Nov. 22, 2009
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Two Penn State All-Americans who are planning on red-shirting this season made their open tournament debuts with outstanding performances on Saturday. Senior Bubba Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va.) and sophomore Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) won individual titles at the East Stroudsburg Open, with each defeating talented PSU true freshmen in the finals. In all, 11 Nittany Lions placed at the event.
Jenkins went 5-0 at 157 on the day, 4-0 against collegiate grapplers, including one technical fall (note that competition against non-collegiate wrestlers does not count towards overall record or bonus results). The 2008 National Runner-Up met Penn State true freshman David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) in the finals, where Jenkins claimed a hard-fought 4-3 win. Taylor took second place with a 4-1 record, 3-1 against collegiate competition. The Ohio-native got a pin, a tech fall and a major in the process (he also had a pin against a non-collegiate grappler).
Wright posted a 4-0 mark at 184 at the event, including two pins and a major. The 2009 sixth-place finisher at 174 met Penn State true freshman Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) in the finals, where Wright notched a tough 5-2 decision. Ruth's second place finish included two major decisions as well.
Penn State also took third place at 184, with sophomore David Crowell (Easton, Pa.) taking third place. Crowell was upset in the first round but bounced back to win six straight in the consolation bracket to take third place. Crowell had two majors as well. True freshman Jake Kemerer (Greensburg, Pa.) was Penn State's other third place finisher, going 4-1 to take third at 165. Kemerer grabbed two majors during the tournament.
Senior heavyweight Brendan Herlihy (Fairfield, Conn.) took fourth at the Open, going 5-2 overall, 4-2 against collegiate competition. True freshman Luke Macchiaroli (Tempe, Ariz.) placed tied for fifth at 197 (the fifth place bout was not contested due to time constraints), going 3-2 on the day. Red-shirt freshmen James English (York, Pa.) and Nick Fischer (Unionville, Pa.) each tied for fifth as well. English placed at 149 with a 6-2 mark (6-0 against collegiate grapplers) while Fischer placed at 165, going 4-2 overall (2-2 against collegiate competition). True freshman James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) was tied for seventh at 157 with a 5-2 mark, 1-2 against collegiate wrestlers.
Eight other Nittany Lions competed at the event. Eric Caschera (South Williamsport, Pa.) went 1-2 (1-1 collegiate) at 125, Jack Chidester (Conestoga, Pa.) went 3-2 at 133 (1-1 collegiate), Tom Reynolds (Skillman, N.J.) went 1-2 at 133, Jarret Freeman (Laurelton, N.Y.) went 0-2 at 149, Christian Harr (Hollidaysburg, Pa.) went 0-2 at 149 (0-1 collegiate), Eric Resch (Lititz, Pa.) went 2-2 at 157 (1-1 collegiate), Matt Dodds (Leola, Pa.) went 2-2 at 165 (1-1 collegiate) and Andrew Church (Conestoga, Pa.) went 2-2 at 174 (1-1 collegiate).
In addition, two future Nittany Lions fared well at the event. Andrew and Dylan Alton, who both recently signed National Letters of Intent, combined for nine wins. Andrew went 4-0 at 141 to claim the title while Dylan went 5-1 at 149 and took third.
Head coach Cael Sanderson's squad is competing in today's Sprawl and Brawl Duals, facing Rutgers, Harvard and Edinboro in Binghamton, N.Y. Penn State's next home dual is set for Jan. 22 when it hosts Illinois at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall. Single event tickets will cost $8 for adults and $6 for youth. Group sales are available once again for groups of 15 people or more. Group prices are $5 in advance and $6 walk-up. Fans can purchase tickets by calling 1.800.NITTANY between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. All Penn State events will once again air live on Forever Broadcasting's WRSC (1390 AM) or 3WZ (95.3 FM) and on www.GoPSUsports.com as well. The 2009-10 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.