Dec. 5, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No. 5 Penn State sent 29 wrestlers into action at the 2010 Nittany Lion Open, had 16 quarterfinalists and ended the day with four champions. Three freshmen and a junior claimed titles for head coach Cael Sanderson and the Nittany Lions.
Penn State sent eight wrestlers into the finals with half of them winning their bouts. Freshman Frank Martellotti (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 18 at 125, went 5-0 to win at 125 with two pins, a tech fall and a major. Classmate Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), ranked No. 12, put on a show at 141, going 6-0 to claim the title with five pins. The fifth pin was a :39 fall over No. 20 Zack Kemerer of Penn in the finals. Red-shirt freshman David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), ranked No. 5 nationally, continued his superb run with a 6-0 day at 157. Taylor claimed the title with a 9-3 dismantling of Virginia Tech's Jesse Dong (who reached the NCAA round of 12 last year). Taylor had a fall, a tech and three majors. Junior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio), ranked No. 7 at heavyweight, went 5-0 with three tech falls, a pin and a major.
Penn State's outstanding afternoon was tempered, however, in the finals at 184. No. 6 Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) was beating No. 14 Nathan Schiedel of Binghamton when the returning All-American was injured and suffered an injury default to take second place. Wright went 4-1 on the day. Just seconds before that, two-time All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.), ranked No. 2 at 149, was upset in overtime by No. 10 Mario Mason of Rutgers. Mason downed Molinaro 3-1 (sv), giving the Lion junior a 5-1 record on the day. Red-shirt freshman Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 14 at 174, handled No. 9 Scott Giffin of Penn 6-2 in the semifinals and then dropped a hard-fought 9-4 decision to No. 8 Mike Letts of Maryland in the finals. Ruth went 5-1 for second place with two pins and two tech falls. True freshman Dirk Cowburn (Coudersport, Pa.), wrestling unattached at 165, advanced to the finals where he was pinned by No. 3 Josh Asper of Maryland. Cowburn went 5-1 for his runner-up finish.
Senior Adam Lynch (Mifflinburg, Pa.) was solid at 141, going 4-1 with a win over an unrostered wrestler as well to take third place. His only loss came to Alton in the semifinals. Sophomore James English (York, Pa.) also took third at 149, going 5-1. His only loss was a 3-1 decision to No. 10 and eventual champ Mason of Rutgers in the semifinals. Red-shirt freshman James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) took fourth at 157. He lost to fifth-ranked Taylor in the semis and then dropped an 8-5 decision to No. 18 Kyle John of Maryland in the third place bout. He went 3-2 on the day to take fourth place.
Freshman Nate Morgan (McCook, Neb.), wrestling unattached at 125, went 4-2 to take seventh place while classmate Sam Sherlock (West Mifflin, Pa.), unattached at 133, went 4-3 to take eighth. Sophomore Nick Fischer (Unionville, Pa.) went 2-3 plus a win over a unrostered wrestler at 165 and placed eighth while classmate Justin Ortega (Oxford, Pa.) went 3-2 (plus an unrostered win) at 197 to take sixth place. True freshman Nick Ruggear (Oxford, Pa.) was also 4-2 at 197 and finished seventh. Red-shirt freshman Jake Kemerer (Greensburg, Pa.), ranked No. 12 nationally at 165, went 3-2 and did not place at 165 while sophomore Bryan Pearsall (Lititz, Pa.) went 4-2 and did not place at 133.
Unattached wrestlers who grabbed victories but did not place included Cameron Kelley (Pittsford, N.Y.), 1-2 at 125; Rob Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.), 0-2 at 133 but beat a non-rostered entrant; Seth Beitz (Juniata, Pa.), 1-2 at 141; John Gingrich (Wingate, Pa.), 1-2 at 285 and Kyle Moran (Oxford, Pa), who went 3-2 at 141. Other attached wrestlers competing included Andrew Church (Erie, Pa.) at 174 while other unattached grapplers competing included David Church (Erie, Pa.) at 149, Thomas Gorman (East Patchogue, N.Y.) at 157, Brandon Phillips (Timonium, Md.) at 174) and Justin Haug (Galeton, Pa.) at 165.
Other champions at the event included Mitchell Port of Edinboro at 133 and Zac Thomusseit of Pittsburgh at 197.
The Nittany Lions, now 5-0 this year, return to action at home 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.
2010 NITTANY LION OPEN FINALS RECAP:
Sunday, Dec. 5, 2010 - Rec Hall - University Park, Pa.
