Dec. 18, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Eight members of the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team remain ranked nationally by Intermat, seven of whom appear in the top five at their respective weights. In addition, head coach Cael Sanderson's two-time defending NCAA and Big Ten Champions widened their lead as the No. 1 team on Intermat's Tournament Power Index (TPI). The full list of national rankings is available at www.intermatwrestle.com.
Penn State is ranked No. 1 with 108.5 points on Intermat's TPI, well ahead of second place Oklahoma State, which has 94. Minnesota is in third and Iowa sits in fourth.
Sophomore All-American Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.) is ranked No. 2 at 125 with an 8-1 record, including four pins, a tech fall and two majors. Sophomore Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa) is 8-0 and ranked No. 5 at 149. Alton has six pins and a major. Sophomore All-American Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) is ranked No. 5 at 157 with a 7-2 mark and two pins.
Defending NCAA Champion and two-time All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) is ranked No. 2 at 165 and is 9-0 with four pins, a major and four tech falls. Sophomore Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah) is ranked No. 3 at 174 and is 9-0 with three pins, a tech fall and three majors. Defending NCAA Champion and two-time All-American Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) is ranked No. 1 nationally at 184 with a 9-0 mark. Ruth has two pins, two techs and three majors. Three-time All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa) is ranked No. 3 at 197 with a 9-0 record, including five pins. Sophomore heavyweight Jimmy Lawson (Tom's River, N.J.) is ranked No. 15 at 285 with an 8-1 record, including a pin and two majors.
Penn State will head to Chattanooga, Tenn., for the Southern Scuffle on Jan. 1-2, 2013. The two-day, team scored tournament is hosted by UT-Chattanooga. Penn State's next home dual is set for Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013, when Michigan State invades Rec Hall for a 2 p.m. meeting. Penn State's full season of home duals is sold out but limited Standing Room Only tickets are available for select dual meets. For information on which duals have a limited number of SRO tickets available and to purchase tickets, fans can call 1-800-NITTANY or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office windows from 10 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at www.twitter.com/pennstateWREST and on Penn State Wrestling's facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling. The 2012-13 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.