Jan. 31, 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. Penn State is now 9-1 overall, 5-1 in the Big Ten, after a resounding 34-9 thumping of Ohio State in a sold out Rec Hall last Sunday. Head coach Cael Sanderson's Lions are ranked No. 2 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 21-0 on the year and ranked No. 1 at 149. All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) is 19-0 thus far and is No. 1 at 165 and All-American Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) is 21-0 at ranked No. 2 at 174. Two-time All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) is No. 2 at 184 with an 18-2 mark.
Senior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio) is 18-4 at heavyweight and is ranked No. 6 and red-shirt freshman Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) is 16-4 at 157 and ranked No. 6. True freshman Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.) is 17-5 at 125 and ranked No. 9 while classmate Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.) is 14-5 at 197 and ranked No. 12.
Penn State is now ranked No. 2 in the latest USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll. Oklahoma State is No. 1 with 250 points while the Lions follow with 236. Cornell is No. 3 with 227; Minnesota is No. 4 with 214 and Iowa No. 5 with 212. The Nittany Lions retain their hold on the No. 1 spot on Intermat's Tournament Power Index with 102.0 points while Oklahoma State is second with 81.5. Minnesota (73.0), Cornell (69.5) and Iowa (54.0) follow to round out the TPI top five.
The Nittany Lions will trek to Lincoln, Neb., on Friday, Feb. 3, for a Big Ten dual with the Cornhuskers beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central (local to site). Penn State's next home dual is against No. 10 Michigan on Sunday, Feb. 5, at 2 p.m. While seats for the dual are now sold out, a limited number of Standing Room Only tickets remain. Fans can purchase these SRO ducats by calling 1-800-NITTANY or in person at the Bryce Jordan Center box office.
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.