March 18, 2011
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, under the direction of 2011 Big Ten Coach of the Year Cael Sanderson, has added four All-Americans to its all-time roster as Andrew Long (Creston, Iowa), junior Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.), freshman David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) and sophomore Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) all advanced to the national semifinals and clinched All-America status.
For Long, Molinaro and Wright, the honor is a repeat of past years. Long was the national runner-up at 125 for Iowa State a year ago and now is a Penn State All-American at 133. Molinaro finished eighth at 141 two years ago and took fifth at 149 last year. At 149 again this year, he becomes Penn State's 19th three-time All-American. Wright placed sixth at 174 two years ago as a true freshman and red-shirted last season. He is now an All-American at 184. For Taylor, undefeated at 37-0 as a freshman, it is his first at 157.
Cornell holds a slim half point lead in the team race. The Big Red have 61.0 while Penn State is right behind with 60.5. Iowa is in third with 52.0 while American has 49.0 and Oklahoma State has 44.5.
Long became a Penn State All-American and earned his second All-America honor overall with a thrilling pin of Central Michigan's Scotti Sentes in his quarterfinal bout. Sentes notched an early takedown in the bout and controlled Long for much of the first period, but the third seeded sophomore worked his way into a quick reversal and pin of Sentes at the 2:46 mark to move into tonight's national semifinals where he will face No. 2 seed Andrew Hochstrasser of Boise State.
True freshman Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), the sixth seed at 141, lost a hard-fought 2-0 decision to No. 3 seed Boris Novochkov of Cal Poly in his quarterfinal bout. Neither wrestler had a takedown, but Novochkov rode Alton out in the second period and then picked up an escape in the third for the 2-0 win. Alton moves into the consolation bracket tonight where one more win will make him an All-American and keep his hopes of a third place finish alive.
Molinaro, the second-seed at 149, took care of No. 7 seed Mario Mason of Rutgers in his semifinal to become a three-time All-American. Molinaro used a first period takedown and two escapes to offset a late Mason takedown. Molinaro becomes Penn State's 19th three-time All-American. He now will take on No. 6 seed Jason Chamberlain of Boise State in the semifinals tonight.
Taylor, the third seed at 157, took care of sixth-seed Derek St. John of Iowa in a 6-3 decision. Once again, Taylor not taken down by the Hawkeye and used two takedowns, an escape and a riding time point to become an All-American as a freshman and move into the national semifinals where he will face No. 2 seed Steve Fittery of American. Taylor becomes Penn State's first freshman All-American since Molinaro and Quentin Wright turned the trick in 2009. He improves to 37-0 on the year.
Red-shirt freshman Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), the No. 2 seed at 174, was injured in the second period of his quarterfinal bout against No. 7 Nick Amuchastegui of Stanford. Ruth notched a first period takedown but Amuchastegui got a takedown at the end of the first period to lead 3-2 after one. Ruth chose down to start the second and the Cardinal turned him three times to lead 9-2 at the end of the second. During the ride-out, Ruth was injured and could not continue. He returns tonight in consolation action tonight.
Wright, the ninth-seed at 184, simply dominated top-seeded Chris Honeycutt of Edinboro in his quarterfinal bout. Wright took the Scot grappler down once in the first period and twice in the third to roll to an impressive 7-3 win and become a two-time All-American. The Centre County native has reeled off seven straight wins in the post-season (four to win the Big Ten title and two three here at NCAAs). Wright will face 12th-seeded Grant Gambrall of Iowa in the national semifinals tonight.
Junior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio), the ninth-seed at heavyweight, was taken down in the first period by top-seeded Zach Rey of Lehigh. During a scramble late in the period, Wade suffered an injury and, while he did continue into the second period, was not able to continue early in the middle stanza and defaulted. Wade will wrestle in tonight's consolations with the chance to finish as high as third still alive.
