Nov. 15, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Eight members of the Nittany Lion wrestling team are ranked in the latest version of the Intermat national individual rankings. Three Nittany Lions are ranked No. 1 while five are among the top four at their weights. Penn State is No. 2 in the latest NWCA/USA Today Coaches dual meet poll and Intermat gives the Lions a No. 2 nod in its tournament power index (TPI).
Three-time All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.) is 1-0 on the year and ranked No. 1 at 149. All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), is 1-0 thus far and is No. 1 at 165 and two-time All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) is 1-0 and got the No. 1 nod at 184. All-American Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) is 1-0 at 174 and ranked No. 2 while senior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio) is 1-0 and ranked No. 4 at heavyweight. True freshman Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.) is 1-0 at 197 and ranked No. 10 while red-shirt freshman Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) is 1-0 and ranked No. 11 at 157. True freshman Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.) is 1-0 on the year and ranked No. 18 at 125.
Penn State is now No. 2 in the latest NWCA/USA Today Coaches poll with 240 points and three first place votes. Iowa is No. 1 with 244 points and six first place votes. Oklahoma State is third with 230 and one first place vote while Minnesota, Penn State's Sunday opponent, is close behind in the fourth spot with 223 points, giving the top four nationally a mere 21 points of separation between spots one and four. Cornell rounds out the top five. Michigan, Illinois, Lehigh, Missouri and Ohio State comprise the rest of the top ten. Northwestern (17) and Nebraska (24) are also ranked in the top 25, giving the Big Ten eight ranked teams, including six of the top ten.
Iowa tops Intermat's TPI with 107.5 points with Penn State in second at 100.5. Minnesota is right behind in third with 92.5 while Oklahoma State sits in fourth with 86.5.
Penn State will take on No. 4 Minnesota on Sunday, Nov. 20, in a 12 p.m. dual that will televised to a national audience on the Big Ten Network. The dual is already sold out with only a few standing room only tickets remaining. Fans can purchase those SRO tickets by calling 814-865-5555. Tickets are priced at $8 for adults and $5 for youth (18 and under) and can be purchased from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day or in person at the Bryce Jordan Center box office. A maximum of four tickets may be purchased per person.
The full season slate of live dual meet and tournament action will air locally on WRSC AM (1390 AM) with Friday evening duals being simulcast on WRSC FM (103.1 FM). Lock Haven's WBPZ (1230 AM) will also carry the entire season live, WIEZ (690 AM) in Huntingdon/Lewistown carries all Sunday events and further affiliates may be added soon. The regular season schedule of radio broadcasts will be streamed live at www.GoPSUsports.com as part of Penn State's All-Access package, which will also feature live video streams of many home events. Ticket information is accessed easily online at www.GoPSUsports.com/tickets/m-wrestl-tickets.html . Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at www.twitter.com/pennstatepat and on Penn State Wrestling's facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling. The 2011-12 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.