Dec. 1, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Four members of the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team competed unattached at the Mat-Town Open hosted by Lock Haven University. Penn State came home with a first place trophy and third place finish, both at 184 pounds.
Senior All-American Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), wrestling unattached as he continues a month-long suspension from team competition, blazed his way through the 184-pound weight class. He went 5-0 with two pins, a tech fall and two majors to remain unbeaten on the year. He posted a resounding 20-6 major over No. 19 Fred Garcia of Lock Haven in the finals. Ruth's matches do count towards his season and career totals. He is now 10-0 on the year with three pins, five techs and two majors. Ruth now has a 112-2 career record and is ranked No. 1 nationally by Intermat. He is currently riding a 78-match win streak dating back to his freshman year.
True freshman Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.) saw his first collegiate level action at Mat-Town, rolling to a third place finish with his only loss being a close 2-1 tiebreaker decision to No. 19 Garcia of host Lock Haven. McCutcheon ended the day with a 4-1 mark and two majors. He downed Cornell's William George 5-3 (tb) for third place.
True freshman Devon Bentley (Shippensburg, Pa.) picked up a win at 141 while Caleb Livingston (Drexel Hill, Pa.) competed at 157 to round out Penn State's unattached contingent at Lock Haven.
Penn State returns to action when it travels to Boston University for a 7 p.m. dual meet on Friday, Dec. 6. The Lions then trek right home for a Sunday showdown in the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State will entertain Pittsburgh on Sunday, Dec. 8, at 2 p.m. As of Sunday evening, less than 40 tickets remain guaranteeing a crowd of over 15,000 for a soon-to-be sold out BJC event. Tickets can still be purchased via ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-NITTANY.
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 remaining Rec Hall duals. 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.