May 7, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The 2010 Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling recruiting class has been tabbed the second-best in the nation by Intermat, the nationally recognized wrestling media organization that can be found at www.intermatwrestle.com. With five wrestlers ranked among the top 100 overall, Penn State narrowly trails Big Ten foe Iowa, who finished first with six in the top 100.
Penn State's incoming class includes No. 2 Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), No. 8 Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), No. 22 Sam Sherlock (West Mifflin, Pa.), No. 54 Dirk Cowburn (Coudersport, Pa.) and No. 70 Hank Stinson (Voorhees, N.J.) as top-100 wrestlers as well as noted recruits Frank Martellotti (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Nick Ruggear (Oxford, Pa.), Seth Beitz (Juniata, Pa.) and Cameron Kelly (Pittsford, N.Y.).
To directly quote the Intermat release: "When adding in the late signing of Jake Kemerer (in 2009), new head coach Cael Sanderson brought in three of the nation's top ten recruits last year. The first full class for Coach Sanderson in Happy Valley is more of the same as the Nittany Lions capitalize upon a supremely stacked Keystone State senior class to the tune of four home-state Top-100 recruits - five in all. One can say the Penn State roster has been re-stocked the last two years."
Intermat lists the top 25 recruiting classes nationally and Sanderson's first full class has the Nittany Lions at No. 2. Last year, Penn State ended the year with the No. 6 class but those rankings were released before Kemerer's commitment to Penn State. The top 25 is as follows:
1: Iowa
2: PENN STATE
3: Northwestern
4: Minnesota
5: Iowa State
6: Nebraska
7: Indiana
8: Cornell
9: Arizona State
10: Maryland
11: Missouri
12: Ohio State
13: Virginia Tech
14: Oklahoma
15: Lehigh
16: Old Dominion
17: Edinboro
18: Boise State
19: Penn
20: Rutgers
21: Oklahoma State
22: Illinois
23: Michigan State
24: Michigan
25: Binghamton
The Big Ten dominated the rankings, with five in the top ten, including the top four. Overall, nine Big Ten teams were ranked among the top 25.
New season tickets for next season can now be purchased, while current season ticket holders will receive their option to renew later in the fall. Season ticket prices for 2010-11 will be $42 for adults and $28 for youth (18 and under) with payments being made in full at the time of the order. A $5 per order handling fee will be added. Reserved seat locations will be assigned and Nittany Lion Club members will be assigned best available seats according to their active membership and point level. Following fulfillment of all Nittany Lion Club season ticket requests, seats will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. To order tickets, please call Joel Diamond at 814-867-2557. New ticket orders will be fulfilled and mailed by November 1, 2010. Renewal applications for current season ticket holders will be available on or before October 1.