Complete Bracket in PDF Format
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March 5, 2011
EVANSTON, Ill. - The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team sits in first place after day one of the 2011 Big Ten Wrestling Championships at Northwestern University. A 5-1 showing in the semifinals allowed Penn State to move ahead of Iowa and take the lead after one day of competition. In addition, seven Nittany Lions have clinched trips to the NCAA Championships in Philadelphia on March 17-19.
Penn State is in first place with 110.5 points, just 1.5 ahead of second place Iowa, which has 109. Minnesota is in third with 96.5 while Wisconsin sits in fourth with 85.5. Penn State has five wrestlers in the finals while Iowa sends four.
Penn State has five wrestlers in the championship finals tomorrow afternoon. Sophomore All-American Andrew Long (Creston, Iowa) will be the first up after his 7-2 win over Illinois' B.J. Futrell in the semifinals at 133. Long is 3-0 so far in his first Big Ten tournament. Two-time All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.) posted a convincing 4-0 win over Illinois' Eric Terrazas in the semifinals at 149 and moves into the finals as well. Red-shirt freshman David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) stayed undefeated on the year with another lopsided win over Indiana's Paul Young. Taylor rolled to an 18-4 major, just one point shy of a tech fall, and will wrestle in the championship finals at 157 tomorrow. Taylor's major gives him a 33-0 record with 32 with bonus points. The 32 bonus point victories ties the Penn State record for bonus point wins in a season.
He will be joined by classmate Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), who used a riding time point to post a 3-2 win over Iowa's Ethan Lofthouse in the semifinals at 174. Ruth, like Taylor, will battle for the Big Ten title tomorrow. While every other Nittany Lion was a No. 1 seed, sophomore All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) has rocketed to the finals at 184 as the No. 8 seed. Wright followed up his impressive morning where he downed the top-seed with a convincing 8-5 win over 5th-seed Tony Dallago of Illinois to move into tomorrow's finals. Junior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio) lost a tough 3-0 decision to Minnesota's Tony Nelson in the semifinals at heavyweight, Penn State's only loss in the semifinals. Wade will wrestle in the consolation semifinals tomorrow.
True freshman Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) notched a 17-2 tech fall over Purdue's Jake Fleckenstein in the consolations and will wrestle in the consolation semifinals tomorrow. Alton, Wade and Penn State's five finalists have all clinched a trip to NCAAs.
Senior Brad Pataky (Clearfield, Pa.) went 1-1 during the evening session and will wrestle for seventh place tomorrow. Joining Pataky with a seventh place bout will be unseeded freshman James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.). Vollrath downed 7th-seeded Ryan LeBlanc of Indiana with a TB criteria win after three sudden victories. He then dropped a last second 3-1 SV decision to 5th-seed Dan Yates of Michigan, moving the unseeded Lion into the seventh place match tomorrow. True freshman Nick Ruggear (Oxford, Pa.) dropped a 4-0 decision to Michigan State's Tyler Dickenson and ended his tournament 0-2 at 197.
Penn State now has a 19-8 record in the tournament. The Nittany Lions have 11 bonus points thanks to four tech falls, three majors and a pin.
The 2011 Big Ten Wrestling Championships conclude Sunday afternoon in Welsh-Ryan Arena. Consolations and seventh place bouts start at 2 p.m. (Eastern)/1 p.m. (Central) with the finals slated to start at 4 p.m. (Eastern)/3 p.m. Central). The finals will air live on the Big Ten Network. The event serves as the national qualifier for all 11 Big Ten programs as individuals try to advance to the 2011 NCAA Championships on March 17-19 in Philadelphia, Pa. 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 Big Ten Wrestling Championships - Team Standings After Session 2 Saturday, March 5, 2011 - Evanston, Ill.
1: PENN STATE - 110.5
2: Iowa - 109.0
3: Minnesota - 96.5
4: Wisconsin - 85.5
5: Michigan - 73.0
6: Northwestern - 53.0
7: Ohio State - 52.5
8: Illinois - 51.0
9: Purdue - 44.5
10: Michigan State - 38.5
11: Indiana - 35.0
The following is a weight-by-weight breakdown of Penn State's tournament to date:
125: #10 Brad Pataky, Sr., (Clearfield, Pa.) - 4th seed - 10-5 overall
1st Rd: W, 15-0 tech fall over Eric Olanowski MSU (TF; 7:00)
Qtrs: L, 5-9 dec. 5th-seed Sean Boyle MICH
Cns. Rd. 2: W, 17-2 tech fall over Bo Touris OSU (TF; 4:57)
Cns. Rd. 3: L, 2-3 dec. 8th-seed Tom Kelliher WIS
7th Place: tomorrow
Senior Brad Pataky, the tournament's fourth seed, opened up the 125-pound bracket with a first round match-up against Michigan State's Eric Olanowski. Pataky dominated the Spartan with multiple turns and over 4:00 of riding time on his way to a 15-0 technical fall at the 7:00 mark. Pataky then met 5th-seed Sean Boyle of Michigan and dropped a hard-fought 9-5 decision.
