Nov. 21, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Twelve members of the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team took part in the 2010 ESU Open, hosted on Saturday East Stroudsburg University and three of them left with individual titles. Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), Dirk Cowburn (Coudersport, Pa.) and James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) each won their respective weight classes at the crowded event.
With action against unrostered wrestlers not counting in the records, Vollrath was one of three Nittany Lions wrestling attached in the Blue and White singlet. The red-shirt freshman went 4-0 at 157 to win his title. Alton and Cowburn were each wrestling unattached. Alton went 5-0 with a pin and a major to with the 149 pound crown while Cowburn went 4-0 with three pins to with the 165 pound weight class.
Three other Nittany Lions placed (all wrestling unattached. Nate Morgan (McCook, Neb.) went 4-1 at 125 and advanced to the final bout before losing, placing second. Sam Sherlock (West Mifflin, Pa.) went 5-1 at 133 and took third and Thomas Gorman (East Patchogue, N.Y.) went 6-2 at 157 to place fifth.
Every Nittany Lion competing grabbed at least a win. Eric Caschera (South Williamsport, Pa.) and Andrew Church (Erie, Pa.) each wrestled attached for Penn State. Caschera went 5-1 at 125 while Church picked up a victory at 174.
Four other unattached Lions competed as well. Seth Beitz (Juniata, Pa.) went 4-1 at 133, Rob Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) won twice at 133, Brandon Phillips (Timonium, Md.) won twice at 174 and Cameron Kelly (Pittsford, N.Y.) grabbed a victory at 125.
Penn State, under the guidance of head coach Cael Sanderson, is in Binghamton, N.Y., prepping for today's Sprawl and Brawl Duals. The Nittany Lions' next home dual is on Dec. 12 when Lock Haven comes to town for a 2 p.m. dual. Fans wishing to purchase single dual meet tickets for the 2010-11 Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling season can place their orders by calling 814-865-5555 or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office. The box office is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Ticket pricing is $8 for adults and $5 for youth, and there will be a limit of eight tickets per order. Group sales are also available. The 2010-11 Penn State wrestling season is presented by the Family Clothesline. All Penn State events will once again air live on Forever Broadcasting's WRSC (1390 AM) and WSQV (92.1 FM). All radio broadcasts are streamed live at GoPSUsports.com as part of the All-Access package. The 2010-11 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.