Jan. 28, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, under the direction of head coach Cael Sanderson, continues to roll with 10 wrestlers ranked in the top 16 nationally at their respective weights. Red-shirt freshman Zack Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.) makes his rankings debut at 149 in the latest Intermat release. The Lions also remain the No. 1 ranked team nationally in Intermat's Tournament Power Index (TPI).
Penn State leads the TPI with 105.5 points while Iowa is second with 100.0. No other team is above 80. 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.
Junior All-American Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.) holds the No. 2 ranking at 125 with a 20-2 record. True freshman Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.) is at No. 16 at 133 and is 11-9 overall while true freshman Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), unbeaten with a 21-0 mark, is No. 2 at 141.
Beitz, who has seen the bulk of Penn State's dual meet action at 149 and has an 11-7 record overall, is now ranked No. 15 nationally at his weight, replacing teammate Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) who continues to work back from off-season surgery. Junior All-American Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) is ranked No. 4 at 157 with an unblemished 13-0 record.
Senior All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), unbeaten with a 21-0 record, is No. 1 at 165 and junior All-American Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah) is No. 3 at 174 with a 21-1 mark. Senior Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) is No. 2 at 184 with a 20-1 ledger while sophomore Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.) is No. 7 at 197 and is 20-2 on the year. Junior Jimmy Lawson (Tom's River, N.J.), who missed last week after an injury and is out this coming weekend, is No. 12 at 285 with a 16-4 record.
The Nittany Lions sport a perfect 11-0 mark and are 5-0 in Big Ten action. Penn State will make a two-dual swing through the state of Michigan this weekend. Sanderson's squad will visit Michigan State on Friday night for a 7 p.m. encounter and then take the main stage for the Big Ten Network's Super Bowl Sunday schedule. The Nittany Lions will visit No. 11 Michigan for a 3:30 p.m. dual on Sunday. The dual will air live on the Big Ten Network.
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 some 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.