Nov. 3, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - An energized crowd of over 3,000 fans filled Rec Hall for an exhibition as the No. 1 Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team entertained the Penn State wrestling nation with its 2011 Intrasquad dual. A number of freshmen, both true and red-shirt, had fine performances in the exhibition.
True freshman Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.) got the first win of the evening with a 5-1 win over fellow true freshman Jordan Conaway at 125. Megaludis is ranked No. 19 nationally. Junior transfer Derek Reber (Lewisburg, Pa.) followed that up with a 4-0 win over Cameron Kelly (Pittsford, N.Y.) at 133. Red-shirt freshman Sam Sherlock (West Mifflin, Pa.) posted an impressive 11-5 win over junior Bryan Pearsall (Lititz, Pa.) at 141 before three-time All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.), ranked No. 1 at 149, posted an 8-1 win with 4:03 in riding time over freshman Seth Beitz (Juniata, Pa.).
At 157, red-shirt freshman Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), ranked No. 13 nationally, battled talented classmate Dirk Cowburn (Coudersport, Pa.) to a 5-3 decision. Top-ranked All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) then posted a convincing 21-6 technical fall over junior Nick Fischer (Unionville, Pa.) at 165. All-American Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 2 at 174, posted a hard-fought 7-4 win over red-shirt freshman Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah).
No. 1 Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.), last year's national champion at 184, pinned senior David Crowell (Easton, Pa.) at the 4:47 mark for the evening's first pin. The two-time All-American countered a Crowell shot in the second to work his way to the pin. True freshman Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 9 at 197, thrilled the crowd with a convincing 13-5 major over veteran junior Justin Ortega (Oxford, Pa.). With No. 5 Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio) set to wrestle against Bloomsburg in the season opener, sophomore Nick Ruggear (Oxford, Pa.) moved up a weight to take on red-shirt freshman Jon Gingrich (Wingate, Pa.) at 285 and came away with a 5-3 win.
The Nittany Lions will start the 2011-12 campaign by hosting the Bloomsburg on Sunday, Nov. 13, which will feature the raising of Penn State's Big Ten and NCAA title banners. Match time in Rec Hall for the match-up with the Huskies is set for 2 p.m.
Fans can purchase these very limited single dual 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 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.
Penn State Hosts 2011 Intrasquad Exhibition
November 3, 2011 - University Park, Pa. - Rec Hall
125: #19 Nico Megaludis PSUW dec. Jordan Conaway PSUB, 5-1
133: Derek Reber PSUB dec. Cameron Kelly PSUW, 4-0
141: Sam Sherlock PSUW dec. Bryan Pearsall PSUB, 11-5
149: #1 Frank Molinaro PSUW dec. Seth Beitz PSUB, 8-1
157: #13 Dylan Alton PSUB dec. Dirk Cowburn PSUW, 5-3
165: #1 David Taylor PSUW tech fall Nick Fischer PSUB, 21-6 (TF; 6:38)
174: #2 Ed Ruth PSUW dec. Matt Brown PSUB, 7-4
184: #1 Quentin Wright PSUB pinned David Crowell PSUW (4:47)
197: #9 Morgan McIntosh PSUB maj. dec. Justin Ortega PSUW, 13-5
285: Nick Ruggear PSUW dec. Jon Gingrich PSUB, 5-3
Attendance: 3,000 appx.
Records: Penn State (0-0, 0-0 B1G)
Up Next for Penn State: vs. Bloomsburg, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2 p.m. - Rec Hall
BOUT-BY-BOUT:
125: The night began the fans' first chance to see true freshmen Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.) and Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.) as the talented duo met at 125. Megaludis enters the season ranked No. 19 nationally. Megaludis got in on a single leg at the 1:20 mark and steadily worked his into a scoring position, getting the takedown and a 2-0 lead at the :35 mark. Megaludis rode Conaway out to lead 2-0 after one. The Murrysville native chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 3-0 lead. Megaludis then took Conaway down with :55 left in the middle stanza to up his lead to 5-0. Another ride out allowed the 19th-ranked Megaludis to carry a 5-0 lead into the third period. Conaway chose down to start the third and quickly escaped to a 5-1 deficit. Megaludis and Conaway battled through a scoreless third period allowing Megaludis to post a 5-1 win.
