Nov. 13, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
VIDEO: This Week In Penn State Wrestling - Nov. 14
TODAY'S ACTION
The top-ranked Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (0-0, 0-0 B1G) opens up the 2013-14 season with two road duals. The Nittany Lions visit Rider (3-0) on Saturday, Nov. 16, in a 4 p.m. dual meet that will air live on The Comcast Sports Network/TCN. While Rider is not ranked in the TPI, the Broncs debuted in the Coaches Poll this week at No. 25. The next day, Penn State visits No. 25 Lehigh (0-1*) in a 3 p.m. dual on Sunday, Nov. 17. Lehigh hosts Bloomsburg on 11/15, post-press.
Head coach Cael Sanderson's crew set the tempo for the season opening duals with a strong performance at the Binghamton Open on Sunday, Nov. 10. Six Nittany Lions won individual titles at the event with three other Penn Staters making the finals and dropping close decisions to ranked wrestlers. In addition, Penn State notched two third place finishes and a fourth place finish.
True freshman Zain Retherford (141), senior David Taylor (165), junior Matt Brown (174), senior Ed Ruth (184), sophomore Morgan McIntosh (197) and junior Jimmy Lawson (285) all went 5-0 to win titles and ride into the first duals with a full head of steam. Junior Nico Megaludis (125), sophomore Jordan Conaway (133) and senior James Vollrath (157) all went 4-1 and lost heart-breakers in the finals. Junior Jon Gingrich (285) and true freshman Garett Hammond (165) each went 7-1 to place third and red-shirt freshman Jimmy Gulibon (133) went 4-2 to place fourth.
Penn State heads into its first dual meets of the season with nine ranked grapplers. Megaludis is No. 3, Gulibon is No. 16, Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) is No. 8 at 149, Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) is No. 6 at 157, Taylor is No. 1, Brown is No. 3, Ruth is No. 1, McIntosh is No. 4 and Lawson is No. 11.
Rider is coming off a superb 3-0 opening weekend at Virginia Tech. Rider downed Old Dominion 20-12, Kent State 18-14 and Chattanooga 19-17. Rider is being led by No. 17 Robert Deutsch at 125. Deutsch is 3-0. Senior Ramon Santiago is ranked No. 13 at 165 with a 2-1 mark. Penn State leads the all-time series with Rider 3-0. This will be the first meeting between the two teams in the Bronc's venue. Penn State won 48-0 last year in Rec Hall (2/17/13).
Lehigh, which hosts Bloomsburg on Friday night (post-press), suffered a tough 18-17 loss to Bucknell last weekend on criteria (combined total of falls, forfeits, defaults and DQs). The Mountain Hawks feature a talented line-up including No. 6 Mason Beckman at 133, No. 19 Mitch Minotti at 149, No. 10 Joey Napoli at 157 and No. 19 Doug Vollaro at 285. The Nittany Lions own a 64-34-3 advantage in the all-time series between the two long-time Pennsylvania rivals. Penn State has won three straight, including last year's 29-6 win in Rec Hall (11/16/12). Sanderson's squad also won the last meeting in Bethlehem, 24-12 (12/9/11).
Penn State returns to action next weekend. The Nittany Lions' 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. The dual meet, as is every home dual for the Nittany Lions, is sold out. As of press time, less than 80 Standing Room Only tickets remain.
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.