Senior Brad Pataky (Clearfield, Pa.) ended his Nittany Lion career with a tough 8-1 loss to Michigan's Sean Boyle in the consolations at 125. Boyle countered a number of early Pataky shots for takedowns to grab the victory. Pataky went 1-2 in his third trip to NCAAs and posted a 12-7 record during an injury plagued season. Pataky leaves Penn State as a three-time NCAA qualifier with an 86-36 career record.
Penn State went 4-4 in session three and is now to 19-5 through three sessions of the tournament. The Nittany Lions picked up two more bonus points thanks to Long's pin. Penn State now has 10.5 bonus points from three pins, three majors and a tech fall. Penn State's four guaranteed All-Americans ups the all-time total at Penn State to 170. Penn State still has three grapplers just one win from All-America status (Alton at 141, Ruth at 174 and Wade at heavyweight). Penn State's best All-American performance in recent history was five in 1993. The record is eight set in 1987.
The 2011 NCAA Championships continue Friday, March 18, at 7 p.m. with session four featuring the national semifinals. ESPN continues its full coverage of the three-day event at 7 p.m. (ESPNU & ESPN3 simulcast). Action will then continue on Saturday as follows: Saturday, March 19 - Session five, 11 a.m. (ESPNU & ESPN3 simulcast) - Session six/championship finals, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN). All broadcasts are in HD, including ESPN3. The 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.
2011 NCAA Wrestling Championships - After Session 3
Thursday, March 18, 2011 - Wells Fargo Center - Philadelphia, Pa.
1: Cornell - 61.0
2: PENN STATE - 60.5
3: Iowa - 52.0
4: American - 49.0
5: Oklahoma State - 44.5
6: Wisconsin - 41.0
7: Lehigh - 37.0
8: Arizona State - 35.0
8: Boise State - 35.0
10: Minnesota - 32.0
The following is a weight-by-weight breakdown of Penn State's tournament to date:
125: Brad Pataky, Sr., (Clearfield, Pa.) - unseeded - 12-7 overall
1st Rd: L, 7-13 dec. #12 Jarod Garnett, Virginia Tech
Cons Rd. 1: W, 6-1 dec. Jason Lara, Oregon State
Cons Rd. 2: L, 1-8 dec. Sean Boyle, Michigan
Senior Brad Pataky, unseeded at 125, battled 12th-seed Jarrod Garnett tough but dropped a hard-fought 13-7 decision to the seeded Hokie in Penn State's first bout of the day. Pataky, Penn State's only unseeded grappler, moves into consolation action where he took on Oregon State's Jason Lara.
Pataky used two takedowns, an escape and a riding time point to roll to a convincing 6-1 win over Lara. Pataky then met Michigan's Sean Boyle in the next consolation round but dropped a tough 8-1 bout. Boyle countered a number of early Pataky shots for takedowns to grab the victory. Pataky went 1-2 in his third trip to NCAAs and posted a 12-7 record during an injury plagued season.
133: Andrew Long, So. (Creston, Iowa) - 3rd seed - 18-1 overall
1st Rd: W, 8-1 dec. Casey Cruz, Northern Colorado
2nd Rd: W, 7-5 (sv) dec. David Thorn, Minnesota
Quarters: WBF over #11 Scotti Sentes, Central Michigan (2:46)
Semis: vs. #2 Andrew Hochstrasser, Boise State tonight
Sophomore Andrew Long, the third seed, dominated Northern Colorado's Casey Cruz 8-1 in his opening round match, getting a late takedown in each of the three periods to coast to the win. Long moved into the second round to face Minnesota's David Thorn.
Long broke out to an early lead on Thorn and was the pace setter in the match. But Thorn caught the Lion sophomore with a shoulder toss in the third period for a quick takedown and two near fall points, taking a 5-3 lead. Long, who already had the riding time point secured, escaped and went to sudden victory with Thorn where he used a scrambling takedown at the :30 mark to clinch the 7-5 win.
The Iowa native became a Penn State All-American with a pin over Central Michigan's Scotti Sentes in the quarterfinals. Now a two-time All-American, Long used a thrilling first period move to grab the pin. Sentes notched an early takedown in the bout and controlled Long for much of the first period, but the third seeded sophomore worked his way into a quick reversal and pin of Sentes at the 2:46 mark.
