Seniors Eric Bradley (Plaistow, N.H.) at 184 and James Woodall (St. Dupont, Pa.) did not make the trip, forcing Sunderland to wrestle a reserve at 149 for Woodall and not submit an entry at 184. So while the remainder of the field got scoring from ten wrestlers, Penn State got scoring from nine. Showcasing its outstanding depth from top to bottom in the line-up, four of Penn State's nine scoring entrants advanced to the semifinals in a tournament field featuring Oklahoma State, Northwestern, Central Michigan and Oregon.
Driscoll zipped out to a 3-0 start and advanced to the semifinals at 141 with a pin (1:45) of Fresno State's Garrett Spooner. Driscoll also had a decision and a technical fall in the preliminaries. He then earned a spot in the finals with a 7-2 win over Northwestern's Ryan Lang. Driscoll dropped a hard-fought 6-4 decision to Dan Friskhorn of Oklahoma State in the title bout. Driscoll ended his outstanding run with a 4-1 mark.
Freshman Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.) continued his hot run, bolting out of the gates 3-0 and advancing to the semifinals at 133 with a 2-0 win over Oregon's Justin Pearch. Strayer began the tournament with a pin and a technical fall. In the semifinals, he fell 6-4 to Nathan Morgan of Oklahoma State but bounced back to take third place with a 4-1 win over Jason Borrelli of Central Michigan. Strayer went 5-1 at the tournament
Junior Nathan Galloway (State College, Pa.) made a thrilling entry into the semifinals at 157 with a 5-3 win over Oklahoma State's Newly McSpadden. Galloway, 3-0 to begin the tournament, had two other decisions to begin the tournament. Galloway dropped an 8-2 decision to Brian Stith of Arizona State in the semifinals but wrestled-back well and placed fourth, going 4-2 overall.
While that foursome advanced to the semifinals, four other Nittany Lions made it to the quarterfinals before falling into the wrestle-backs. Junior James Yonushonis (Philipsburg, Pa.) suffered his first loss of the season in the quarters. After a 2-0 start to the tourney, he had his undefeated run to begin the season ended with a heart-breaking 2-1 loss to Oklahoma State's Brandon Mason in the quarterfinals. Yonushonis would go 2-1 in wrestle-backs and take fifth place with a 5-2 mark and a 10-7 win over Brandon Sinnott of Central Michigan.
Senior HWT Joel Edwards (Upper Darby, Pa.) also advanced to the quarterfinals before losing 8-3 to Cain Valesquez of Arizona State. Edwards was strong in consolations, however, winning four straight and claiming third place. Edwards went 5-1. Sophomore All-American Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.) stormed out to a 3-0 start, advancing to the semifinals at 197 with a 7-2 win over Princeton's Jake Butler. Davis also had a fall and a technical fall in the preliminary rounds. Davis was downed 6-2 by Central Michigan's Wynn Michalak in the semis and went on to place sixth after forfeiting his fifth place match.
Sophomore Tim Haas (Camp Hill, Pa.) also began the tournament 2-0, but fell 6-2 to Arizona State's Jeremy Mendozza in the quarters. Haas went on to go 2-2 in wrestle-backs and took sixth place with a 4-3 overall mark. True freshman David Erwin (Urbana, Ohio) continued to impress in his first season, beginning the tournament 2-0 before dropping a heard-fought 5-3 decision to No. 1 seed Johnny Hendricks of Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals. Erwin went 3-2 in the tournament. Freshman Jason Lapham (West Chazy, N.Y.) started at 149 for Penn State and went 0-2.
While the above nine were Penn State's scoring wrestlers, four other Nittany Lions made the trip and participated, albeit in a non-team scoring mode. Brad Pataky (Clearfield, Pa.) was 2-2 at 125. Bryan Heller (Fair Haven, N.J.) had an outstanding tournament at 141. He went 2-0 in prelims before falling into consos. But in wrestle-backs, Heller posted five wins and earned fifth place, going 7-2 overall. Phil Bomberger (Port Royal, Pa.) went 0-2 at 165. Aaron Anspach (Columbia, Pa.) had an outstanding tournament, going 5-1 overall and finishing fourth. Anspach forfeited the third place match to teammate Edwards, thus not taking a loss in the bout.
Even with just nine scoring wrestlers, the Nittany Lions still finished a strong fourth place in the tournament. No. 1 ranked Oklahoma State won the tourney with 194.5 team points, nine finalists including three champions. No. 9 Central Michigan was second with 123, No. 13 Northwestern was third with 118.5 while No. 12 Penn State was close behind in fourth with 97. Oregon finished fifth with 83.5. The Nittany Lions, 5-2 in duals and ranked No. 12 in the country, return to action on Jan. 6 in a much-anticipated dual match at No. 9 Lehigh at 7 p.m. Two days later on Jan. 8, Penn State hosts No. 8 Cornell in Rec Hall for a 1 p.m. dual. Single match tickets can be purchased by visiting the BJC Ticket Center of by calling 814-865-5555 or 800-863-3336. Prices are $5 for adults and $3 for youth and senior citizens.
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