| David Erwin, red-shirting this season after starting last year, won the Mat-Town USA title at 184 pounds. Erwin and teammate Dave Rella, who won the title at 165, were among five PSU finalists at the event. |
LOCK HAVEN, Pa.; November 25, 2006 - David Erwin (Urbana, Ohio) and true freshman Dave Rella (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) won individual titles as Penn State had five finalists and eight place winners at the 2006 Mat-Town U.S.A. Tournament. For the first time, Mat-Town was an ??open?? tournament instead of a team-scored event, allowing Penn State to send 19 unattached grapplers to Lock Haven University.
Erwin, red-shirting this year after starting as a true freshman last season, went 4-0 with a tech fall to sweep to the crown at 184 pounds. Erwin downed host Lock Haven??s Tom Kocher 12-6 in the finals to claim the title. Rella, fresh off a third place finish at the ESU Open last week, went 4-0 with a tech fall at 165 to win his first tournament at the collegiate level. He beat Buffalo??s Mike Ragussa 8-4 in the finals.
Three other Nittany Lions had outstanding tournaments, advancing to the finals before falling and placing second. Senior Nathan Galloway (State College, Pa.) went 3-1 at 157 and lost a tough 6-3 decision to nationally ranked Seth Martin of Lock Haven in the finals. Junior Chad Unger (Perry, Ohio) followed up his runner-up showing at the ESU Open with another runner-up finish. Unger went 3-1 overall, losing 6-1 to David Mendozza of Old Dominion in the finals. Stefan Tighe (Erie, Pa.), HWT transfer from Nebraska who will red-shirt this season, went 3-1 and dropped a tough 3-2 decision to Old Dominion??s Matt Pelar in the championship bout.
Brad Pataky (Clearfield, Pa.), red-shirting this season after starting at 125 last year, bounced back from a first-round upset to go 5-1 and finish third. Sophomore Jon Clemens (McVeytown, Pa.) went 4-2 at 157 and placed fourth. Sophomore Jack Decker (Roseland, N.J.) went 4-2 overall and finished fifth at 174 pounds.
In all, eight of Penn State??s 19 unattached grapplers placed at the event. Other Nittany Lions competing at the event were, in order of weight: Eric Caschera (South Williamsport, Pa.), 0-2 at 125; Chris Robbins (Federica, Del.), 0-2 at 133; Ben Mandelbraut (Sharon, Mass.), 0-2 at 141; Jason Lapham (West Chazy, N.Y.), 3-2 at 157; Josh Rohler (Akron, Ohio), 2-2 at 157; Mike Lorenzo (Bellefonte, Pa.), 1-2 at 165; Brian Cantalupi (Carlisle, Pa.), 1-2 at 184; David Klug (Pennington, N.J.), 0-2 at 184; Nathan Andrews (Spring Mills, Pa.), 1-2 at HWT; Joe Farina (Denville, N.J.), 2-2 at HWT; and Brendan Herlihy (Fairfield, Conn.), 1-2 at HWT.
Head coach Troy Sunderland and his staff will now get Penn State read for the Nittany Lion Open on Sunday, Dec. 3, beginning at 8:30 a.m. Penn State will send its entire line-up into the event, including its starters. A full list of those wrestling ?C both attached and unattached ?C will be available later this week. Tickets for the event can be purchased at the Rec Hall door the day of the event and season ticket holders get in for free. Penn State??s next dual will be a home battle with No. 21 Lehigh on Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall. Season tickets are on sale now. This year??s season ticket prices are $24 for adults and $18 for students. Single dual prices are $5 per event for adults and $3 per event for youth. Contact the Penn State ticket office at 814-863-1000 or 800-833-5533 for more information or visit GoPSUsports.com.