Dec. 4, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
VIDEO: Lions Eager to Wrestle in BJC Dual
Three-time defending NCAA Champion Penn State (3-0, 0-0 B1G) returns to action after a week of no competition with a big, unprecedented set of duals. Head coach Cael Sanderson's squad will take part in two firsts this weekend. The Nittany Lions will trek to Boston, Mass., to take on the Boston University Terriers (0-3) on Friday, Dec. 6, at 7 p.m. The dual meet marks the first ever meeting between the two schools and continues Penn State's outreach towards growing the sport of wrestling. Two days later, the Nittany Lions host No. 23 Pittsburgh (2-0*) in a sold out Bryce Jordan Center. *Pittsburgh is at Maryland on 12/6, the same evening Penn State is at Boston.
The dual marks the first time ever that the BJC has sold out for a collegiate wrestling event and it sold out on Dec. 2, six days before the event. The event will mark the 13th straight sell-out for Penn State at home including both Rec Hall and the 15,000-plus Bryce Jordan Center.
Penn State is coming off a 34-6 win over visiting Lock Haven two weekends ago, downing the Bald Eagles in front of a sold out Rec Hall. Senior All-American David Taylor notched his sixth pin in an 8-0 start while All-American's Nico Megaludis and Matt Brown each had tech falls.
The Lions feature a line-up of ten ranked grapplers. Megaludis is 7-1 and ranked No. 3 at 125 while red-shirt freshman Jimmy Gulibon is 4-3 and No. 11 at 133. True freshman Zain Retherford is 8-0 and No. 11 at 141. The brothers Alton, Andrew at 149 and Dylan at 157, are ranked No. 9 and 5 respectively. Taylor is No. 1 at 165 with an 8-0 mark, Brown is No. 3 at 174 with an 8-0 record and Ed Ruth is No. 1 at 184 with a 10-0 mark (Ruth will not wrestle in this weekend's events, including the sold-out BJC dual, as he continues a month-long suspension for a violation of team rules). Sophomore Morgan McIntosh is ranked No. 4 at 197 with an 8-0 record and junior Jimmy Lawson is No. 10 at 285 with a 7-0 mark.
Boston University will enter the Friday's dual meet with an 0-3 mark. The Terriers are being led by nationally ranked Nestor Taffur, who is No. 13 at 157 with a 13-1 record. The Terriers feature a veteran line-up, including senior heavyweight Kevin Innis at 285 and senior Bubba McGinley at 125.. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
Pitt enters the weekend with a 2-0 mark. The Panthers are at Maryland on Friday, Dec. 6, the same evening that Penn State is at Boston. The Panthers are under the guidance of first-year head coach Jason Peters and are being led by four ranked grapplers. Senior Anthony Zanetta is No. 9 at 125 with a 6-1 record, senior Shelton Mack is No. 17 at 133 with a 9-3 mark, junior Tyler Wilps is No. 9 at 174 with a 10-1 ledger and junior Max Thomusseit is No. 6 at 184 with a 5-0 record. Penn State leads the all-time series 53-12-3 having won the last three meetings. The Nittany Lions won 31-7 at Pitt last year on 2/8/13 and won 33-6 in Rec Hall two years ago (2/19/12).
Penn State returns to action on Sunday, Dec. 15, when it opens up Big Ten action against Ohio State in Rec Hall. The sold out dual begins at 12 p.m. and will be a Big Ten Network national broadcast.
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. 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.
