Wrestling Wreport: Cael gets win #1

I wanted to post this earlier in the week but… you know the whole "rivalry" week just takes precedence.

Anyway, last weekend Cael Sanderson and his Nittany Lions opened up the dual meet season traveling to take on old time rival Lehigh and back home to take on Bloomsburg in Sanderson's PSU home debut. The results were mixed, Penn State lost 23 – 14 at Lehigh but gave the home fans something to cheer about besting Bloom 23-15. Penn State, formerly ranked 15^th dropped to 19^th in this week's NWCA Coaches Poll. At the time of the duals Lehigh was ranked 17^th and Bloom was unranked. For the record here are the scores:

#15 Penn State 14, #17 Lehigh 23
125: #8 Brad PatakyPSU maj. dec. John McDonald LU, 14-4
133: #12 Matt Fisk LU maj. dec. Tyler Saltsman PSU, 14-1
141: #18 Seth Ciauslli LU pinned Adam Lynch PSU, WBF (2:42)
149: #6 Frank Molinaro PSU maj. dec. Brian Tanen LU, 12-3
157: #5 Cyler Sanderson PSU dec. Sean Bilodeau LU, 5-2
165: #9 Dan Vallimont PSU dec. #12 Mike Galante LU, 5-2
174: Robert Hamlin LU maj. dec. David Erwin PSU, 17-8
184: #12 David Craig LU dec. Justin Ortega PSU, 3-1
197: Joe Kennedy LU dec. Clay Steadman PSU, 4-2
HWT: #6 Zach Rey LU dec. #20 Cameron Wade PSU, 5-2

#15 Penn State 23, Bloomsburg 15
125: #8 Brad Pataky PSU tech. fall Jason Guffey BU, 22-7 (7:00, 4-pt) 4-0
133: Dan Gaylord BU pinned Bryan Pearsall PSU, WBF (5:28) 4-6
141: Frank Hickman BU dec. Colby Pisani PSU, 19-12 4-9
149: #6 Frank MolinaroPSU maj. dec. Josh Roosa, 12-3 8-9157: #5 Cyler SandersonPSU dec. #2 Matt Moley BU, 3-2 11-9
165: #9 Dan Vallimont PSU dec. #19 Rick Schmelyun, 2-1 14-9
174: Nate Graham BU dec. Nick Fischer PSU, 11-5 14-12
184: Derek Coffey BU dec. Justin Ortega PSU, 4-0 14-15
197: Clay Steadman PSU dec. Jake Dabashinky BU, 3-1 17-15
>HWT: #20 Cameron Wade PSU pinned Zach Walsh BU, WBF (4:42) 23-15

The bad news: as expected Penn State has holes to fill at 133, 141, 184, and 197. Justin Ortega may be the answer at 184 although he's a natural 174 pounder or even less, I'm not sure what weight he's certified at. He'll need some time to adjust to bigger wrestlers and he's only a redshirt freshman.

The good news: Pataky was an absolute takedown machine last weekend. Granted it was against unranked competition but he did what good wrestlers are supposed to do against worse competition: own them. Dan Vallimont started the season strong beating two ranked wrestlers. Like Pataky, Frank Molinaro destroyed both unranked wrestlers he faced, posting identical 12-3 major decisions. Cameron Wade looks improved from last season, although he did lose it was to the 6^th ranked wrestler and the score was 2-2 late in the third, Wade was trying for the takedown and got reversed for the final 5-2 score. But the big news is Sanderson's little brother Cyler who electrified the Penn State home crowd with a thrilling upset win over #2 Matt Moley of Bloom. For his efforts Sanderson was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week.

Smile Cyler Sanderson, you're Big Ten Wrestler of the Week!!

Initial Thoughts

After seeing the team in person here's my first impressions:

Again with some holes in the lineup, this team is going to take some dual meet lumps in the Big Ten. Six teams are ranked ahead of Penn State and two more are ranked. To pull off some upsets the ranked guys will have to score some serious bonus points.

Sanderson and his coaching staff certainly don't subscribe to the rah-rah style of coaching. In fact they really didn't seem to say much during matches. Don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, just something I observed.

I was a little concerned that some of the wrestler wouldn't accept Sanderson's up tempo, aggressive style he preaches but pretty much the whole team was aggressive, which is definitely a great sign. Even the guys that were getting beat were, at least, still going after it.

