March 5, 2010
Complete Bracket in PDF Format
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - The brackets for the 2010 Big Ten Wrestling Championships have been released as the seeds have been finalized at this afternoon's coaches meeting. The two-day national qualifier will begin with pigtails and quarterfinals tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. in Michigan's Crisler Arena.
The following is a weight-by-weight breakdown of Penn State's opening round match-ups:
125: #12 Brad Pataky, Jr. (Clearfield, Pa.), #4 seed, 24-6 overall
Pataky retained his No. 4 seed and received a first round bye. He will face No. 5 seed Cahse Quiroga of Purdue in the quarterfinals.
133: Bryan Pearsall, Fr. (Lititz, Pa.), 3-21 overall
Pearsall will be unseeded and face No. 5 seed Eric Metzler of Northwestern in the first round. The winner of the Metzler/Pearsall bout will take on No. 4 seed Tyler Graff of Wisconsin in the quarterfinals.
141: Adam Lynch, Sr. (Mifflinburg, Pa.), #4 seed, 11-10 overall
Lynch entered the tournament as a four seed despite a 6-2 record in Big Ten duals. He will take on Indiana's Geno Capezio in the first round with the winner of that match up taking on No. 5 seed Ryan Prater of Illinois in the quarters.
149: #4 Frank Molinaro, So. (Barnegat, N.J.), #4 seed, 27-3 overall
Molinaro, the four seed at 149, received a bye in the first round and will take on Michigan State's David Cheza, the five seed, in the quarterfinals.
157: #6 Cyler Sanderson, Sr. (Heber City, Utah), #2 seed, 25-4 overall
With top pre-seed Dustin Schlatter of Minnesota getting set to compete but to take two medical forfeits on Saturday, the entire weight was reseeded. Sanderson held is No. 2 seed as Purdue's Colton Salazar moved up from No. 3 to No. 1. Sanderson received a first round bye and will face the winner of unseeded Clint Arliss of Illinois and Northwestern's Kevin Bialka in the quarterfinals.
165: #7 Dan Vallimont, Sr. (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.), #4 seed, 23-6 overall
Vallimont will be the tournament's fourth seed at 165, like most of the Nittany Lions, received a first round bye and will take on No. 5 seed Paul Young of Indiana in the quarterfinals.
174: Justin Ortega, Fr. (Oxford, Pa.), 6-18 overall
Ortega, unseeded at 174, will battle No. 7 seed Ian Hinton of Michigan State in the first round. The winner of the Hinton/Ortega bout will face No. 2 Luke Manuel of Indiana.
184: #9 David Erwin, Sr. (Urbana, Ohio), #2 seed, 26-6 overall
Erwin will be the second seed at 184 and will take on Northwestern's Aaron Jones in the first round. The winner of that bout will face No. 7 seed Hunter Collins-Montoya of Michigan in the quarterfinals.
197: Clay Steadman, So. (McKean, Pa.), 8-10 overall
Steadman, unseeded at 197, will take on No. 6 seed matt Powless of Indiana in the first round. The winner will meet No. 3 Anthony Biondo of Michigan in the quarterfinals.
HWT: #17 Cameron Wade, So. (Twinsburg, Ohio), #3 seed, 18-7 overall
Wade entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed and received a first round bye. He will take on Ohio State's Corey Morrison, the sixth seed, in the quarterfinals.
The 2010 Big Ten Wrestling Championships begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday and conclude Sunday afternoon in Michigan's Crisler Arena. The event serves as the national qualifier for all 11 Big Ten programs as individuals try to advance to the 2010 NCAA Championships on March 18-20 in Omaha, Neb. The two day event is hosted by the University of Michigan. The Big Ten Championship will be aired live on Forever Broadcasting's WRSC (1390 AM) and on www.GoPSUsports.com as well. The 2009-10 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.