141: Andrew Alton, Fr. (Mill Hall, Pa.) - 6th seed - 30-9 overall
1st Rd: WBF over Anwar Goeres, Binghamton (2:20)
2nd Rd: W, 13-4 maj. dec. #11 Michael Mariarcher, American
Quarters: L, 0-2 dec. #3 Boris Novochkov, Cal Poly
Conso Rd. 4: Tonight
True freshman Andrew Alton entered his first NCAA tournament as the 6th-seed at 141. The first year grappler made a superb NCAA tournament debut, pinning Binghamton's Anwar Goeres at the 2:20 mark. Alton took Goeres down three times in the first period before finishing off the match with the fall.
Alton met 11th-seed Michael Mariacher of American in the second round. Alton dominated the 11th-seed, collected five takedowns and two near fall points on his way to a 13-4 major. The major gives Alton three bonus points through two bouts.
The Penn State freshman then dropped a hard-fought 2-0 decision to No. 3 seed Boris Novochkov of Cal Poly in his quarterfinal bout. Neither wrestler had a takedown, but Novochkov rode Alton out in the second period and then picked up an escape in the third for the 2-0 win.
149: Frank Molinaro, Jr. (Barnegat, N.J.) - 2nd seed - 31-2 overall
1st Rd: W, 9-0 maj. dec. Zac Cibula, Rider
2nd Rd: W, 6-3 dec. Derek Valenti, Virginia
Quarters: W, 4-2 dec. #7 Mario Mason, Rutgers
Semis: Tonight vs. #6 Jason Chamberlain, Boise State
Two-time All-American Frank Molinaro is the No. 2 seed at 149 and the New Jersey native finds himself wrestling before something of a home crowd in Philadelphia. Molinaro was dominant in a 9-0 major decision over Rider's Zac Cibula, amassing 3:45 in riding time and taking the Bronc grappler down three times. Molinaro moved into the second round where he battled Virginia's Derek Valenti.
Molinaro controlled the bout with Valenti and rolled to a 6-3 win thanks to two takedowns, an escape and a riding time point. The three points for Valenti are the first scored on Molinaro during the post-season (Big Ten and NCAAs).
Molinaro became a three-time All-American with a solid 4-2 decision over seventh-seed Mario Mason of Rutgers in the quarterfinals. The Nittany Lion junior used a first period takedown and two escapes to offset a late Mason takedown. Molinaro becomes Penn State's 19th three-time All-American.
157: David Taylor, Fr. (St. Paris, Ohio) - 3rd seed - 37-0 overall
1st Rd: W, 13-2 maj. dec. Robert Erisman, Oklahoma State
2nd Rd: W, 20-3 tech fall over David Bonin, Northern Iowa (TF; 5:49)
Quarters: W, 6-3 dec. #6 Derek St. John, Iowa
Semis: Tonight vs. #2 Steve Fittery, American
Red-shirt freshman David Taylor took an undefeated 34-0 record into his first NCAA Championship and was the third seed at 157. Taylor met unseeded Big 12 champion Robert Erisman of Oklahoma State in the first round and used a flurry of near falls in the second period to roll to a 12-3 major over the Cowboy senior. Taylor turned Erisman twice after a reversal to start the period.
Taylor met Northern Iowa's David Bonin in the second round. The Lion dominated the Panther grappler, turning him for 12 back points and rolling to a 20-3 technical fall at the 5:49 mark. Taylor had three takedowns, four three point turns and a reversal in the win. The victory picked up 1.5 bonus points for the Nittany Lions. Taylor now has 2.5 in two bouts.
The St. Paris, Ohio, native stayed undefeated with a decisive 6-3 decision over No. 6 Derek St. John of Iowa in the quarterfinals. Taylor was not taken down by the Hawkeye and used two takedowns, an escape and a riding time point to grab the victory. He becomes Penn State's first freshman All-American since Molinaro and Quentin Wright turned the trick in 2009 and improves to 37-0 on the year.
