Dec. 21, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Eight members of the Nittany Lion wrestling team continue to be ranked in the latest version of the Intermat national individual rankings. Four Nittany Lion All-Americans are ranked in the top five and all eight are listed in the top 15. Penn State is No. 5 in the latest NWCA/USA Today Coaches dual meet poll and Intermat gives the Lions a No. 3 nod in its tournament power index (TPI).
Three-time All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.) is 11-0 on the year and ranked No. 1 at 149. All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) is 9-0 thus far and is No. 1 at 165 and All-American Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) is 10-0 at ranked No. 2 at 174. Two-time All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) is No. 5 at 184 with an 8-2 mark.
Senior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio) is 8-2 at heavyweight and is ranked No. 8. True freshman Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.) is 6-2 at 197 and ranked No. 11 while red-shirt freshman Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) is 8-2 at 157 and ranked No. 10 as well. True freshman Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.) is 9-1 at 125 and ranked No. 13.
Penn State is No. 5 nationally, trailing No. 1 Iowa, No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 3 Minnesota and No. 4 Cornell. Ohio State (6), Illinois (7), Michigan (8), Nebraska (14) and Northwestern (18) are the other Big Ten schools ranked in the top 25 while Purdue is receiving votes. Iowa tops Intermat's TPI with 91.5 points, followed by Oklahoma State with 90.5 and Penn State with 85 (tied with Minnesota). Cornell is fifth with 66.5.
The Nittany Lions head to the Southern Scuffle for New Year's, taking part in the two-day, team scored tournament on Jan. 1-2 at UT-Chattanooga. Penn State's next home dual is on Sunday, Jan. 22, when Iowa invades Rec Hall for a 2 p.m. dual that is already sold out. The Nittany Lions then host Ohio State on Sunday, Jan. 29, at 2 p.m. Fans can purchase a limited number of `standing room only' tickets for the Ohio State dual 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.