Penn State wrestling fans have been ready for this for a while. The crowd was big and loud and it was only Bloom on a Sunday. Wait till Iowa or Minnesota come to town.

At one point Quentin Wright was standing in the middle of the floor leading the "We are…" cheer. Even redshirted he's still awesome.

Penn State unveiled their new "Premium Seating" and although it's a great thought it shoves both teams into the corners. Here's a picture from the crappy camera on my iPhone:

Premium Seats

It's a bit cramped for the wrestlers but what are you gonna do? It's capitalism at its best.

...and through the miracle of Photoshop, here's the layout (at least in my mind)

Wrestling Wreport: the inaugural 2009 edition

We interrupt our normally intense football coverage (ha!) to bring you a quick look at wrestling. The 2009-10 dual meet season starts tonight when the good guys from PSU travel to take on long time wrestling wrival Lehigh. For the record here is Penn State's "official" lineup:

#14 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
Wt. Name
125 #8 Brad Pataky
133 Tyler Saltsman OR Bryan Pearsall
141 Colby Pisani OR Adam Lynch
149 #6 (@ 141) Frank Molinaro
157 #5 Cyler Sanderson
165 #9 Dan Vallimont
174 David Erwin OR Justin Ortega
184 J.R. Brown
197 Clay Steadman
285 #20 Cameron Wade

Quite a few "OR's" in there and I doubt we will have a lineup set in stone at all this season. Head coach Cael Sanderson has decided to redshirt pretty much all of his young talent in setting up for a title run starting next season (at least that's the plan). So with all the shiny new toys safely locked away for a year Penn State's lineup will be more of a hodgepodge. Fans will have to be patient as we transition into the Sanderson era, and it's going to be difficult because anticipation is at an all time high for this program.

Over 2,000 season tickets have been sold as Penn State prepares for the season-opening weekend. Last season, Penn State sold a respectable 1,058 season tickets.

So all those throngs of hungry fans will just have to wait until Sanderson gets his guys in the program but that doesn't mean this is a throw-away year by any means.

What we know

For Cyler Sanderson, Vallimont, and Erwin it's their last chance as all three will run out of eligibility at the end of the season. Sanderson seems to be Penn State's best chance at a national champion but if the wrestlers end up ranked where they are now we would be looking at three All-Americans.

The intense Sanderson stare

Vallimont has a tough road, his weight class is ridiculously stacked. Pataky just missed out last season and although Molinaro has moved up to 149, he's certified at 141 and I wouldn't rule out the chance that he wrestles himself back to that weight before the season ends. I will say this much about Frank after seeing him wrestle in the Intrasquad match last week, he's definitely hit the weight room in the offseason. Cameron Wade came on late in the season last year and hopefully with the tutelage of Sanderson he will at the least make it out of the Big Ten's and qualify for nationals.

What we don't know

Sanderson preaches an up tempo aggressive style of wrestling, how long will it take for the "old guys" or the guys that have been around Sunderland's system to adapt to it, or for that matter will they adjust to it? The holes in the lineup are obvious, 133, 141, 184, and 197 are going to be brutal at times this season but will we see improvement?

What to expect

Sanderson has the hand he was dealt, can he get the best out of them. The main thing that I'm looking for from this unit is steady improvement. This isn't going to be a national champion team but do they improve over the course of the season. If Sanderson can have this team peaking around the Big Ten championships in March, I'll consider it a very successful season. Penn State should have no less than four guys in the nationals with six a distinct possibility. Any more than that and I'll be shocked.

It’s officially Cael’s team

Cael Sanderson's squad took the first step in the 2009-2010 season last night, competing in the Intrasquad Dual in Rec Hall in front of approximately 2400 fans. I can remember regular season dual meets that didn't draw that many fans but I digress. It was great to see Cael roaming the gym floor of Rec Hall and even better to hear his name announced as the coach of the Nittany Lions. There is a serious buzz around Penn State Wrestling, so much so you can almost feel it.

