Sophomore All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.), ranked No. 6 at 149, blazed his way to a 5-0 mark and the title at 149. Molinaro was unstoppable in his wins, outscoring his five foes by a combined score of 36-6. Senior All-American Cyler Sanderson (Heber City, Utah), ranked No.4 at 157, downed true freshman teammate David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) 9-7 in a thrilling final at 157 to claim the crown. Sanderson went 5-0 to take first while Taylor went 4-1 (including a pin of the 17th-ranked wrestler in the nation) to take second. Senior David Erwin (Urbana, Ohio) battled his way through a rugged field at 184 to go 5-0 and claim the title. Erwin got a last-second takedown over Edinboro's Chris Honeycutt to win 9-8 in the finals. He also downed No. 10 Josh Patterson of Binghamton in the semifinals.
Other top performances for Penn State (in addition to the three champions and Taylor's second place showing) included junior Brad Pataky (Clearfield, Pa.), who was upset in the finals at 125. Pataky, ranked No. 6, was turning No. 9 Jarrod Garnett of Virginia Tech when the talented Hokie caught Pataky and pinned him at the 4:49 mark. Red-shirting sophomore All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) bounced back from an upset loss in the semifinals at 184 to take third, senior All-American Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.), bounced back from an upset loss in the semifinals to take third at 165 and Colby Pisani (Ridgway, Pa.), who took fourth at 141.
Other place winners for Penn State included freshman Bryan Pearsall (Lititz, Pa.), who was eighth at 133; freshman James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.), who was fifth at 157; true freshman Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), who was fifth at 184; sophomore Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio), who was fifth at heavyweight; and senior Brendan Herlihy (Fairfield, Conn.), who was eighth at heavyweight.
Penn State will re-visit its EWL?days next weekend, visiting West Virginia on Friday, Dec. 11, at 8 p.m., and Pittsburgh on Saturday, Dec. 12, at 7 p.m. The Nittany Lions' next home event will be on Jan. 22 when the Illinois Illini come to State College. Single event tickets for Nittany Lion wrestling cost $8 for adults and $6 for youth. Group sales are available once again for groups of 15 people or more. Group prices are $4 in advance and $5 walk-up. Fans can purchase tickets by calling 1.800.NITTANY between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. All Penn State events will once again air live on Forever Broadcasting's WRSC?(1390 AM), 3WZ (95.3 FM) and on GoPSUsports. com as well. The 2009-10 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
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