#2 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (3-0, 0-0 B1G)
WT NAME EL HT/HS REC
125 #3 Nico Megaludis Jr. Murraysville, Pa./Franklin Regional 7-1
133 #11 Jimmy Gulibon Fr. Latrobe, Pa./Derry Area; 4-3
OR Jordan Conaway So. Abbottstown, Pa./New Oxford; 6-1
141 #11 Zain Retherford Fr. Benton, Pa./Benton; 8-0
149 James English Sr. York, Pa./Central York; 3-1
OR Zack Beitz Fr. Mifflintown, Pa./Juniata; 4-4
#9 Andrew Alton (out) Jr. Mill Hall, Pa./Central Mountain; 0-0
157 James Vollrath Sr. Richboro, Pa./Council Rock South; 6-2
#5 Dylan Alton (out) Jr. Mill Hall, Pa./Central Mountain; 0-0
165 #1 David Taylor Sr. St. Paris, Ohio/St. Paris Graham; 8-0
174 #3 Matt Brown Jr. West Valley City, Utah/Cyprus; 8-0
184 Wes Phipps Fr. Grove City, Pa./Grove City; 0-1
#1 Ed Ruth (out) Sr. Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Township; 10-0
197 #4 Morgan McIntosh So. Santa Ana, Calif./Calvary Chapel; 8-0
285 #10 Jimmy Lawson Jr. Tom's River, N.J./Manchester Township; 7-0
Jon Gingrich Jr. Wingate, Pa./Bald Eagle Area; 8-1
BOSTON UNIVERSITY TERRIERS (0-3) / trend it at #PSUwrBU
WT NAME EL HT/HS REC
125 Bubba McGinley Sr. Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks; 7-6
133 Dane Harlowe So. Annandale, Va./Annandale; 6-7
141 Tyler Scotton Jr. Willingboro, N.J./Willingboro; 8-5
OR Peter Ishiguro Jr. Lake Forest, Calif./Trabuco Hills; 2-3
149 Nick Tourville Sr. Bloomington, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's; 5-6
157 #13 Nestor Taffur Sr. Bound Brook N.J./Bound Brook; 13-1
165 Mitchell Wightman Jr. Warwick, N.Y./Warwick Valley; 8-6
174 Andrew Maksimovic Jr. Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North; 3-7
OR Eric Des Lauriers Sr. Franklin, Mass./Franklin; 1-5
184 Aaron Conrad Fr. Bridgewater, Mass./Bridgewater-Raynham; 2-5
197 Kristian Meyer Sr. Lincolnshire, Ill./Stevenson; 0-4
285 Kevin Innis Sr. Secaucus, N.J./St. Peter's Prep; 4-3
#23 PITTSBURGH PANTHERS (2-0*) / trend it at #PSUwrPITT
WT NAME EL HT/HS REC
125 #9 Anthony Zanetta Sr. Pittsburgh, Pa./Keystone Oaks; 6-1
133 #17 Shelton Mack Sr. Meadville, Pa./Meadville; 9-3
141 Edgar Bright Fr. Cleveland, Ohio/St. Edward; 2-2
OR Jake Keller So. Curwensville, Pa./Curwensville; 5-5
149 Mike Racciato Fr. Pen Argyl, Pa./Pen Argyl; 8-5
157 Eric Nutter So. Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic; 9-4
OR Cole Sheptock Fr. Northampton, Pa./Northampton; 6-6
165 Geno Morelli Fr. DuBois, Pa./DuBois; 4-5
174 #9 Tyler Wilps Jr. Oakdale, Pa./Chartiers Valley; 10-1
184 #6 Max Thomusseit Jr. St. Paris, Ohio/St. Paris-Graham; 5-0
197 Nick Bonaccorsi So. Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park; 7-3
285 P.J. Tasser Sr. Belle Vernon, Pa./Belle Vernon; 7-0
OR Mike Gregory Sr. Dracut, Mass./UNC-Greensboro; 7-5
*Pittsburgh is at Maryland on Friday, 12/6, post-press
Individual rankings are Intermat and team rankings are Intermat TPI as of 12/3
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 103-19-2 dual meet mark in this, his seventh year as a head coach. He is 59-9-2 and in his fifth year at Penn State.
PENN STATE/PITT DUAL IN BJC SELLS OUT IN ADVANCE!
The Penn State Department of Athletics announced on Monday, Dec. 2, that the wrestling dual meet between Penn State and Pittsburgh on Sunday, Dec. 8, at 2 p.m. in the Bryce Jordan Center sold out. Wrestling fans from around the region have officially pushed the BJC to its limit as over 15,000 fans will fill the vaunted venue for the intrastate showdown. "Having a sellout crowd of over 15,000 fans for two Pennsylvania schools is exciting and we appreciate it very much," said Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson. "Now it's our job to go out and entertain them. I'd like to thank all the fans for their continued support. It means a lot to our entire program." The sell-out will be the 13th straight for Sanderson's Nittany Lions dating back to the 2011-12 season, with the previous 12 taking place in Rec Hall. The final attendance figure announced on Sunday will set a new Penn State wrestling record by over well over 3,000 fans.
