- Pa. Duals Full Match Notes (.pdf)
| Jake Strayer held on for a 3-1 win over Clarion's Sal Lascari in Penn State's 47-0 win in the Pa. Duals at Lock Haven. |
LOCK HAVEN, Pa.; November 19, 2006 - The No. 8 Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, under the guidance of head coach Troy Sunderland, opened up the Pennsylvania Duals and the 2006-07 season with a resounding 47-0 win over Clarion. The third annual event is being hosted by Lock Haven University.
The dual began at 125, where Nittany Lion Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.), ranked No. 11, exploded into his Penn State career with a pin of Clarion??s Toby Seger in just 0:42 to give Penn State an early 6-0 lead.
At 133, sophomore Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.), ranked No. 8, posted a hard-fought 3-1 win over Clarion??s Sal Lascari. Strayer opened up with a takedown a minute in to take an early 2-0 lead. Lascari fought hard to escape but could not and Strayer ended the first with a 2-0 lead and 1:57 in riding time. Lascari chose down to start the second and escaped to a 2-1 deficit. His escape was the only scoring in the middle stanza. Strayer chose down to begin the third but could not escape until his riding time edge was gone. Still, the escape with :20 left put the Lion sophomore up 3-1 which he would hold on to put Penn State up 9-0.
Senior Bryan Heller (Fair Haven, N.J.) took on clarion??s Greg Lewis at 141 and came away with a 4-0 win. Heller got the bout??s first takedown two minutes into the bout. Heller held Lewis down to take a 2-0 lead into the second period and chose down to begin the middle stanza. A quick escape by the Nittany Lion senior gave him a 3-0 lead. Lewis nearly cut into Heller??s lead with a late takedown escape, but Heller managed to hold off the double-leg to lead 3-0 going into the third period. Lewis chose down to begin the third period, a decision that would lead to a riding time edge for Heller as he held Lewis down for the entire period to post a tough 4-0 win. The three-point decision put PSU up 12-0.
Red-shirt freshman Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) pinned Clarion??s Brenton Awa at 149. Vallimont scored early on Awa, netting a takedown :21 seconds in to go up 2-0. After riding Awa for two minutes, Vallimont turned Awa to his back and recorded a pin at 2:36 to put the Nittany Lions up 18-0.
At 157, sophomore Jason Lapham (West Chazy, N.Y.) met Clarion??s Nick Billups and turned a possible defeat into a six-point pin in the third period. Lapham scored early, getting a standing cradle on the Golden Eagle to turn it into a quick takedown and a 2-0 lead. Billups would fight off any back points but Lapham had control early. Billups would escape to cut the lead to 2-1 and would take a 3-2 lead with a takedown at the :35 mark. Billups held Lapham down to carry the 3-2 lead into the middle period. Lapham chose down to begin the second and escaped to tie the score 3-3 with just under 2:00 to wrestle in the second period. Billups got the second period??s first takedown to go up 5-3 and carried that lead into the third. The Clarion wrestler chose down to begin the third and Lapham took advantage. A quick split scissors move led to a Lapham pin at the 5:14 mark and Penn State led 24-0.
Mark Friend (Libertyville, Ill.), sophomore 165-pounder, met Clarion??s Brian Thomason and recorded Penn State??s fourth pin in six bouts. Friend got the first take down a minute in to lead 2-0. Friend rode Thomason for the final 2:08 of the first to hold that lead heading into the second. Friend chose neutral to begin the second and got a takedown to go up 4-0. Friend turned the takedown into a pin at the 4:13 mark, putting Penn State up 30-0.
At 174, returning All-American James Yonushonis (Philipsburg, Pa.) met Clarion??s Scott Joseph at 174 and shook off some early rust to post a 15-8 win. Yonushonis got an early takedown but Joseph quickly escaped to put the score at 2-1 a minute into the bout. Joseph countered with a takedown to lead briefly 3-2 before Yonushonis escaped to tie the score 3-3. Yonushonis nearly nabbed a takedown as the first period ended but the move took place just off the mat. Yonushonis chose down to begin the second and quickly escaped to a 4-3 lead. The Nittany Lion All-American would up his lead to 6-3 with a takedown with 1:15 left in the second. Joseph escaped, cutting the lead to just two, and then quickly tied the bout with a takedown. Tied 6-6 with :40 left in the second, Yonushonis escaped to go up 7-6. He would take that lead into the final two minutes. Joseph chose down to begin the final period and escaped to tie the bout 7-7 with 1:51 to wrestle. Not to fall victim to an early upset, Yonushonis scored a takedown with 1:25 to go, cut Joseph loose and led 9-8. Yonushonis notched another takedown, going up 11-8 with a minute left. The veteran Lion would tack on three near fall points and then ride Joseph out for the remainder of the bout, tacking on a riding time point and posting a 15-8 win. The victory put Penn State up 33-0.
