All-American Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.) went 6-0 at 133, crushing the field with three majors and three pins. His opening round victory was a 10-2 major over teammate No. 20 Tim Haas (Camp Hill, Pa.). Red-shirt freshman Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.) was also outstanding, going 5-0 with three pins and a major to claim the title at 133. All-American Bubba Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va.), ranked No. 2 at 149, stayed perfect on the year by going 5-0 to win the crown. Jenkins dominated the field with four majors and a technical fall. Jenkins' final major was a 10-2 win over No. 7 Bryce Saddoris of Navy.
All-American Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) also went 5-0 at 157. Vallimont, ranked No. 8 at 157, used two majors, a tech fall and a pin to claim the NLO title. Senior John Laboranti (Pittston, Pa.), wrestling unattached at heavyweight, was superb in winning his first Nittany Lion Open title Laboranti clinched his title with a 5-2 win over No. 11 Rashard Goff of Cleveland State in the title tilt. In addition to its five champions, Penn State had a sixth finalist as freshman Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) took second at 174. Wright went 4-0 to advance to the finals before falling to two-time ACC Champion Mike Letts, unattached of Maryland (Letts is red-shirting this year).
In addition to its six finalists, Penn State had three other grapplers post strong performances and place at the event. Sophomore Brad Pataky (Clearfield, Pa.) rebounded from an upset loss via defensive pin in the second round to win five straight in wrestle-backs to take fifth place. Pataky went 6-1 on the day and is now 12-4 on the year. Junior Adam Lynch (Mifflinburg, Pa.) went 5-2 on the day to take sixth at 133 and red-shirt freshman Tim Darling (Nazareth, Pa.) was very strong at 165, going 5-1 and taking fifth place.
The other five champions were Navy's Prescott Garner at 125, Maryland's Brian Letters at 165, Letts at 174, Josh Patterson of Binghamton at 184 and George Mason's Cayle Byers at 197.
Penn State's next action is slated for Sunday, Dec. 14, when West Virginia invades Rec Hall for a 1 p.m. dual. Fans can purchase season tickets by calling 814-863-1000 or 800-NITTANY. Season tickets are $32 for adults and $24 for youth. Single event tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for youth. Penn State students get in FREE with a Penn State ID. All Penn State dual meets and post-season action can be heard live in the Centre Region on WRSC (1390 AM State College), WHUN (1150 AM Huntingdon) and live at www.GoPSUsports.com as part of the All-Access package.
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