Pataky met Ohio State's Bo Touris in the second round of consolations and picked up more bonus points, posting a 17-2 technical fall over the Buckeye at the 4:57 mark. Pataky then met Wisconsin's Tom Kelliher in the third round of consolations. Kelliher was the 8th-seed. Pataky led 2-1 with just seconds left but Kelliher worked his way out of a scramble for a last second takedown and a 3-2 win. The loss sends Pataky into tomorrow seventh place bout.
133: #3 Andrew Long, So. (Creston, Iowa) - 1st seed - 14-1 overall
1st Rd: W, 18-3 tech fall over Matt Ortega IND (TF; 7:00)
Qtrs: W, 6-2 dec. 8th-seed Ian Paddock OSU
Semis: W, 7-2 dec. 4th-seed B.J. Futrell ILL
Finals: Tomorrow vs. 2nd seed Tyler Graff WIS
Sophomore Andrew Long, the tournament's top seed at 133, took on Indiana's Matt Ortega in the first round. Long used a last second takedown and a riding time point to post a dominating 18-3 technical fall at the 7:00 mark. He followed that up with a solid 6-2 decision over Ohio State's Ian Paddock, the 8th-seed, giving up an early takedown but roaring back for the decisive victory.
Long met 4th-seed B.J. Futrell of Illinois in the semifinals and came back from an early 2-0 deficit to roll to a roll to a convincing 7-2 win and move into tomorrow's championships finals. Long will meet Wisconsin's Tyler Graff in the finals.
141: #7 Andrew Alton, Fr. (Mill Hall, Pa.) - 5th seed - 27-7 overall
1st Rd: bye Qtrs: L, 2-6 dec. 4th-seed Jimmy Kennedy ILL
Conso Rd. 2: bye
Conso Rd. 3: W, 17-2 tech fall over 7th seed Jake Fleckenstein PUR (TF; 4:32)
Conso Semis: Tomorrow vs. 2nd seed Montell Marion IOWA
Rookie Andrew Alton met 4th-seed Jimmy Kennedy in the opening round of arguably the conference's toughest weight class. Kennedy worked his way to a 6-2 decision over Alton, sending the Nittany Lion true freshman into the consolation round.
Alton took on 7th-seed Jake Fleckenstein of Purdue in the third round of consolations after getting a second round bye. The Nittany Lion made short work of the Boilermaker, knocking off a 17-2 tech fall at the 4:32 mark. Alton will now meet 2nd-seed Montell Marion of Iowa in the consolation semifinals tomorrow.
149: #3 Frank Molinaro, Jr. (Barnegat, N.J.) - 1st seed - 27-2 overall
1st Rd: bye
Qtrs: W, 9-0 maj. dec. 8th-seed Danny Zilverberg MINN
Semis: W, 4-0 dec. 4th-seed Eric Terrazas ILL
Finals: vs. 6th-seed Eric Grajales MICH
Two-time All-American Frank Molinaro made short work of Minnesota's Danny Zilverberg, dominating the 8th-seed to the tune of a 9-0 major with over 3:00 of riding time. The decisive win moved the Lion junior into the semifinals.
Molinaro took on 4th-seed Eric Terrazas of Illinois in the semifinals and downed the Illini grappler in a 4-0 decision. Molinaro moves into tomorrow's championship finals where he will face 6th-seed Eric Grajales of Michigan.
157: #3 David Taylor, Fr. (St. Paris, Ohio) - 1st seed - 33-0 overall
1st Rd: bye
Qtrs: WBF over 8th-seed Matt Mincey MINN (1:27)
Semis: W, 18-4 maj. dec. 5th-seed Paul Young IND
Finals: vs. 2nd-seed Derek St. John IOWA
Red-shirt freshman David Taylor wasted no time making a splash at his first Big Ten tournament. The top-seeded Lion pinned 8th-seed Matt Mincey of Minnesota at the 1:27 mark to move into the semifinals.
Taylor then met 5th-seed Paul Young of Indiana in the semifinals and hammered the Hoosier grappler for the third time this year. Taylor finished just one point shy of a tech fall, posting an 18-4 major and moving into the championship finals tomorrow. He will meet 2nd-seed Derek St. John of Iowa in the finals.
