May 26, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - A strong contingent of Penn State Nittany Lion wrestlers competed in the 2013 Asics Freestyle University Nationals, held this weekend at the University of Akron. Four of Penn State's 2013 NCAA finalists placed at the event with three coming home as 2013 University Nationals freestyle champions.
Sophomore Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.) blazed through the 55 kg weight class, going 5-0 with three technical falls to claim the title, including a 4-0 shutout over top seeded Zach Sanders, former Minnesota Golden Gopher All-American. Junior David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) was untouchable at 74 kg, going 7-0 with four tech falls and three pins to win the championship. He pinned Wolfpack Wrestling's Quinton Godley in the finals.
Junior Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) was dominating at 84 kg, posting a 6-0 mark to win the championship. Ruth had four tech falls in the tournament, including a devastating 10-0 tech fall over Cam Simaz of Cornell's Finger Lakes Wrestling Club in the finals. Sophomore Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah) came back from a third round upset loss to reel off six more wins, going 8-1 overall to take third at 79 kg. Brown had four tech falls and two pins, including a tech fall over Tyler Wilps in the third place match.
Four other Nittany Lions competed on day two of the event, capping off solid tournaments in the consolation bracket at the event. True freshman Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.) went 3-2 at 60 kg while red-shirt freshman Mike Waters (Advance, N.C.) was 4-2 at 63 kg. True freshman Zack Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.) went 4-2 at 66 kg and junior James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) went 3-2 at 74 kg, advancing to the quarterfinals before dropping two straight.
A total of 19 Nittany Lions competed at the two-day event, with a number of young Nittany Lions turning in strong performances. In addition to the eight grapplers above who wrestled into day two, 11 other Lions took part in the national championship event.
At 60 kg, sophomore Frank Martellotti (Pittsburgh, Pa.) went 3-2 and red-shirt freshman Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.) went 2-2. Freshman Caleb Livingston (Drexel Hill, Pa.) went 1-2 at 70 kg and red-shirt freshman Rex Lutz (Easton, Pa.) went 3-2 at 74 kg. Junior Andrew Church (Erie, Pa.) went 2-2 at 79 kg and red-shirt freshman James Frascella (Carmel, Ind.) went 1-2 at the same weight.
True freshman Wes Phipps (Grove City, Pa.) and red-shirt freshman Scott Syrek (Chester Springs, Pa.) each went 1-2 at 84 kg while classmate Dylan Dailey (Danville, Pa.) also competed at that weight. Red-shirt freshman Josh Rogers (Pottstown, Pa.) wrestled at 96 kg while sophomore Nick Ruggear (Oxford, Pa.) competed at 120 kg.