a sophomore at 174 or 184; Mike Ward, a red-shirt freshman at 184; Mark Friend, a sophomore at 165; Jason Lapham, a sophomore at 157; Joe Farina, a sophomore HWT; and John Laboranti, a new HWT transfer from Virginia Tech -- all names that Penn State fans know or should know as the new season unfolds. Each wrestler has worked very hard in the off-season and heads into the 2006-07 campaign hopeful of impressing the coaches and earning a spot in the starting line-up. The versatility of the group has Sunderland excited and confident about the potential depth of this unit as many of the returning veterans could wrestle at a couple different weights.
??We are lucky in a lot of aspects because we have some very versatile wrestlers waiting in the wings for their chance to earn starting spots,?? Sunderland said. ??Each wrestler on this team could be the starter and every one will get his shot to wrestle off for the starting nod. It is going to be an exciting pre-season for us because there are a lot of weights that are going to feature interesting battles come November.??
NEW FACES, SAME EXPECTATIONS
For the second straight year, Sunderland and his staff have put together one of the nation??s top recruiting classes. Eleven true freshmen have made their way to Happy Valley with their goals of putting on the Nittany Lion singlet at hand. Three of those rookies, in particular, have a real chance of having an early impact on Penn State??s fortunes this year.
Bubba Jenkins, a highly-touted 149-pounder from Virginia, has a legitimate shot to earn the starting spot at his weight class this year, as does freshman Dave Rella, a heavily recruited 165-pounder from Ohio. Fellow Ohio-native Josh Rohler will also make a run at 157 pounds for Penn State, with any of these wrestlers having the ability to move around in the line-up if need be. ??We??re very excited to have this entire freshman class in the wrestling room this year,?? Sunderland said. ??Jenkins, Rella and Rohler are the names that everyone recognizes and each could be an impact wrestler for us this year. But the whole group has been outstanding so far and they??re all working hard to make their mark and contribute to our team??s success. I think any one of these guys could surprise a lot of people and emerge for us.??
WHAT STANDS IN THE WAY
Once again, Penn State will face one of the sternest schedules in the country. The Nittany Lions will open the season at the Pennsylvania Duals on November 19, hosted by Lock Haven University. The Nittany Lions host the Nittany Lion Open on Dec. 3 and Penn State will also take part in the Virginia Duals in Hampton, Va., on Jan. 12-13. The Big Ten Championships will be hosted by Michigan State on March 3-4 and the 2007 NCAA Championships will take place on March 15-17 at the Palace at Auburn Hills in suburban Detroit.
| Senior James Yonushonis is coming off an All-American season in 2006 and looks to improve upon his finish at 174. |
The dual match schedule is a rugged and testing one, a schedule that Sunderland hopes will ready his team for the all-important tournaments in March. Penn State will host dual matches against Lehigh (Dec. 8), Lock Haven, (Dec. 15), Ohio State (Jan. 26), Illinois (Jan. 28), Northwestern (Feb. 2) and Iowa (Feb. 4). Penn State will face road tests at Hofstra (Dec. 10), Cornell (Jan. 7), Wisconsin (Jan. 19), Minnesota (Jan. 21), Michigan (Jan. 16) and Michigan State (Jan. 18).
Taken as a whole, Sunderland is confident in both the ability of his team to meet the challenges of the schedule and in the schedule??s ability to test his squad. ??We??ve re-established ourselves as one of the nation??s elite programs,?? Sunderland said. ??We have everything in place to make a run at Big Ten and NCAA titles and this schedule will be a good measuring stick for us as we work toward??s March.??
??I??m very proud of how hard this team has worked in the off-season and how it has used the opening of the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex as a rallying cry to achieve even bigger things,?? Sunderland continued. ??Every wrestler believes that he is part of something special here at Penn State and now is the time for us to put forth the work necessary to make those special things happen.??