Sophomore Phil Bomberger (Port Royal, Pa.) met Clarion??s Nick Weaver at 184. Bomberger made a superb 184-pound debut with a 16-1 technical fall. The red-shirt sophomore got the bout??s first takedown and two back points to go up 4-0 early. After a reset, Bomberger added on two more near fall points and led 6-0. On the same move, Bomberger picked up two more back points and led 8-0 after a period. Weaver chose down to begin the middle period but Bomberger turned the Golden Eagle for two more near fall points. Bomberger rode Weaver for the entire period, led 10-0 after two, and had a 4:13 riding time edge. The Nittany Lion sophomore chose down to begin the final period. Weaver??s locked hand call put Bomberger up 11-0 and an escape made it 12-0. Seconds after his escape, Bomberger got another takedown to go up 14-0. He let Weaver up and quickly took him down to post a 16-1 technical fall at 6:09. The five points put the Nittany Lions up 38-0.
With the bout in hand, top-ranked Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.) was given the day off as he looks forward to the NWCA Classic on Monday night. Sunderland sent talented junior Chad Unger (Perry, Ohio), fresh off a second-place finish at the East Stroudsburg Open, to the mat against Clarion back-up Jake Kurant. Unger quickly took Kurant down and added three back points to lead 5-0 early. Two more back points put Unger up 7-0. After a neutral start to the second, Unger added another takedown to push his lead to 9-0. Continuing his season??s fast start, Unger recorded a superb pin at the 4:36 mark. The pin was Penn State??s fifth of the match and put the Nittany Lions up 44-0.
The dual??s final match-up put Nittany Lion senior Aaron Anspach (Columbia, Pa.) up against talented Golden Eagle heavyweight A.J. Brooks. Anspach got the first takedown and Brooks quickly escaped to a 2-1 Anspach lead. A second takedown for Anspach gave the Lion co-captain a 4-1 lead as the first period wound down. The second began with Anspach choosing down, but Brooks rode solid on top and Anspach could not escape. Brooks chose top to begin the third, down 4-1 but holding a 1:17 riding time edge. This time, however, Anspach escaped to a 5-1 lead with 1:45 to wrestle. Anspach nearly tacked on another takedown as the bout ended, but the talented Brooks held firm and took Anspach down as time expired, nearly taking the Lion senior to his back. But time expired and Anspach held on for a 5-4 win and posted the final team score of 47-0.
Penn State moves to 1-0 with the win. The Lions will immediately take to the mats against Division II power Pitt-Johnstown at 12 p.m.
#8 Penn State 47, Clarion 0 Nov. 19, 2006 ?C Thomas Field House ?C Lock Haven, Pa. Wt.: Results Dual Score 125: #11 Mark McKnight PSU WBF Toby Seger CU, (0:42) 6-0 133: #8 Jake Strayer PSU dec. Sal Lascari CU, 3-1 9-0 141: Bryan Heller PSU dec. Greg Lewis CU, 4-0 12-0 149: Dan Vallimont PSU WBF Brenton Awa CU, (2:36) 18-0 157: Jason Lapham PSU WBF Nick Billups CU, (5:14) 24-0 165: Mark Friend PSU WBF Brian Thomason CU, (4:13) 30-0 174: #3 James Yonushonis PSU dec. Scott Joseph CU, 15-8 33-0 184: Phil Bomberger PSU 16-1 tech. fall Nick Weaver CU, (6:09) 38-0 197: Chad Unger PSU WBF Jake Kurant CU, (4:36) 44-0 HWT: Aaron Anspach PSU dec. A.J. Brooks CU, 5-4 47-0