Dec. 4, 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 are 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 106.0 points on Intermat's TPI, almost 16 point in front of second place Oklahoma State, who has 91.5. Minnesota is in third, followed by Iowa and Illinois.
Sophomore All-American Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.) is ranked No. 3 at 125 with a 6-1 record, including two pins, a tech fall and two majors. Sophomore Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa) is 6-0 and ranked No. 5 at 149. Alton has five pins and a major (all in Sunday's Nittany Lion Open). Sophomore All-American Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) is ranked No. 5 at 157 with a 5-2 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 7-0 with three pins and four tech falls. Sophomore Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah) is ranked No. 3 at 174 and is 7-0 with a pin, 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 7-0 mark. Ruth has a pin, a tech and three majors. Three-time All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa) is ranked No. 3 at 197 with a 7-0 record, including four pins. Sophomore heavyweight Jimmy Lawson (Tom's River, N.J.) makes his rankings debut this week, checking in at No. 15 at 285 with a 7-1 record, including a pin and two majors.
Penn State's next home dual is set for Sunday, Dec. 9, when the Indiana Hoosiers come to town 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.