133: Junior transfer Derek Reber (Lewisburg, Pa.), a national qualifier as a freshman at Bucknell, met red-shirt freshman Cameron Kelly (Pittsford, N.Y.) at 133. Kelly had the first real scoring chance of the period, getting in on a high double at the midway point of the opening period, but Reber was able to gain control of Kelly's legs and worked his way around for a takedown and a 2-0 lead. Reber then rode Kelly out to carry that lead into the second. Reber chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 3-0 lead. Kelly got in on a single late in the period but Reber was able to keep the red-shirt freshman from scoring and kill the clock. Trailing 3-0, Kelly chose down to start the third period. Reber began working to turn Kelly for back points and while not turning him, he clinched the riding time point. Reber maintained solid control for the entire period and ended the match with 2:49 in riding time to post a 4-0 win.
141: Junior Brian Pearsall (Lititz, Pa.) took on red-shirt freshman Sam Sherlock (West Mifflin, Pa.) in a battle at 141. Sherlock scored quickly, taking Pearsall down for an early 2-1 lead after a quick Pearsall escape. Sherlock added a second takedown at the 1:10 mark to up his lead to 4-1. Pearsall escaped to a 4-2 deficit but Sherlock led 4-2 with just under 2:00 RT after one period. Pearsall chose down to start the second and quickly escaped to a 4-3 deficit. Neither man managed a takedown for the rest of the middle stanza and Sherlock maintained a one point lead heading to the final stanza. Sherlock chose down to start the third period and quickly reversed Pearsall for a 6-4 lead. Pearsall escaped but Sherlock took him down twice more to post an impressive 11-5 win with riding time.
149: Three-time All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.), ranked No. 1, met red-shirt freshman Seth Beitz (Juniata, Pa.) at 149. Molinaro scored first with a quick takedown. The three-time All-American controlled the action from the top and turned Beitz for a three-point near fall to lead 5-0 after one period. Molinaro chose down to start the second and quickly reversed Beitz to up his lead to 7-1 after a Beitz escape. The duo battled evenly for the rest of the period and Molinaro led 7-1 after two periods. Beitz chose down to start the third stanza but could not break free of a strong Molinaro ride as the Lion senior built up over 3:00 in riding time. Molinaro rode Beitz out to post a convincing 8-1 win with 4:03 in riding time.
157: Red-shirt freshman Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), ranked no. 13 at 157, took on talented classmate Dirk Cowburn (Coudersport, Pa.) at 157. Alton quickly scored, throwing Cowburn down near the edge of the mat for an early 2-1 lead after a quick Dirk escape. Alton used a low single to notch another takedown and lead 4-2 at the :30 mark. Trailing 4-2, Cowburn chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 4-3 deficit. The duo battled evenly for bulk of the period with neither wrestler managing a real scoring threat. Alton chose down to start the third period and steadily escaped to a 5-3 lead. Alton countered a Cowburn shot at the :35 mark and tried to turn it into a takedown, but Cowburn was able to work his way out of bounds and keep the score close. Alton would then hold on for the hard-fought 5-3 win.
165: Top-ranked All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) met junior Nick Fischer (Unionville, Pa.) at 165. Taylor took Fischer down quickly to lead 2-1 after a Fischer escape and then began working his way for another takedown. Fischer forced a stalemate, only to be taken down at the 1:38 mark to trail the All-American 4-1. Fischer escaped, but Taylor took the Lion junior down once again to up his lead to 6-2. Fischer chose down to start the second period, escaped and was quickly taken down by Taylor once again. Taylor then began looking to turn the Lion and picked up the two-point near fall at the 1:20 mark to up his lead to 10-3. Another Fischer escape led to another quick Taylor takedown and the Lion sophomore was up 12-4 with :30 left in the period. Taylor used a low ankle pick to take Fischer down and turn him to his back for three back points and a 17-5 lead after two periods. Taylor chose down to start the second period and steadily worked his way to a reversal and a 19-5 lead. Fischer escaped to a 19-6 deficit. Taylor countered a low Fischer shot and countered for a takedown and a 21-6 technical fall at the 6:38 mark.