| POSSIBLE LINE-UPS | |||||||
| #1 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (0-0, 0-0 B1G) | |||||||
| Wt. | Name | EL | HT/HS | Rec. | |||
| 125 | #3 Nico Megaludis | Jr. | Murraysville, Pa./Franklin Regional | 4-1 | |||
| 133 | #16 Jimmy Gulibon | Fr. | Latrobe, Pa./Derry Area | 4-2 | |||
| OR | Jordan Conaway | So. | Abbottstown, Pa./New Oxford | 4-1 | |||
| 141 | Zain Retherford | Fr. | Benton, Pa./Benton | 5-0 | |||
| OR | Zack Beitz | Fr. | Mifflintown, Pa./Juniata | 4-2 | |||
| 149 | James English | Sr. | York, Pa./Central York | 3-0 | |||
| out | #8 Andrew Alton | Jr. | Mill Hall, Pa./Central Mountain | 0-0 | |||
| 157 | James Vollrath | Sr. | Richboro, Pa./Council Rock South | 4-1 | |||
| out | #6 Dylan Alton | Jr. | Mill Hall, Pa./Central Mountain | 0-0 | |||
| 165 | #1 David Taylor | Sr. | St. Paris, Ohio/St. Paris Graham | 5-0 | |||
| 174 | #3 Matt Brown | Jr. | West Valley City, Utah/Cyprus | 5-0 | |||
| 184 | #1 Ed Ruth | Sr. | Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Township | 5-0 | |||
| 197 | #4 Morgan McIntosh | So. | Santa Ana, Calif./Calvary Chapel | 5-0 | |||
| 285 | #11 Jimmy Lawson | Jr. | Tom's River, N.J./Manchester Township | 5-0 | |||
| OR | Jon Gingrich | Jr. | Wingate, Pa./Bald Eagle Area | 7-1 | |||
| RIDER BRONCS (3-0) | |||||||
| Wt. | Name | EL | HT/HS | Rec. | |||
| 125 | #17 Robert Deutsch | So. | Cherry Hill, N.J./Eastern Regional | 3-0 | |||
| 133 | Chuck Zeisloft | Jr. | Woodbury Heights, N.J./Gateway | 1-2 | |||
| 141 | Paul Kirchner | Fr. | Somerville, N.J./Somerville | 2-1 | |||
| 149 | Curt Delia | So. | Mullica Hill, N.J./Delsea | 1-2 | |||
| 157 | Wayne Stinson | Fr. | Wrightstown, N.J./Northern Burlington | 0-3 | |||
| 165 | #13 Ramon Santiago | Sr. | Sayreville, N.J./Sayreville | 2-1 | |||
| 174 | Conor Brennan | So. | Brick, N.J./Brick Township | 2-1 | |||
| 184 | Clint Morrison | Jr. | Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cedar Cliff | 2-1 | |||
| 197 | Donald McNeil | Jr. | Plainville, Mass./Wyoming Seminary | 3-0 | |||
| 285 | Greg Velasco | So. | Union Beach, N.J./Keyport | 1-2 | |||
| #25 LEHIGH MOUNTAIN HAWKS (0-1*) | |||||||
| Wt. | Name | EL | HT/HS | Rec. |
| 125 | Darian Cruz | Fr. | Bethlehem, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic | 2-1 |
| 133 | #6 Mason Beckman | So. | Greenville, Pa./Reynolds | 1-0 |
| 141 | Laike Gardner | So. | Biglerville, Pa./Biglerville | 5-0 |
| 149 | #19 Mitch Minotti | Fr. | Easton, Pa./Easton | 4-2 |
| 157 | #10 Joey Napoli | Sr. | Boiling Springs, Pa./Cumberland Valley | 1-0 |
| 165 | Brian Brill | Fr. | Lock Haven, Pa./Central Mountain | 7-2 |
| 174 | Elliott Riddick | Fr. | Allentown, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic | 4-3 |
| 184 | Austin Meys | Sr. | Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa | 2-1 |
| 197 | John Bolich | So. | Willow Grove, Pa./Upper Moreland | 6-1 |
| 285 | #19 Doug Vollaro | Fr. | Oviedo, Fla./Pine Castle Christian | 0-0 |
*Lehigh hosts Bloomsburg on Friday, 11/15, post-press
Individual rankings are Intermat and team rankings are Intermat TPI as of 11/12
THIS WEEK
The #1 Penn State Nittany Lions (0-0, 0-0 B1G) open up the 2013-14 season with two road duals. The Nittany Lions visit Rider (3-0) on Saturday, Nov. 16, in a 4 p.m. dual meet that will air live on The Comcast Sports Network. The next day, Penn State visits #25 Lehigh (0-1*) in a 3 p.m. dual on Sunday, Nov. 17. *Lehigh hosts Bloomsburg on 11/15, post-press.
UP NEXT
Penn State hosts Lock Haven on Sunday, Nov. 24, at 2 p.m., in the home opener for the Nittany Lions. Penn State will raise its 2013 NCAA and Big Ten title banners prior to the dual.
ON THE AIR
TV - Rider is live on The Comcast Sports Network
Live Web Video - None
Radio - Full season live on WRSC (103.1 FM/1390 AM) State College; WPBZ 1230 AM Lock Haven; 1370 WWCB Corry; WLAK (103.5 FM) Huntingdon; WMRF (95.7 FM) Lewistown; WIEZ (670 AM) Lewistown.
