Jan. 7, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, ranked No. 2 nationally, entered the 2011 Virginia Duals as the top seed and advanced to the tournament semifinals with a 37-12 thumping of Edinboro in the second round of the event. No. 7 Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.) majored No. 14 Torsten Gillespie in the dual's marquee bout at 149.
Senior Brad Pataky (Clearfield, Pa.) got things started again, this time getting a pin at 125. Penn State followed that pin up with five straight majors to put the Fighting Scots to rest early. No. 6 Andrew Long (Creston, Iowa) majored Eric Morrill at 133, No. 7 Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) got a major at 141 before Molinaro majored Gillespie 10-2 in the dual's highlighted bout. No. 3 David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) completely dominated Edinboro's Josh Greisheimer, notching a lopsided 25-12 win. Freshman James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) got the call at 165 and posted a 13-3 major, putting Penn State up 26-0.
Freshman Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 2 at 174, posted a 20-5 technical fall at 174 to push the Lions out to a 31-0 lead before Edinboro got on the board. The Scots got a pin from No. 3 Chris Honeycutt at 184 and a pin from Shawn Fendone at 197 to score 12 straight points. But Penn State's Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio), ranked No. 7 at heavyweight, put an exclamation point on Penn State's win with a fall at the 2:07 mark to give the Lions the 37-12 win.
The win gives Penn State a 9-0 record heading into tomorrow's semifinal match against No. 23 Kent State. The 9-0 start is Penn State's best since going 12-0 during the 1971-72 season (no ties or losses). The Nittany Lions racked up a 40-6 takedown edge and, in two duals today, had a 72-12 margin. Penn State also picked up 13 bonus points against the Scots, giving the Lions 28 in two duals.
The duals continue for Penn State on Saturday. Head coach Cael Sanderson's Nittany Lions will face No. 23 Kent State at 2 p.m. tomorrow in the semifinals. Penn State's next home dual is a nationally televised match-up with No. 21 Pittsburgh on Jan. 21. Action in the Big Ten Network live event begins at 6 p.m. in Rec Hall. 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.
#2 Penn State 37, Edinboro 12
January 7, 2011 - Hampton Coliseum - Hampton, Va.
125: Brad Pataky PSU pinned Bijan Banks EU (WBF 1:37) 6-0
133: #6 Andrew Long PSU maj. dec. Eric Morrill EU, 17-7 10-0
141: #7 Andrew Alton PSU maj. dec. Kasey Davis EU, 21-8 14-0
149: #7 Frank Molinaro PSU maj. dec. #14 Torsten Gillespie EU, 10-2 18-0
157: #3 David Taylor PSU maj. dec. Josh Greisheimer EU, 25-12 22-0
165: James Vollrath PSU maj. dec. Ethan Saylor EU, 13-3 26-0
174: #2 Ed Ruth PSU tech fall Chris Hrunka EU, 20-5 (TF; 5:42) 31-0
184: #3 Chris Honeycutt EU pinned Andrew Church PSU (WBF 1:28) 31-6
197: Shawn Fendone EU pinned Justin Ortega PSU (WBF 2:45) 31-12
258: #7 Cameron Wade PSU pinned Ernest James EU (WBF 2:07) 37-12
Attendance: 1,800
Records: Penn State 9-0 (1-0 Big Ten), Edinboro 2-6-1
Up Next for Penn State: vs. No. 23 Kent State, semifinals, 2 p.m. tomorrow
BOUT-BY-BOUT:
125: Senior Brad Pataky (Clearfield, Pa.) got the nod at 125 for Penn State and faced off against Bijan Banks of Edinboro in the bout's first match-up. Pataky wasted no time in taking a 2-0 lead with a fast double leg out of the gates. The Lion then turned the Scot for two near fall points and a 4-0 lead less than a minute into the bout. Another turn by Pataky led to two more back points and a 6-0 lead before a reset at the 1:42 mark. Pataky then reset, turned Banks, and got the fall at the 1:37 mark.
133: All-American Andrew Long (Creston, Iowa), ranked No. 6 at 133, took on talented Fighting Scot Eric Morrill in his second Bout as a Nittany Lion. Morrill, a qualifier last year, got the bout's first takedown to move out to an early 2-0 lead on Long. Long quickly escaped and turned into Morrill with 2:04 left on the clock. He then countered a Morrill shot, worked his way behind the Scot and took a 3-2 lead with his first takedown. Morrill escaped to a 3-3 tie, but Long caught him with a high throw quickly, took him to his back for three near fall points and led 8-4 after cutting Morrill loose. Morrill picked up a second takedown, but Long escaped quickly to take a 9-6 lead into the second period. Long chose down to start the second and quickly escaped to a 10-6 lead. Long forced a scramble on the edge of the mat and, after some work, got the takedown with :32 left to up his lead to 12-6. Long's strong ride out forced Morrill into a stall warning before the period ended and the Lion led 12-6 with :53 in time after two. Morrill chose down to start the third but could not break free of Long's dominance on top. Another Morrill stall gave Long a 13-7 lead after he cut Morrill loose. Long continued to scramble, looking to notch a major against the veteran NCAA qualifier. Long picked up another stall point and notched a takedown with :23 on the clock to move out to a 16-7 lead and secure bonus points. Long's 17-7 win put Penn State up 10-0.