174: Ed Ruth, Fr., (Harrisburg, Pa.) - 2nd seed - 34-2 overall
1st Rd: WBF over Royal Brettrager, Liberty (0:24)
2nd Rd: W, 5-3 dec. Scott Glasser, Minnesota
Quarters: L, def. #7 Nick Amuchastegui, Stanford
Conso Rd. 4: Tonight
Red-shirt freshman Ed Ruth took a superb 32-1 overall record into his first NCAA Championship and was the second seed at 174. Ruth wasted no time in making a splash at his first NCAA tournament. The Harrisburg native pinned Liberty's Royal Brettrager in just :24. Catching him with a near-side cradle and getting Penn State's second fall of the opening session.
Ruth took on Minnesota's Scott Glasser in the second round. Ruth fought off a late Glasser reversal attempt to post a hard-fought 5-3 win over the Gopher, using two takedowns and an escape for the victory.
Seventh-seed Nick Amuchastegui of Stanford ended Ruth's quest for a national title as the Nittany Lion freshman was injured during the second period and had to default into consolation action. Ruth notched a first period takedown but Amuchastegui got a takedown at the end of the first period to lead 3-2 after one. Ruth chose down to start the second and the Cardinal turned him three times to lead 9-2 at the end of the second. During the ride-out, Ruth was injured and could not continue but returns tonight in consolations, still with the chance to finish as high as third.
184: Quentin Wright, So. (Wingate, Pa.) - 9th seed - 19-6 overall
1st Rd: W, 8-4 dec. Jonathan Fausey, Virginia
2nd Rd: W, 8-4 dec. #8 Kevin Steinhaus, Minnesota
Quarters: W, 7-3 dec. #1 Chris Honeycutt, Edinboro
Semis: Tonight vs. #12 Grant Gambrall, Iowa
Sophomore Quentin Wright, a 2009 All-American at 174 as a true freshman, returned to NCAAs at the No. 9 seed at 184. Wright continued his torrid March run by downing Virginia's Jonathan Fausey in the opening round. Wright did not give up a takedown, notched three of his own, and rolled to an 8-4 win.
Wright then took on eighth-seed Kevin Steinhaus of Minnesota in the second round in a rematch of the Big Ten title bout in Evanston on March 6. Wright was even more dominant over Steinhaus this time, using two third period takedowns to roll to an 8-4 win.
Wright then dominated the tournament's top seed at 184, Chris Honeycutt of Edinboro. He took the Scot grappler down once in the first period and twice in the third to roll to an impressive 7-3 win and become a two-time All-American. The Centre County native has reeled off seven straight wins in the post-season (four to win the Big Ten title and three here at NCAAs).
285: Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio.) - 9th seed - 30-7 overall
1st Rd: W, 9-2 dec. Clayton Jack, Oregon State
2nd Rd: W, 4-1 dec. #8 Tony Nelson, Minnesota
Quarters: L, def. #1 Zach Rey, Lehigh
Conso Rd. 4: Tonight
Junior Cameron Wade entered his second NCAA Championship as the No. 9 seed at heavyweight. Wade turned a first period takedown into a blowout win, turning Oregon State's Clayton Jack twice and rolling to a 9-2 win with over 4:00 in riding time. Wade moved into the second round where he met No. 8 seed Tony Nelson of Minnesota.
Wade, who lost to Nelson two weeks ago in the Big Ten Championships 3-0, avenged that loss with a superb 4-1 win over the Gopher big man. Wade got a first period takedown and a second period reversal to notch the victory, Penn State's fourth over Minnesota this round.
The ninth-seeded Wade was taken down in the first period by top-seeded Zach Rey of Lehigh in his quarterfinal match-up. During a scramble late in the period, Wade suffered an injury and, while he did continue into the second period, was not able to continue early in the middle stanza and defaulted into the consolation bracket.