125: #18 Frank Martellotti PSU 7-0 dec. Joseph Langel Rutgers
133: Mitchell Port UA-Edinboro 8-2 dec. Kevin Smith Buffalo
141: #12 Andrew Alton PSU pinned #20 Zack Kemerer Penn (WBF 0:39)
149: #10 Mario Mason Rutgers 3-1 (SV) dec. #2 Frank Molinaro PSU
157: #5 David Taylor PSU 9-3 dec. Jesse Dong, UA-Virginia Tech
165: #3 Josh Asper Maryland pinned Dirk Cowburn UA-PSU (WBF 2:24)
174: #8 Mike Letts Maryland 9-4 dec. #14 Ed Ruth PSU
184: #14 Nate Schiedel Binghamton inj. def. #6 Quentin Wright PSU
*Wright winning at time of injury
197: #9 Zac Thomusseit Pittsburgh WB forfeit Matthew Wilps Pittsburgh
285: #7 Cameron Wade PSU 15-0 TF dec. Odie Delaney UA-The Citadel (TF; 3:31)
Penn State's weight-by-weight summary:
UA - Note that UA indicates unattached collegiate wrestler
UANR - Note that UANR indicates a Non-Collegiate opponent and that result does NOT count towards individual's win/loss record.
* - Note that an (*) by a Penn State name indicates a PSU wrestler who is competing unattached.
Penn State's 125 agate:
#18 Frank Martellotti
Rd. 1: Bye
Rd. 2: WBF over Kory Mines, UA-Edinboro (0:57)
Rd. 3: W, 16-1 TF over Gabriel Gomez, UA-Virginia (6:15)
Qtrs: WBF over Jacob Corrill, North Carolina, (5:55)
Semis: W, 9-0 maj. dec. Matt Fusco, Rutgers
FINALS: W, 7-0 dec. Joseph Langel, Rutgers
1st Place, 5-0 Overall
*Cameron Kelly
Rd. 1: Bye
Rd. 2: W, 11-5 dec. vs. Anthony Marino, UA-Bloomsburg
Rd. 3: L, 1-17 TF vs. Jerome Robinson, UA-Old Dominion
Cn. 2: L, 3-8 dec. Kory Mines, UA-Edinboro
DNP, 1-2 Overall
*Nate Morgan
Rd. 1: Bye
Rd. 2: W, 6-2 dec. Alex Moritz, Rider
Rd. 3: W, 5-3 dec. Joe Roth, Central Michigan
Qtrs.: L, 2-10 maj. dec. Shane Gentry, Maryland
Con. Qtr.: W, 4-2 dec. Sean Walton, Buffalo
Con. Semi: L, 2-3 dec. Jenkins Monzey, UA-Maryland
7th Place: WBF over Ty Mitch, UA-Virginia Tech
7th Place, 4-2 Overall
Penn State's 133 agate:
Bryan Pearsall
Rd. 1: WBF over Kristopher Lowery King College, Tenn. (1:11)
Rd. 2: LBF vs. Tyler Sackett, Navy (2:15)
Cn. 1: WBF over Sean DiEmma, UA-Lock Haven (2:56)
Cn. 2: WBF over Craig Barker, UA-Bloomsburg
Cn. 3: W, 8-4 dec. Shelton Mack, Pittsburgh
Cn. Qtr.: L, 3-5 dec. Erik Spjut, UA-Virginia Tech
DNP, 4-2 Overall
*Sam Sherlock
Rd. 1: Bye
Rd. 2: W, 15-4 maj. dec. Dan Riggi, Binghamton
Rd. 3: L, 2-6 dec. Brock Livorio, UA-North Carolina
Cn. 2: W, 13-5 maj. dec. Erik Galloway, UA-Pittsburgh
Cn. 3: W, 9-5 dec. Matt Byston, Columbia
Cn. Qtrs: W, 12-8 dec. Tyler Sackett, Navy
Cn. Semis: L, 1-3 dec. Erik Spjut, UA-Virginia Tech
7th Place: L, 2-8 dec. Patrick McCaffrey, Navy
8th Place, 4-3 Overall
*Rob Vollrath
Rd. 1: Bye
Rd. 2: WBF over Victor LiPari, UANR (5:41)
Rd. 3: L, 0-8 maj. dec. Mitchell Port, UA-Edinboro
Cn. 2: L, 1-2 dec. Dan Riggi, Binghamton
DNP, 0-2 Overall
Penn State's 141 agate:
#12 Andrew Alton
Rd. 1: WBF over Scott Festejo, Old Dominion (0:35)
Rd. 2: WBF over Ben Mathiesen, UA-Central Michigan (1:05)
Rd. 3: W, 7-5 dec. Danny Lopes, North Carolina
