Senior John Laboranti will head into his final season at Penn State looking to once again challenge for the starting spot at heavyweight. With a talented group of big men in the room, Laboranti[apos]s 22 wins last year will serve him well as the experience gained in seven of Penn State[apos]s eight Big Ten duals will go a long way in his battles with outstanding teammates Stefan Tighe and Cameron Wade. Laboranti will be looking not only to secure a starting spot in the line-up, but make his first trip to the NCAA Championships.
Lion Career:
2007-08: Blazed to MSU Open title by going 4-0 with a major decision on 11/11...went 1-1 at ESU Open on 11/17...posted 4-0 mark at Mat-Town Open on 11/24 to claim HWT title...went 5-0 to claim the HWT title at the Nittany Lion Open on 12/2, including victories over #18 Rashard Goff (ua-Cleveland State) and #15 Jermail Porter of Kent State...made Penn State dual match debut with 12-5 win over Lehigh[apos]s Justin Allen on 12/9 in Nittany Lions[apos] 33-0 road win....dropped touch 3-1 decision to #10 Zach Hammond of Cornell on 1/4, getting taken down in final seconds in close loss...at National Duals, pinned Chattanooga[apos]s Matt Lettner to cap off PSU[apos]s 37-2 thrashing of No. 16 UTC in the opening round, downed #19 Jon May of Nebraska 3-1 (sv), beat Maciej Jochem of Cornell (4-2)...lost hard-fought 7-3 decision to #6 Matt Fields of Iowa in Big Ten dual match debut...got first career Big Ten dual meet win with 7-3 victory over Indiana[apos]s Nathan Everhart on 1/27...lost close 5-2 decision to #1 Dustin Fox of Northwestern on 2/1...last second takedown of Michigan[apos]s Chad Bleske gave him a 6-4 (sv) win and helped secure Penn State[apos]s 20-14 victory over #6 Michigan on 2/8...majored Michigan State[apos]s Alan O[apos]Donnell on 2/15 (14-4)...went 0-2 at Big Ten Tournament.
2006-07: Red-shirted last year after transferring from Virginia Tech.
Hokie Career:
2005-06: Went 8-8 overall...1-4 in dual matches...picked up two pins and two major decisions...dual match win was a non-conference major decision.
High School/Personal: A Pittston High School grad...the Scranton native placed third and eighth at states during high school career...finished second at FILA Junior Nationals last year...was a four-time Junior Nationals All-American.
CAREER STATISTICS
| Year | Overall | Duals (B10) | Tourn. (B10/NCAA) | Falls | TF | MD | Pts. |
| 2005-06 | 8-8 | 1-4 (0-0) | 7-4 (0-0/0-0) | 2-0 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 4 |
| 2006-07 | Red-Shirt Season | ||||||
| Career | 8-8 | 1-4 (0-0) | 7-4 (0-0/0-0) | 2-0 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 4 |