Nov. 10, 2013
Final Binghamton Open Brackets
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State wrestling team was well represented at the Binghamton Open, with the bulk of the roster competing at the event, all unattached. With nine wrestlers reaching the finals, six Nittany Lions won crowns, giving head coach Cael Sanderson's squad a kick-start heading into next weekend's season opening duals at Rider and Lehigh.
True freshman Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.) won Penn State's first title of the day in his first open tournament as a collegian. Retherford went 5-0 on the day to win the 141-pound crown, with a tech fall, a major and two pins (including one in the finals). Senior All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), ranked No. 1 at 165, was unstoppable. Taylor went 5-0 with four pins and a technical fall to win his weight class. Taylor's four pins give him 41 for his career, second all-time at Penn State. He now has 105 career victories, 21st all-time.
Junior All-American Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah), ranked No. 3 at 174, rolled to the title at 174. Brown went 5-0 on the day, including three pins and two majors. Senior All-American Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 184, was dominant at 184 as well. Ruth won his weight with a 5-0 mark, including four technical falls and a first period pin in the finals. Ruth now has 36 career pins, fourth all-time. His 107 career wins is 19th all-time as well.
Sophomore Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 4 at 197 and coming off a red-shirt, was unstoppable at 197. McIntosh posted a 5-0 mark to win the 197-pound title, including a blistering 13-3 major over No. 15 Jace Bennett of Cornell in the finals. McIntosh had three pins and two majors on the day. Junior Jimmy Lawson (Tom's River, N.J.), ranked No. 10 nationally, rolled to the 285-pound title with a 5-0 mark, including a technical fall.
Three Nittany Lions dropped tough bouts in the finals, all against ranked wrestlers. All-American Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), ranked No. 2 at 125, lost a hard-fought 6-5 decision to No. 3 Nashon Garrett of Cornell in the championship bout. Megaludis went 4-1 with three majors and a pin. Sophomore Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.) lost a tough 3-1 decision to No. 9 Mark Grey of Cornell in the finals at 133. Conaway posted a 4-1 mark to take second. Senior James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) advanced to the finals at 157 before dropping a close 9-8 decision to No. 14 Nestor Taffur of Boston in the title bout. Vollrath went 4-1 with a pin, a tech fall and a major.
True freshman Garett Hammond (Chambersburg, Pa.) was impressive in his first collegiate open tourney. Hammond went 7-1 overall to take third place at 165, including two pins, two tech falls and a major. Junior Jon Gingrich (Wingate, Pa.) was equally impressive at 285, posting an identical 7-1 mark to place third. Gingrich had two pins and a major. Red-shirt freshman Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), ranked No. 11 at 133, posted a 4-2 mark with a pin and a major to place fourth. He dropped a 3-1 overtime decision to teammate Conaway in the semifinals.
Senior James English (York, Pa.) rolled to a 3-0 mark with two majors and advanced to the semifinals at 149 before defaulting for precautionary measures. Penn State was well represented in the semifinals. Red-shirt freshman Zack Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.) went 4-2 at 141 with a pin and a tech fall, advancing to the semis. Sophomore James Frascella (Carmel, Ind.) was solid at 184, advancing to the semifinals before falling to Ruth. He went 3-2 on the day. Junior Nick Ruggear (Oxford, Pa.) advanced to the semis at 285 as well. He went 3-2 with two majors and a tech fall.
A number of Nittany Lions had solid tournaments on the day. Junior Nate Morgan (McCook, Neb.) went 3-2 with a major at 141; freshman Kade Moss (South Jordan, Utah) went 3-2 with a pin at 141; red-shirt freshman Caleb Livingston (Drexel Hill, Pa.) went 2-2 at 157;
Picking up wins at the tournament were sophomore Mike Waters (Advance, N.C.) at 141; sophomore Dylan Dailey (Danville, Pa.) at 184; and sophomore Scott Syrek (Chester Springs, Pa.) at 197. Also competing was sophomore Luke Frey (Montoursville, Pa.) and junior Kyle Moran (Oxford, Pa.) at 149; and sophomore Josh Rogers (Pottstown, Pa.) at 197.
Penn State opens up the 2013-14 season at Rider on Sat., Nov. 16, and at Lehigh on Sun., Nov. 17. The Rider dual will be broadcast live on The Comcast Sports Network. Penn State's home opener is set for Sunday, Nov. 24, against Lock Haven. The dual starts at 2 p.m. in Rec Hall and will be preceded by the raising of the 2013 Big Ten and NCAA title banners.
With the full season of Rec Hall duals sold out prior to the start of the campaign, a very limited number of standing room only tickets are available to a few of the seven Rec Hall duals. Also, there are still tickets available for Penn State's Dec. 8 dual against Pitt in the Bryce Jordan Center. People may purchase tickets by calling 1-800-NITTANY or by visiting the Penn State Athletics ticket office located in the BJC. 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 2013-14 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.