The fifth-ranked Penn State wrestling team blazed its way through the 2011 Nittany Lion Open, crowning six champions and collecting 18 place winners at the event. Penn State sent 29 wrestlers into action at the all-day event, which featured 475 grapplers from around the country.
Freshman Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), ranked No. 17, went 6-0 on the day including an 11-1 major over North Carolina State's Coltin Fought in the finals at 125. No. 1 Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.) was a perfect 6-0 at 149, pinning No. 9 Donnie Vinson of Binghamton in the finals. No. 1 David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) was 4-0 on the day plus a win over former American All-American Steve Fittery in the finals at 165. Taylor majored Fittery 14-6 but the result does not count in Taylor's win/loss record.
No. 2 Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) went 6-0 at 174, downing No. 17 Jimmy Sheptock of Maryland 7-4 in the finals. No. 6 Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) went 6-0 at 184, getting a 17-0 tech fall over Kent State's Cole Baxter in the finals at 184. Senior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio), ranked No. 5 at heavyweight, blazed his way to a 6-0 mark to win the title, getting a pin at the 1:26 mark over Clarion's Quintas McCorkle in the finals. Red-shirt freshman Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), ranked No. 11 at 157, was pinned by No. 8 James Fleming of Clarion in the finals and placed second with a 5-1 record. True freshman Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 10 at 197, was upset by No. 20 Christian Boley of Maryland in the finals, 12-9, and took second as well. No. 7 Devin Carter of Virginia Tech won the crown with a 17-7 major over Nick Arujua at 133 while Zach Neibert of Virginia Tech upset No. 19 Kevin Smith of Buffalo in the finals at 141, getting a 7-3 win.
Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.) went 3-2 and placed fourth at 125 while sophomore Frank Martellotti (Pittsburgh, Pa.) went 4-1 and took eighth at 133. Seth Beitz (Juniata, Pa.) was 7-1 on the day and placed fifth at 149 while red-shirt freshman Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) was 5-1 to take third at that weight. James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) downed teammate Nick Fischer (Unionville, Pa.) in the third place bout at 157, getting an 11-2 major to take third while Fischer finished fourth.
Red-shirt freshman Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah) went 5-1 at 174 to take fifth place and junior Justin Ortega (Oxford, Pa.) went 4-2 at 197 to take eighth. Red-shirt freshman Nick Ruggear (Oxford, Pa.) went 3-2 at heavyweight, advancing to the semifinals before losing to teammate Wade as well as No. 10 Spencer Myers in the third place bout. Ruggear took fourth. Red-shirt freshman Jon Gingrich (Wingate, Pa.) went 5-1 at heavyweight and placed fifth.
Penn State got fine performances from a number of Lions who did not place as well. At 133, Nittany Lion junior Derek Reber (Lewisburg, Pa.) went 3-0 on the day and then took a cautionary medical forfeit, ending his tournament before the quarterfinals began in order to further rest an injury. At 141, Lion freshman Sam Sherlock (West Mifflin, Pa.) went 3-2, injury defaulting out in his second loss of the day. Freshman Luke Frey (Montoursville, Pa.) won his first match but an illness forced him to cut his day short, going 1-1. Bryan Pearsall (Lititz, Pa.), Kyle Moran (Oxford, Pa.), David Owens (Derry, N.H.) and Mike Waters (Advance, N.C.) each went 0-1 on the day. Rex Lutz (Easton, Pa.) went 0-1 at 165. At 174, sophomore Andrew Church (Erie, Pa.) had a nice run, going 4-2. Teammate James Frascella (Carmel, Ind.) went 1-2 and Brandon Phillips (Timonium, Md.) went 0-1.
Penn State was solid through the early going of the tournament, with 16 of Penn State's 29 wrestlers advancing to the quarterfinals. In the quarters, Penn State went 13-2 with one wrestler taking a medical forfeit which does not count as a loss. In the semifinals, Penn State went 8-5 with two of the losses coming in bouts that pitted Lion against Lion. Penn State then went 6-2 in the finals, crowning its six champions to go along with two runners-up. Penn State went 101-29 overall on the day.
Penn State returns to dual meet action on Friday, Dec. 9 at Lehigh and then in Rec Hall on Sunday, Dec. 11, vs. West Virginia at 2 p.m. Nearing sellout status, fans can purchase remaining tickets by calling 814-865-5555. Tickets are priced at $8 for adults and $5 for youth (18 and under) and can be purchased from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day or in person at the Bryce Jordan Center box office. A maximum of four tickets may be purchased per person.
The full season slate of live dual meet and tournament action will air locally on WRSC AM (1390 AM) with Friday evening duals being simulcast on WRSC FM (103.1 FM). Lock Haven's WBPZ (1230 AM) will also carry the entire season live, WIEZ (690 AM) in Huntingdon/Lewistown carries all Sunday events and further affiliates may be added soon. The regular season schedule of radio broadcasts will be streamed live at www.GoPSUsports.com as part of Penn State's All-Access package, which will also feature live video streams of many home events. Ticket information is accessed easily online at www.GoPSUsports.com/tickets/m-wrestl-tickets.html . Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at www.twitter.com/pennstatepat and on Penn State Wrestling's facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling. The 2011-12 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
Finals Results:
125: #17 Nico Megaludis PSU maj. dec. Coltin Fought NC State, 11-1
133: #7 Devin Carter VATECH maj. dec. Nick Arujua UANR, 17-7
141: Zach Neibert VATECH dec. #19 Kevin Smith BUF, 7-3
149: #1 Frank Molinaro PSU pinned #9 Donnie Vinson BING, WBF (1:23)
157: #8 James Flemming CLAR pinned #11 Dylan Alton PSU, WBF (1:58)
165: #1 David Taylor PSU maj. dec. Steve Fittery UANR, 14-6
174: #2 Ed Ruth PSU dec. #17 Jimmy Sheptock MD, 7-4
184: #6 Quentin Wright PSU tech fall Cole Baxter UA-KSU, 17-0 (TF; 6:43)
197: #20 Christian Boley MD dec. #11 Morgan McIntosh PSU, 12-9
285: #5 Cameron Wade pinned Quintas McCorkle CLAR, WBF (1:26)
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