LIONS FAIR WELL AT MAT-TOWN
Four members of the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team competed unattached at the Mat-Town Open hosted by Lock Haven University. Senior All-American Ed Ruth, 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. True freshman Matt McCutcheon 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.
12TH-STRAIGHT SELL-OUT CROWD IN REC HALL SEES NITTANY LIONS DOWN LOCK HAVEN 34-6
Three Penn State All-Americans notched falls or tech falls while three freshmen made Rec Hall debuts as the Nittany Lions downed Lock Haven 34-6 in front of 6,500 fans the 12th-straight sell out for the Lions in the venerable building. David Taylor got a pin, Nico Megaludis and Matt Brown posted tech falls and true freshman Zain Retherford downed Dan Neff at 141 in his Rec Hall debut. Red-shirt freshmen Zack Beitz and Wes Phipps debuted in Rec Hall with very close losses (8-7 and 3-1 respectively, with Phipps' loss to #19 Fred Garcia).
TAYLOR'S 100TH CAREER BONUS POINT VICTORY LEADS LOINS TO WIN AT #25 LEHIGH; NAMED B1G WoW
Senior David Taylor dominated Lehigh's Brian Brill to the tune of a 20-7 major, sparking Penn State to a 22-12 dual meet win at #25 Lehigh on 11/17. With the Lions wrestling without four ranked wrestlers, Taylor's bonus point win helped secure the victory for Penn State going away. The win was Taylor's 100th bonus point win. At the conclusion of that dual, Taylor had 100 bonus point wins in 110 matches wrestled. Taylor was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week for the second consecutive week for his efforts.
GINGRICH DOWNS #19 VOLLARO OF LEHIGH
Junior heavyweight Jon Gingrich capped off Penn State's 22-12 win at #25 Lehigh on 11/17 with a strong 5-2 win over #19 Doug Vollaro. Gingrich stepped in at 285 and helped put the finishing touches on a strong team showing as Penn State wrestled without four ranked wrestlers.
MEGALUDIS, RETHERFORD, TAYLOR LEAD PENN STATE TO WIN AT RIDER IN FRONT OF SELL OUT CROWD
Wrestling in front of packed Alumni Gymnasium at Rider University, the Penn State Nittany Lions rolled to a 34-8 win over the Broncs, who were ranked 25th in the Coaches Poll at the time (not the Intermat TPI). Junior All-American Nico Megaludis downed #17 Robert Deutsch 5-0 at 125, true freshman Zain Retherford made his Penn State dual meet debut with a 12-3 major over RU's Paulie Kirchner at 141 and senior All-American David Taylor pinned #13 Ramon Santiago at the 4:27 mark to highlight the lopsided Lion victory.
HAMMOND WINS TITLE AT ESU OPEN
Ten members of the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team took part in the East Stroudsburg Open today, both attached and unattached. True freshman Garett Hammond won the 165-pound title to lead Penn State's efforts. Hammond was a perfect 5-0 on the day, putting forth a dominant performance with five bonus point wins. Hammond had two majors, a tech fall and two pins on the day and improved his record to 16-3 as an unattached Nittany Lion. Junior heavyweight Nick Ruggear went 3-1 on the day plus grabbing a win over a non-collegiate grappler (which does not count in his results). Ruggear's performance included a pin and a major was good enough for third place at 285. Two Nittany Lion 141-pounders placed. Sophomore Michael Waters went 5-2 to place fourth at 141 while junior Nate Morgan went 6-2 to take seventh with two pins and a tech fall.
ALL REC HALL DUALS SOLD OUT; LESS THAN 50 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 50 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.
LIONS CROWN SIX CHAMPS AT BINGHAMTON
Penn State wrestled well 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 WITH TEN RANKED INDIVIDUALS BY INTERMAT
Ten members of the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team are now ranked at their individual weights in the latest Intermat Rankings. Nico Megaludis is ranked No. 3 at 125, Jimmy Gulibon is No. 11 at 133, Zain Retherford is No. 11 at 141, Andrew Alton is No. 9 at 149, Dylan Alton is No. 5 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. 10 at 285.
DUAL TIME CHANGES ANNOUNCED
The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team has announced dual meet time changes due to national television broadcast requests. Two of Penn State's Big Ten duals have 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.