Jan. 10, 2012
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 two and all eight are listed in the top 12. Coming off a Big Ten road win over Michigan State on Sunday, the Nittany Lions are ranked No. 3 in the latest USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll and continue to hold the No. 1 in Intermat's Tournament Power Index (TPI).
Three-time All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.) is 17-0 on the year and ranked No. 1 at 149. All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) is 15-0 thus far and is No. 1 at 165 and All-American Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) is 17-0 at ranked No. 2 at 174. Two-time All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) is No. 2 at 184 with a 14-2 mark.
Senior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio) is 14-4 at heavyweight and is ranked No. 6 and red-shirt freshman Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) is 13-3 at 157 and ranked No. 9. True freshman Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.) is 14-4 at 125 and ranked No. 10 while classmate Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.) is 10-5 at 197 and ranked No. 12.
Penn State is now ranked No. 3 in the latest USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll. Oklahoma State is No. 1 with 250 points, Iowa No. 2 Oklahoma State is No. 1 with 250 points, Iowa No. 2 with 240 and PSU follows in third with 223. Minnesota, Cornell, Illinois, Nebraska, Ohio State, Missouri and Pitt round out the top ten. The Nittany Lions retain their hold on the No. 1 spot on Intermat's Tournament Power Index with 95.0 points while Minnesota is second with 85.5. Oklahoma State is third with 82.5, Iowa fourth with 79.0 and Cornell fifth with 69.0.
The Nittany Lions continue a near-month long road trip this weekend with duals at Northwestern on Friday night (8 p.m. Eastern) and Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon (2 p.m. Eastern). 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 (670 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.