Web - All radio broadcasts are streamed live at GoPSUsports.com as part of the All-Access package as are select home duals.
HEAD COACH Cael Sanderson
Cael Sanderson is in his fifth season as head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team. The veteran head coach now has three straight NCAA and three straight Big Ten titles in hand. He has been named Big Ten Coach of the Year three straight times and was named the 2013 National Coach of the Year after guiding Penn State to yet another NCAA title in Des Moines.
THE PENN STATE YEARS...
In his first year at Penn State (2009-10), he guided the Lions to a 13-6-1 dual meet mark, 5-3 in Big Ten action, and crowned his first Big Ten Champion. The Lions finished No. 10 in the final USA Today/Coaches dual meet poll and placed ninth at NCAAs.
In 2010-11, Sanderson guided the Nittany Lions to its first-ever Southern Scuffle Co-Championship and its first Virginia Duals Championship since 1991. In guiding Penn State to a 6-1-1 conference mark, Sanderson equaled the most Big Ten dual meet wins in Penn State history in just his second year at the helm of the Nittany Lions (Penn State won six Big Ten duals in 1998). Sanderson led Penn State to the school's first ever Big Ten Championship on March 5-6 and was named 2011 Big Ten Coach of the Year. Saving the best for last, he led the Nittany Lions to the 2011 NCAA National Championship in Philadelphia on March 17-19, Penn State's first since 1953 and Sanderson's first as a collegiate head coach.
In 2011-12, Sanderson led Penn State to a school record 7-1 Big Ten dual record and a share of the 2012 Big Ten dual meet championship. Sanderson then made it two in a row by leading Penn State to the 2012 Big Ten Championship at Purdue on March 3-4 and was named 2012 Big Ten Coach of the Year, earning the honor for the second straight season. Two weeks later, Sanderson led Penn State to a second straight NCAA crown, helping Penn State to become just the fourth team in NCAA history to win back-to-back titles.
Last year, Penn State went 13-1 overall in dual meets this year and won its third straight Southern Scuffle title in early January. The Nittany Lions followed that up with a third straight Big Ten Championship on March 9-10 at Illinois and a third straight NCAA National Title in Des Moines on March 21-23. He was named Big Ten Coach of the Year for the third straight season (sharing this year's honor as a co-CotY) and 2013 National Coach of the Year (the second time he has earned that honor).
In this, his fifth season as Penn State's coach, Sanderson has led the Nittany Lions to three-straight conference titles, three straight national titles, collected 19 All-Americans, five national champions, three Gorriaran winners, one NCAA tourney OW and one Hodge Trophy winner. He and his coaching staff have a perfect 13-0 record in Big Ten championship finals. Coach Sanderson now sports a 100-19-2 dual meet mark in this, his seventh year as a head coach. He is 56-9-2 and in his fifth year at Penn State.
ALL REC HALL DUALS SOLD OUT;
LESS THAN 90 SROs FOR FOUR DUALS REMAIN
With the entire dual meet season of Rec Hall action sold out prior to the start of the season, a limited number of Standing Room Only tickets were made available in October for fans to purchase. Three sets of those SROs quickly sold out (Oklahoma State, Ohio State and Illinois). Less than 90 SROs remain for Lock Haven, Purdue, Northwestern and Clarion (the final home action for seniors David Taylor and Ed Ruth). Fans may purchase those tickets by calling 1-800-NITTANY.
PENN STATE TO HOST PITT IN BRYCE JORDAN CENTER! TICKETS AVAILABLE AT 1-800-NITTANY
With fans clammoring for the chance to see Penn State wrestle but Rec Hall completely sold out as usual, the Penn State Nittany Lions moved it's Dec. 8 dual against Pittsburgh to the Bryce Jordan Center. Fans can purchase tickets by calling 1-800-NITTANY.
LIONS CROWN SIX CHAMPS AT BINGHAMTON
Head coach Cael Sanderson's crew set the tempo for the season opening duals with a strong performance at the Binghamton Open on Sunday, Nov. 10. Six Nittany Lions won individual titles at the event with three other Penn Staters making the finals and dropping close decisions to ranked wrestlers. In addition, Penn State notched two third place finishes and a fourth place finish. True freshman Zain Retherford (141), senior David Taylor (165), junior Matt Brown (174), senior Ed Ruth (184), sophomore Morgan McIntosh (197) and junior Jimmy Lawson (285) all went 5-0 to win titles and ride into the first duals with a full head of steam. Junior Nico Megaludis (125), sophomore Jordan Conaway (133) and senior James Vollrath (157) all went 4-1 and lost heart-breakers in the finals. Junior Jon Gingrich (285) and true freshman Garett Hammond (165) each went 7-1 to place third and red-shirt freshman Jimmy Gulibon (133) went 4-2 to place fourth.