165: James Vollrath, Fr., (Richboro, Pa.) - 25-8 overall
1st Rd: L, 6-19 maj. dec. 1st-seed Andrew Howe UW
Conso Rd 2: W, 3-3 (TB3, RT crit.) dec. 7th-seed Ryan LeBlanc IND
Conso Rd 3: L, 1-3 (SV) dec. 6th-seed Dan Yates MICH
7th Place: Tomorrow
Red-shirt freshman James Vollrath took on the tournament's top seed, Wisconsin's Andrew Howe, in the opening round. Vollrath found the footing tough against the nation's second ranked 165-pounder and lost a 19-6 major.
The Penn State freshman then met 7th-seed Ryan LeBlanc of Indiana in the consolation second round and worked his way to a thrilling 3-3 (TB3, RT crit) win, using :15 of tie-breaker riding time to move into the third round of consolations. Vollrath took 6th-seed Dan Yates of Michigan to extra time as well but gave up a last second takedown in a 3-1 (SV) loss. Vollrath, unseeded, will wrestle for seventh place tomorrow.
174: #2 Ed Ruth, Fr., (Harrisburg, Pa.) - 1st seed - 31-1 overall
1st Rd: bye
Qtrs: W, 18-5 maj. dec. 8th-seed Curran Jacobs MSU
Semis: W, 3-2 dec. 5th-seed Ethan Lofthouse IOWA
Finals: vs. 2nd seed Nick Heflin OSU
Red-shirt freshman Ed Ruth, the No. 1 seed at 174, dominated 8th-seed Curran Jacobs of Michigan State in the quarterfinals. Ruth used multiple takedowns and forced Jacobs into three stalls to roll to the victory and move into tonight's semifinals.
The top-seed Ruth then took on 5th-seed Ethan Lofthouse of Iowa in the semifinals and used riding time to squeak out a 3-2 win at 174 and move into the finals where he will face second-seed Nick Heflin in the finals.
184: #17 Quentin Wright, So. (Wingate, Pa.) - 8th seed - 15-6 overall
1st Rd: W, 10-2 maj. dec. Hunter Collins UM
Qtrs: W, 4-3 dec. 1st seed Travis Rutt WIS
Semis: W, 8-5 dec. 5th-seed Tony Dallago ILL
Finals: vs. 2nd-seed Kevin Steinhaus MIN
Sophomore Quentin Wright, the eighth seed at 184, battled Michigan's Hunter Collins in a first round match-up. Wright, like Long at 133, used a last second takedown to secure bonus points, posting a 10-2 major over Collins to move into the quarterfinals. In the quarters, Wright used a first period escape, a second period reversal and a swift escape from trouble at the end of the third to down top-seeded Travis Rutt of Wisconsin, 4-3.
Wright ten battled 5th-seed Tony Dallago of Illinois in the semifinals. Wright got taken down seconds into the bout but quickly reversed Dallago and then rolled to a convincing 8-5 win. The 2009 All-American at 174 will now take on 2nd-seed Kevin Steinhaus of Minnesota in the championship finals tomorrow.
197: Nick Ruggear, Fr. (Oxford, Pa.) - 15-14 overall - TOURNEY COMPLETE
1st Rd: L, 3-12 maj. dec. 3rd-seed Logan Brown PUR
Conso Rd. 2: L, 0-4 dec. Tyler Dickenson MSU
True freshman Nick Ruggear took on third seed Logan Brown of Purdue in a pigtail match a 197. Brown defeated Ruggear, picking up a 12-3 major with over 3:00 of riding time.
Ruggear moved into the consolations where he dropped a tough 4-0 decision to Michigan State's Tyler Dickenson, ending his tourney run at 0-2. Ruggear ends the Big Ten tournament with a 15-14 overall record.
285: #6 Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio.) - 1st seed - 27-5 overall
1st Rd: bye
Qtrs: W, 7-0 dec. 8th-seed Ben Kuhar NU
Semis: L, 0-3 dec. 4th-seed Tony Nelson MINN
Junior Cameron Wade, the top seed at heavyweight, dominated Northwestern's Ben Kuhar, the 8th seed, with a 7-0 decision in the quarterfinals. Wade's win moved him into the semifinals.
The top-seeded Nittany Lion was Penn State's lone loss in the semis, however, as 4th-seed Tony Nelson of Minnesota handed the big man a 3-0 defeat. Wade now moves into tomorrow's consolation semifinals.