174: All-American Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 2, met talented red-shirt freshman Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah) in a match-up at 174. Ruth scored quickly with a takedown at the 2:42 mark. Brown escaped but Ruth used a low single to pull the red-shirt freshman onto the mat for another takedown and a 4-2 lead after another Brown escape. Ruth used a low ankle pick to gain control of Brown and notch a third takedown to lead 6-2 with :50 left. Brown escaped before the opening period ended to trail 6-3 after three minutes. He then chose down to start the second and escaped to a 6-4 deficit with 1:38 left in the middle stanza. Brown used a slick move on the edge of the mat to nearly tie the bout up at the :10 mark, but Ruth was able to shift the action out of bounds and keep his 6-4 lead heading into the third. Ruth chose down to start the third and Brown was able to work off the riding time edge. Ruth got hit with a stall warning at the :30 mark as Brown controlled the action from the top. The Lion All-American was not able to break free of Brown's strong ride until the :08 mark and posted a hard-fought 7-4 win.
184: Defending National Champion Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.), ranked No. 1 nationally, took on senior David Crowell (Easton, Pa.) at 184. Wright notched the first takedown of the bout early and led 2-1 after a Crowell escape. The duo battled evenly for the rest of the opening period and Wright carried the one point lead into the second period. Wright chose down to start the middle stanza and quickly escaped to a 3-1 lead. He then gained control of Crowell's legs and tried to work his way to another takedown but Crowell adeptly forced a stalemate to keep the bout close. But Wright was able to counter a Crowell shot and worked his way into a pin, getting the unconventional fall at the 4:47 mark, forcing Crowell's shoulders down with his right leg.
197: True freshman Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 9 in the country, met veteran junior Justin Ortega (Oxford, Pa.) at 197. The duo battled evenly for the first three minutes with McIntosh working out of the way of a late Ortega shot to keep the bout scoreless after one. Ortega chose down to start the second, escaped and was quickly taken down and cut loose by McIntosh. McIntosh notched a second takedown and cut and led 4-3 with 1:20 on the clock. Ortega countered a McIntosh shot, nearly scored, only to be countered by McIntosh who worked his way to a 6-3 lead as the second period ended. McIntosh chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 7-3 lead. McIntosh used a low single to score again, leading 9-4 after cutting Ortega loose with 1:10 left on the clock. A strong high double with :40 on the clock and another cut gave the true freshman an 11-5 lead. Needing one more takedown for a major, McIntosh scrambled to a final takedown with :02 left to post the 13-5 major.
285: With No. 5 Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio) on track to open the season against Bloomsburg, sophomore Nick Ruggear (Oxford, Pa.) moved up a weight to take on red-shirt freshman Jon Gingrich (Wingate, Pa.) in the heavyweight exhibition. The duo battled evenly for the first period with neither man mounting a scoring threat until Ruggear used a solid double leg to trip Gingrich to the mat at the :31 mark to lead 2-0. Gingrich escaped as the period wound down and cut Ruggear's lead to 2-1. Gingrich chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 2-2 tie. Gingrich nearly scored with a high double leg with :45 left, but Ruggear was able to fight off the effort and keep the bout tied. Deadlocked at 2-2, Ruggear chose down to start the third. A quick escape gave the sophomore a 3-2 lead and action resumed in the center circle. Ruggear scored on a low shot with 1:13 on the clock to up his lead to 5-3 after a quick Gingrich escape. That escape was the final point and Ruggear notched the 5-3 win.