Nov. 17, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Three members of the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team claimed titles at the 2014 ESU Open, concluded late Sunday evening at East Stroudsburg University. Red-shirt freshman Garett Hammond (Chambersburg, Pa.) and true freshmen Nick Nevills (Clovis, Calif.) and Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.) all took first place at the event. Twelve Penn Staters competed in the Poconos, split between attached and unattached status.
Hammond went a perfect 6-0 with two pins, a tech fall and a major to improve his record to 7-0 on the year and win the 165-pound crown. One of Hammond's pins came in just 0:43. Nevills and Nolf made their open tournament debuts at the event. Nevills went 5-0 at 285, with three pins (including one at the 1:00 mark), to roll through the big man bracket. Nolf was equally impressive, going 6-0 with two pins and two tech falls to win the 157-pound title.
Two other Nittany Lions took third place at the event. Junior Michael Waters (Advance, N.C.) went 5-1 with a major and a tech fall to take third place at 141 while red-shirt freshman Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.) was 5-1 with a pin and a tech fall to take third at 184. Red-shirt freshman Kade Moss (South Jordan, Utah) posted a 3-0 mark at 141 before bowing out of the tourney and classmate Cody Law (Windber, Pa.) went 4-1 with a major at 157 before ending competition as well.
Sophomore Caleb Livingston (Drexel Hill, Pa. went 2-2 with a major at 165. True freshman Anthony Cassar (Rocky Hill, N.J.) posted a 4-2 record with two tech falls at 197. Classmate Jordan Pagano (Oradell, N.J.) picked up a win at 165, rookie Nicholas Weldon (Birmingham, Ala.) picked up a win at 184 and true freshman Kenneth Yanovich (Effort, Pa.) competed at 125, all unattached.
Head coach Cael Sanderson's team continues dual meet action next weekend, visiting Pittsburgh on Friday, Nov. 21, for a 7 p.m. dual wrestled at Pitt's Peterson Events Center. Penn State then treks to Clarion on Saturday, Nov. 22, for a 7 p.m. dual as well. A limited number of SRO tickets are available for select Penn State Rec Hall dual meets. For ticket inquiries, call 1-800-NITTANY. Nittany Lion 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 2014-15 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.