TAYLOR B1G WRESTLER OF THE WEEK FOR 11/10/13
David Taylor has been named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week for the week ending Nov. 10, 2013. The honor is the first for Penn State this year and the second of Taylor's career. Taylor, ranked No. 1 at 165 by Intermat, was simply unstoppable in his first action of the 2013-14 season. Coming off an impressive exhibition win in Washington, D.C., the prior weekend, Taylor destroyed the field at the Binghamton Open on Sunday. The Lion 165-pounder went 5-0 with four pins, all in the first period. His only non-pin was an 18-2 technical fall in the semifinals. His four pins came at 1:13, 2:00, 2:41 and 1:51 in the championship bout.
TAYLOR AND BROWN AT THE NWCA ALL-STAR CLASSIC
Two members of the top-ranked Penn State wrestling team took part in the 2013 NWCA All-Star Classic in Fairfax, Va. Held in George Mason University's Patriot Center, All-Americans David Taylor and Matt Brown each competed at the exhibition event. Taylor rolled to an 13-2 major decision over No. 4 Michael Moreno of Iowa State while Brown, ranked No. 3 at 174, dropped a tough 4-3 decision to No. 1 Andrew Howe of Oklahoma on riding time.
CHURCH AND HAMMOND AT THE CLARION OPEN
Senior Andrew Church and true freshman Garrett Hammond each competed unattached at the Clarion Knight Point Open, the season's first open tournament, on Nov. 3. Church worked his way into the quarterfinals before dropping into the consolation bracket. The fifth-year senior ended a strong opening run with a 4-2 record. Hammond, seeing his first action at the collegiate level, dropped his first match and then reeled off four straight dominating wins in consolation action. Hammond posted an identical 4-2 record. His four wins included three pins and a technical fall. One of his pins was in just 0:42.
LIONS RANKED NO. 1 BY INTERMAT WITH NINE RANKED INDIVIDUALS
Nine members of the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team will begin the 2013-14 season with national rankings and head coach Cael Sanderson's squad holds the No. 1 team ranking in 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. Nico Megaludis is ranked No. 3 at 125, Jimmy Gulibon is No. 16 at 133, Andrew Alton is No. 8 at 149, Dylan Alton is No. 6 at 157, David Taylor is No. 1 at 165, Matt Brown is No. 3 at 174, Ed Ruth is No. 1 at 184, Morgan McIntosh is No. 4 at 197 and Jimmy Lawson is No. 11 at 285.
DUAL TIME CHANGES ANNOUNCED
The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team has announced three dual meet time changes due to national television broadcast requests. The dates of the duals are not changing, only the starting times. Penn State's season opener at Rider on Saturday, Nov. 16, will now begin at 4 p.m. to allow for a live national broadcast on Comcast SportsNet. With a reach of over 9 million households, the dual with the Broncs will be aired live on the national cable network's subscribed affiliates as well as all applicable national satellite platforms. Check local listings and national program guides for details. The dual was originally to start at 6 p.m. Two of Penn State's Big Ten duals have also had their times switched for national TV. Penn State's home dual against Ohio State on Sunday, Dec. 15, will now begin at noon in Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions' match-up at Michigan will start at 3:30 p.m. instead of 2 p.m. on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 2. The live broadcasts are confirmed but the network they will appear on will be announced later with the full release of Penn State's extensive live television schedule. Additional live TV dates are confirmed and possible time changes for more broadcasts are possible. Penn State's full television schedule will be announced soon.
FANS ARE REMINDED ABOUT
REC HALL'S NEW NO BAG POLICY
"To enhance public safety and improve fan access, no bags are permitted inside Penn State sports venues during a game. A single one-gallon clear plastic bag (Ziploc or similar) is permitted for the things you have to have, like medicine, child care supplies, keys, phone, wallet, etc. Questions, call 1-800-NITTANY. Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics thanks you for your cooperation.