Nov. 12, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - With nine ranked individuals, the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestlers continue as the No. 1 team on Intermat's Tournament Power Index (TPI). The TPI ranks a team's potential tournament strength based on Intermat's individual rankings, not dual meet strength. The full list of national rankings is available at www.intermatwrestle.com.
Fresh off a solid showing at the Binghamton Open and ready for the first duals of the season this weekend, Penn State is ranked No. 1 once again with 97.5 points while Big Ten rival Iowa is a close second with 95.5. Minnesota is third with 85.5; Oklahoma is fourth with 73.0 and Oklahoma is fifth with 69.0. The Big Ten is well represented in the top 25 with Nebraska (7), Wisconsin (10), Ohio State (11), Illinois (13), Michigan (14), Northwestern (17) are all ranked, giving the conference nine ranked teams.
Junior Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.) is ranked No. 3 at 125. The two-time NCAA finalist is 4-1 on the year. Red-shirt freshman Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.) is ranked No. 16 at 133 with a 4-2 mark. Junior Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) is ranked No. 8 at 149 with a 0-0 mark while twin brother Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) is No. 6 at 157 with a 0-0 record.
Three-time All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) is ranked No. 1 at 165 with a perfect 5-0 mark including four pins and a tech fall. Junior All-American Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah), NCAA finalist last year, is a perfect 5-0 and ranked No. 3 at 174 with three pins and two majors. Three-time All-American Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) is ranked No. 1 at 184 with a perfect 5-0 record including four tech falls and a pin.
Sophomore Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.) is undefeated at 5-0 with three pins and two majors and is ranked No. 4 at 197. Junior heavyweight Jimmy Lawson (Tom's River, N.J.) is a perfect 5-0 and ranked No. 11 nationally as well.
Head coach Cael Sanderson's team 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.