Feb. 4, 2009
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, under the guidance of head coach Troy Sunderland, is ranked No. 22 in the latest NWCA/USA Today Coaches Poll, as compiled and released by Intermat. The full release can be viewed at www.intermatwrestle.com. Penn State fell to its current ranking after a tough 0-2 weekend.
Riddled with injuries, Penn State used a line-up featuring five freshmen in last weekend's losses to No. 8 Minnesota and No. 17 Wisconsin. The Nittany Lions are 7-8-2 overall, 0-2-2 in the Big Ten, and have five individuals ranked among the top 20.
Iowa continues to hold down the No. 1 spot, followed by Iowa State (2), Cornell (3), Nebraska (4) and Missouri (5). Ohio State (6), Lehigh (7), Minnesota (8), Illinois (9) and Central Michigan (10) round out the top ten. All 11 Big Ten teams are either ranked or receiving votes for the first time all year. Northwestern (16), Wisconsin (17), Michigan (T18), Indiana (T18), Penn State (22) and Purdue (25) are all ranked while Michigan State is receiving votes for the first time this year.
Junior All-American Bubba Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va.), who has not wrestled in Penn State's last three duals, is 19-0 and ranked No. 2 at 149. Senior All-American Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.) continues his ascent at 133 and is now sitting at No. 9. Sophomore Brad Pataky (Clearfield, Pa.), perhaps Penn State's hottest wrestler, has moved up to No. 13 at 125 and has downed two top ten grapplers in the last two weekends. Junior All-American Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) is ranked at 165 for the first time (after being ranked in the top 10 at 157 all season). He holds the No. 20 spot at his new weight. True-freshman Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) is ranked No. 16 at 174 to round out Penn State's ranked individuals.
Penn State welcomes two top-ten teams to Rec Hall this weekend. The Nittany Lions host No. 6 Ohio State on Friday at 7 p.m. and then welcome No. 1 Iowa on Sunday for a 2 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.