Feb. 21, 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 ends the regular season 13-1 overall, 7-1 in the Big Ten, after 33-6 win over No. 9 Pitt on Sunday in front of yet another sold out Rec Hall crowd. Head coach Cael Sanderson's Lions head into the post-season ranked No. 1 in Intermat's Tournament Power Index.
Three-time All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.) is 25-0 on the year and ranked No. 1 at 149. All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) is 23-0 thus far and is No. 1 at 165 and All-American Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) is 23-0 at ranked No. 2 at 174. Two-time All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) is No. 2 at 184 with a 22-2 mark.
Red-shirt freshman Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) is 20-4 at 157 and ranked No. 5 while senior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio) is 22-3 at heavyweight and is ranked No. 5 as well. True freshman Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.) is 21-5 at 125 and ranked No. 8 while classmate Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.) is 15-6 at 197 and ranked No. 12.
The Nittany Lions are No. 1 on the Intermat Tournament Power Index heading into the post-season with 107.5 points while Minnesota is No. 2 at 78.5. Iowa checks in at No. 3 with 74.0 and Oklahoma State is No. 4 with 65.5.
Penn State, which owns the nation's longest dual meet win streak with 12 straight victories by a lopsided margin of nearly 28 points per win during that span, is ranked No. 2 in the latest USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll. The top five consist of Minnesota at 14-3 with nine first place votes, Penn State at 13-1 with one first place vote, Oklahoma State at 17-2, Iowa at 14-4 and Illinois at 16-4.
The Nittany Lions will look to defend their Big Ten Championship next weekend. Penn State will take part in the 2012 Big Ten Championship Tournament at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., on March 3-4. Session one on Saturday, March 3, is set for 10 a.m.
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.