Qtrs: WBF over Mark Hartenstine, UA-Maryland (4:48)
Semis: WBF over Adam Lynch, Penn State (2:20)
FINALS: WBF over #20 Zack Kemerer, Penn (0:39)
First Place, 6-0 Overall
Adam Lynch
Rd. 1: WBF over Nick Gurol, UA-Bucknell (1:16)
Rd. 2: W, 22-4 TF over Brandon Deamer, UANR (TF; 6:49)
Rd. 3: WBF over Seth Schaner, Eastern Michigan (4:27)
Qtrs.: W, 8-2 dec. Zach Neibert, Virginia Tech
Semis: LBF vs. #12 Andrew Alton, Penn State (2:20)
3rd Place: W, 4-3 dec. Trevor Melde, Rutgers
3rd Place, 4-1 Overall
*Seth Beitz
Rd. 1: Bye
Rd. 2: L, 0-8 maj. dec. Trevor Melde, Rutgers
Cn. 1: W, 7-4 dec. Brian Guilfoyle, Binghamton
Cn. 2: LBF vs. Danny Lopes, North Carolina
DNP, 1-2 Overall
*Kyle Moran
Rd. 1: W, 2-0 dec. Jordan Dix, The Citadel
Rd. 2: L, 5-8 dec. Garet Pisani, UA-Clarion
Cn. 1: W, 8-0 maj. dec. Matthew Hasbrouck, UA-Edinboro
Cn. 2: W, 3-2 dec. Danny O'Malley, Maryland
Cn. 3: L, 2-4 dec. Seth Schaner, Eastern Michigan
DNP, 3-2 Overall
Penn State's 149 agate:
#2 Frank Molinaro
Rd. 1: W, 14-3 maj. dec. Bryan Smith, UA-Bloomsburg
Rd. 2: WBF over Daniel Helena, North Carolina (6:37)
Rd. 3: W, 8-2 dec. Alex Smith, Army
Qtrs.: W, 14-5 maj. dec. Kyle Rosser, Lehigh
Semis: WBF over Cameron Hurd, Virginia Tech
FINALS: L, 1-3 (sv) #10 Mario Mason, Rutgers
2nd Place, 5-1 Overall
James English
Rd. 1: WBF over Tim Rich, Sacred Heart (4:07)
Rd. 2: W, 3-2 dec. Anthony Salupo, UA-Lehigh
Rd. 3: W, 8-3 dec. Billy Ashnault, UA-Rutgers
Qtrs: W, 3-1 (sv) dec. Zach Basich, Navy
Semis: L, 1-3 dec. #10 Mario Mason, Rutgers
3rd Place: W, 9-5 dec. Cameron Hurd, Virginia Tech
3rd Place, 5-1 Overall
*Dylan Alton
Rd. 1: W, 12-4 maj. dec. Dane Stevens, Lehigh
Rd. 2: WBF over Lester France, Eastern Michigan (2:03)
Rd. 3: W, 2-1 dec. Joey Metzler, Old Dominion
Qtrs.: L, 6-7 dec. #10 Mario Mason, Rutgers
Con. Qtr.: L, 2-5 dec. Anthony Salupo, UA-Lehigh
DNP, 3-2 Overall
*David Church
Rd. 1: LBF to Dane Johnson, Pittsburgh (2:58)
DNP, 0-1 Overall
Penn State's 157 agate:
#5 David Taylor
Rd. 1: WBF over Dylan Caprio, UA-Lock Haven (2:08)
Rd. 2: W, 20-8 maj. dec. Nicholas Visicaro, Rutgers
Rd. 3: W, 18-3 TF over Zach Clemente, Hofstra (TF; 6:58)
Qtrs.: W, 17-6 maj. dec. Mark Lewandowski, Buffalo
Semis: W, 12-0 maj. dec. James Vollrath, Penn State
FINALS: W, 9-3 dec. Jesse Dong, UA-Virginia Tech
1st Place, 6-0 Overall
James Vollrath
Rd. 1: Bye
Rd. 2: W, 12-0 maj. dec. John Kaloust, Binghamton
Rd. 3: W, 11-2 maj. dec. Nick Tourville, Boston
Qtrs.: WBF over Tyler Wilps, Pittsburgh (2:15)
Semis: L, 0-12 maj. dec. #5 David Taylor, Penn State
3rd Place: L, 5-8 dec. #18 Kyle John, Maryland
4th Place, 3-2 Overall
*Thomas Gorman
Rd. 1: L, 3-19 dec. Bryce Busler, Bloomsburg (TF; 6:32)
DNP, 0-1 Overall
Penn State's 165 agate:
#11 Jake Kemerer
Rd. 1: WBF over Ryan Maurer, UA-Pitt-Johnstown (4:10)
Rd. 2: W, 7-4 dec. Christopher Smith, Bloomsburg
Rd. 3: W, 5-2 dec. Adam Counterman, Pittsburgh
Qtrs.: L, 4-7 dec. Turtogtokh Luvsandorj, The Citadel