141: True freshman Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), ranked No. 7 nationally at 141, faced off against Edinboro's Kasey Davis. Davis dove in low on Alton right out of the gates and took the Lion freshman down early to lead 2-1 after a quick Alton escape. But Alton answered with his own takedown to lead 3-2 less than :30 into the bout. Davis escaped at the 1:54 mark to tie the score and Alton went back to work, picking up a quick takedown seconds later to move out to a 5-3 lead. Alton cut Davis loose at the :55 mark and immediately began looking for another takedown. Davis nearly caught Alton for a quick score on the edge of the mat but action moved out of bounds and Alton maintained his 5-4 lead. Alton's pressure forced Davis into a stall and Alton answered with a quick takedown to lead 7-4 after one period (with 1:56 in riding time). Davis chose down to start the second period but could not break free of a strong Alton ride. Alton maintained control of the Scot until cutting him loose at the 1:40 mark. Alton used a fake to Davis' shoulders to lead to a nice low double and a 9-5 lead with another takedown. Alton cut Davis loose again but Alton immediately went to his shoulders, worked behind him, and got another takedown to lead 11-6 with :40 left in the period. Alton's ride-out allowed the Lion to lead 11-6 with a clinched bonus point (3:37 in time) after two periods. Alton chose down to start the third and quickly escaped for a 12-6 lead. Alton picked up a stall point and added a takedown before cutting Davis loose to lead 15-7 with :56 left. Alton picked up a stall point and two more takedowns to post the 21-8 major (with 4:19 in riding time). The win put Penn State up 14-0.
149: All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.), ranked No. 7 at 149, met No. 14 Torsten Gillespie of Edinboro in the dual's marquee match-up. Molinaro got on the board at the 1:00 mark with a solid takedown which he followed up with a dominating ride. Molinaro maintained control of the ranked Scot grappler for the rest of the period, building up a daunting 2:00 time edge with the ride-out. Molinaro chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped for a 3-0 lead. Molinaro countered a slight Gillespie shot for a 5-0 lead with :25 left in the middle stanza. Another Molinaro ride out allowed him to lead 5-0 after two periods. Gillespie chose down to start the third and Molinaro cut him loose to a 5-1 lead with a clinched riding time point. Molinaro picked up another takedown with :30 left and cut him loose with just :20 left, hoping for one more takedown and a major. Molinaro used a high double with :02 left to secure the major and the 10-2 win over the 14th-ranked Gillespie.
157: No. 3 David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) looked to remain unbeaten on the year at 157 against Edinboro's Josh Greisheimer. Taylor dominated the match-up from start to finish. The freshman Lion notched two takedowns in just 1:00 and cut Greisheimer loose to a 4-2 lead with 1:55 on the clock. Taylor added a third takedown shortly after that and then began dominating Greisheimer with a strong ride turning him quickly but not picking up any near fall points. Taylor rode Greisheimer out to lead 6-2 with 1:55 in time after one period. Taylor chose down to start the second stanza and quickly reversed him for an 8-3 lead (after cutting him loose). Taylor added yet another takedown to up his lead t o 10-3. Taylor would continue to add takedowns and cuts while building up a 16-6 lead. Greisheimer notched his first takedown at the :18 mark to cut the lead to 16-8 as the period ended. Greisheimer chose neutral to start the third period but Taylor continued to pile on the takedowns, picking up five more takedowns to notch the 25-12 major with nearly 3:00 in riding time.
165: Red-shirt freshman James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) met Ethan Saylor of Edinboro at 165. Vollrath took an early lead with a takedown at the 2:01 mark. Vollrath then put together a strong ride, looking for a turning combination and getting the back points a minute into his ride. The three near fall points put Vollrath up 5-0. Vollrath rode Saylor out to lead 5-0 with 2:00 in time after one period. Vollrath chose down to start the second stanza and quickly escaped to a 6-0 lead. Vollrath added another takedown quickly after escaping and then cut Saylor loose to lead 8-1. Vollrath added another takedown before the period ended to lead 10-1 heading into the third. Saylor chose down to start the third period and escaped to a 10-2 deficit. A fourth Vollrath takedown gave the Lion a 12-2 lead with a clinched riding time point. Saylor managed another escape but with the riding time point posted a 13-3 major, putting Penn State up 26-0.
174: Red-shirt freshman Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 2 nationally at 174, met Chris Hrunka of Edinboro. Ruth notched the first takedown at the 2:07, cut Hrunka loose, took him down again, cut him and took him down one more time to lead 6-2. Ruth picked one more takedown up as the period ended and led 8-3 with 1:30 in time after one period. Hrunka chose down to start the middle stanza but Ruth was once again dominant on top. Ruth added three near fall points before Hrunka escaped and the Lion freshman led 11-4 with just :30 on the clock. Ruth used a low double to pick up one more takedown to lead 13-4 at the end of two periods with 3:05 in riding time. Ruth chose down to start the period, quickly escaped and picked up another takedown, all in just :14 seconds. Ruth began to pile up the points with another takedown and two more back points to quickly end the bout with a 20-5 tech fall at the 5:42 mark.
184: With All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) still recovering from injury, Andrew Church (Erie, Pa.) took to the mat for Penn State at 184 to face off against No. 3 Chris Honeycutt of Edinboro. Honeycutt got an early takedown to lead 2-0. The ranked Scot then turned Church to his back to pick up the pin at the 1:28 mark, cutting Penn State's lead to 31-6.
197: Sophomore Justin Ortega (Oxford, Pa.) met veteran Fighting Scot Shawn Fendone at 197. Fendone got the early takedown and added two near fall points, reset himself and then picked up three more to lead 7-0 with 1:15 on the clock. Fendone added three more near fall points to up his lead to 10-0. He then turned Ortega once more and this time worked himself to a pin at the 2:24 mark, cutting Penn State's lead to 31-12.
285: Junior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio), ranked 7 at heavyweight, took on Edinboro's Ernest James in the final bout of the dual. Wade worked himself into an early takedown to lead 2-0 midway through the period. The Lion junior then turned the Scot big man for back points, reset himself and then picked up the quick pin at the 2:07 mark. The pin gave Penn State a convincing 37-12 win.