Dec. 30, 2008
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Nittany Lion senior Phil Bomberger (Port Royal, Pa.) went a perfect 5-0 with three majors to claim the 2008 Wilkes Open title at 184 pounds. The returning national qualifier was one of three Penn State starters to place at the event, which took place this past weekend.
Bomberger posted a perfect mark and notched three majors on his way to the Wilkes crown. Joining Bomberger with top four finishes was red-shirt freshman Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio), who went 3-1 at HWT to take second place and true freshman Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.), who posted a stellar 7-1 mark to take third place. Wade had a pin and a technical fall on his way to the finals, where he dropped a close 2-1 decision.
Wright, ranked No. 15 at 174 nationally, suffered an upset loss in the second round bout true to form, did not quit, reeling off six straight wins in consolations to take third place. After the upset loss, Wright was untouchable an ended the tournament with two pins, two majors and a technical fall. Red-shirt freshman Clay Steadman (McKean, Pa.) was Penn State's fourth starter wrestling attached at the event, going 2-2 with a pin at 197.
While the above foursome wrestled in their Blue and White singlets and amassed an outstanding 17-4 combined mark, ten other Nittany Lions competed at the event unattached. Eric Caschera (South Williamsport, Pa.) went 0-2 at 125; Bryan Pearsall (Lititz, Pa.) went 1-2 at 133; Jarret Freeman (Maspeth, N.Y.) went 0-2 at 149; Nick Fischer (Unionville, Pa.) went 2-2 at 157; Shane Everett (Saylorsburg, Pa.) went 2-2 at 157; Nick Venditti (Berwick, Pa.) led PSU's unattached grapplers with a 3-2 mark and a pin at 165; Justin Ortega (Oxford, Pa.) went 1-2 at 165; Matt Dodds (Leola, Pa.) went 1-2 at 174; J.R. Brown (Bellefonte, Pa.) went 1-2 at 197 and Nathan Andrews (Spring Mills, Pa.) went 0-2 at 197.
No. 16 Penn State returns to action on Sunday, Jan. 4, when it hosts No. 9 Lehigh and Lock Haven in a double-dual. The Nittany Lions tangle with Lehigh at 1 p.m. and then battle Lock Haven at 3 p.m. Single event tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for youth. Penn State students get in FREE with a Penn State ID. All Penn State dual meets and post-season action can be heard live in the Centre Region on WRSC (1390 AM State College), WHUN (1150 AM Huntingdon) and live at www.GoPSUsports.com as part of the All-Access package.