Con. Qtr.: L, 3-6 dec. Nicholas Czapla, UA-Bucknell
DNP, 3-2 Overall
Nick Fischer
Rd. 1: Bye
Rd. 2: WBF over Sam Shirey, Bloomsburg (6:16)
Rd. 3: W, 13-2 maj. dec. Frank Rainey, UANR
Qtrs.: L, 6-7 (tb) dec. John-Martin Cannon, Buffalo
Con. Qtr.: W, 2-1 dec. Charles Miller, UA-Virginia
Con. Semi: L, 3-5 dec. Mason Bailey, Navy
7th Place: L, 0-10 maj. dec. Nicholas Czapla, UA-Bucknell
8th Place, 2-3 Overall
*Dirk Cowburn
Rd. 1: W, 9-3 dec. Kyle Czarnecki, Boston
Rd. 2: W, 7-3 dec. Jerry Rice, Eastern Michigan
Rd. 3: W, 8-1 dec. Bionojel Candelaria, UA-Kutztown
Qtrs.: W, 3-1 dec. Thomas Scotton, North Carolina
Semis: W, 6-4 dec. Turtogtokh Luvsandorj, The Citadel
FINALS: LBF vs. #3 Josh Asper, Maryland (2:24)
2nd Place, 5-1 Overall
*Justin Haug
Rd. 1: Bye
Rd. 2: L, 6-22 TF vs. #3 Josh Asper, Maryland
Cn. 1: L, 2-4 dec. Kevin Nash, Michigan State
DNP, 0-2 Overall
Penn State's 174 agate:
#14 Ed Ruth
Rd. 1: WBF over Brandon Lintner, UA-West Virginia
Rd. 2: W, 15-0 TF over Luke Etter, UA-Bloomsburg (TF; 4:52)
Rd. 3: WBF over Ryan McGarity, Binghamton (4:30)
Qtrs.: W, 17-2 TF over Hunter Meys, Boston (TF; 6:33)
Semis: W, 6-2 dec. #9 Scott Giffin, Penn
Finals: L, 4-9 dec. #8 Mike Letts, Maryland
2nd Place, 5-1 Overall
Andrew Church
Rd. 1: L, 4-7 dec. Shane Stark, UA-Lehigh DNP, 0-1 Overall
*Brandon Phillips
Rd. 1: LBF #18 Ethan Headlee, Pittsburgh (0:32)
DNP, 0-1 Overallv
Penn State's 184 agate:
#6 Quentin Wright
Rd. 1: Bye
Rd. 2: WBF over Ty Snook, Maryland (0:52)
Rd. 3: W, forfeit over John Rizqallah, Michigan State
Qrts.: WBF over Kevin Bailey, Lehigh (4:54)
Semis: W, 13-0 maj. dec. Antonio Giorgio, North Carolina
FINALS: L, inj. def. #14 Nate Schiedel, Binghamton
2nd Place, 4-1 Overall
Penn State's 197 agate:
Nick Ruggear
Rd. 1: W, 6-1 dec. Matt Berretta, Binghamton
Rd. 2: L, 2-5 dec. Matt Wilps, UA-Pittsburgh
Cn. 3: W, 19-4 TF over Brandon Lapp, Sacred Heart (TF; 7:00)
Con. Qtr.: W, 5-3 dec. Dallas Brown, Maryland
Con. Semis: L, 0-5 dec. Justin Ortega, Penn State
7th Place: W, forfeit over Steven Graziano, Penn
7th Place, 4-2 Overall
Justin Ortega
Rd. 1: WBF over Alex Jabely, UANR (4:18)
Rd. 2: W, 5-0 dec. Bobby LaVelle, Virginia Tech
Qtrs.: L, 2-3 dec. Zachary Bennett, North Carolina
Con. Qtr.: W, 7-2 dec. Max Wessel, UA-Lehigh
Con. Semis: W, 5-0 dec. Nick Ruggear, Penn State
5th Place: L, 2-3 dec. Tyler Peter, Buffalo
6th Place, 3-2 Overall
Penn State's 285 agate:
#7 Cameron Wade
Rd. 1: Bye
Rd. 2: W, 16-0 TF over James Donner, Buffalo (TF, 7:00)
Rd. 3: WBF over Tim Gecaj, UA-Rider (2:41)
Qtrs.: W, 16-0 TF over Dondricus Anderson, King College (Tenn.), (TF; 4:51)
Semis: W, 10-2 maj. dec. David Wade, Eastern Michigan
FINALS: W, 15-0 TF over Odie Delaney, UA-The Citadel
1st Place, 5-0 Overall
*Jon Gingrich
Rd. 1: Bye
Rd. 2: W, 4-0 dec. Michael McCarthy, Navy
Rd. 3: L, 5-8 dec. Joseph Rizqallah, Michigan State
Cn. 2: L, 4-8 dec. Spencer Myers, Maryland
DNP, 1-2 Overall