But enough about that, there was actual wrestling to report on even though it was just a glorified scrimmage that may (or may not) determine who wrestles at each weight. Sanderson believes most or all of his incoming freshman class and a couple current wrestlers will redshirt this season. So we got a chance to see a sneak peek at the future and things are looking good. While the future is bright, the present is… not so much. First the results:

174: Justin Ortega dec. David Erwin, 6-2
184: Ed Ruth maj. dec. J.R. Brown, 10-1
Exhib 184: Quentin Wright dec. David Crowell, 8-2
197: Luke Macchiaroli dec. Clay Steadman, 5-3
285: #20 Cameron Wade tech. fall Brendan Herlihy, 15-0 (7:00)
125: #8 Brad Pataky tech. fall Tom Reynolds, 16-1 (3:17)
133: Tyler Saltsman dec. Bryan Pearsall, 6-4 (SV)
141: Adam Lynch inj. def. Colby Pisani, (Pisani cramping)
149: #6 Frank Molinaro maj. dec. James English, 12-4
157: #5 Cyler Sanderson dec. David Taylor, 11-4
165: Jake Kemerer dec. #9 Dan Vallimont, 4-3

Ed Ruth, Luke Macchiaroli, and Jake Kemerer are all incoming freshman expected to redshirt which is unfortunate because they would all be wrestling at their respective weight classes. David Taylor is another of the incoming freshman, he and Quentin Wright are also expected to redshirt. While Taylor didn't win he wrestled extremely well for a true freshman wrestling against the fifth ranked wrestler in the nation. Taylor showed why he was ranked the top recruit in the nation by riding Sanderson out the entire third period. Give him a year to adjust to college wrestling and David Taylor is going to be something special.

As for the guys that remain, Ortega was a big surprise beating out David Erwin and Dan Vallimont needs to step things up. Vallimont has definitely not bought into Sanderson's offensive style of wrestling. Vallimont has always been a defensive wrestler that wins close matches even against far less talented wrestlers and Kemerer showed what happens when you let someone hang around. Jake got the winning takedown with just 5 seconds left.

David Crowell is a transfer from Pitt and won't be eligible until January and when he is he will probably have the spot at 184, until then J.R. Brown is the only option. Expect big gaping holes at 197, 133, and 141. Sanderson has said that the core team of returning ranked wrestlers could still make a run but referring to this team as a "real strong tournament team" as he has in the past is just another way of saying PSU is in bad shape in dual meets because of the holes in the lineup.

It's going to be an interesting year nonetheless, and the Sanderson era has just begun. Great things come to those that wait and for Penn State Wrestling fans, we've been waiting for greatness a long, long time; what's another year or two?

All your recruit are belong to us

Cael Sanderson's hoarding of the PA class of 2010 continues unabated. Last week, 125 lb PIAA state champ Sam Sherlock announced he will attend Penn State. Sherlock wanted to take his five official visits before making a final decision but…

"Coach Sanderson needs a 133-pounder and he wants me to start as a true freshman," said Sherlock, a two-time WPIAL and one-time PIAA champion. "It was a tough decision, but it's hard to say no to the greatest wrestler in NCAA history. His accomplishments as both a wrestler and coach are just crazy."

"I seriously considered taking my five visits," said Sherlock, who had a score of 1,270 on his SAT. "I did make an unofficial visit to Penn State last winter and watched a football game from the sideline. I just loved the university. But that was before coach Sanderson was hired. When I got a chance to meet him in my living room, I knew Penn State was where I wanted to go."

So yeah, this recruiting thing sure is hard for Cael, Hell even Sam's dad couldn't help being a little star-struck.

"My parents just loved him. In fact, my dad joked that he still has college eligibility and wanted to know if coach Sanderson needed a heavyweight."

While getting kids to come to Penn State may not be all that difficult these days for Cael, it appears he does his homework before deciding on a kid.

"Recruiting is just doing your homework. You can't go online and look up what Web sites are ranking recruits. You've got to spend time watching them and pay attention to how they react when they win and when they lose.

"I'd rather watch a kid lose a match when I'm trying to figure out if he's a guy who will fit well in our program, because that's when you can see if a kid hates losing.

"Did he keep fighting to the end, or did he just put his head on the mat and just let it go? How did he react and how did he respond to certain situations," he said.

Of course Cael's final evaluation is done with a little more of a hands-on approach.

Once those recruits are on campus, Sanderson said, he has his own way of evaluating them. One way is long, intense wrestling sessions -- as long as 45 minutes -- with him.

…If you wrestle a kid hard for 45 minutes straight, seven minutes all of a sudden becomes nothing.

That's painful just reading that, I wouldn't last one minute and I'm not in bad shape, but to most high school wrestlers that's probably close to heaven.

Penn State adds another PIAA state champ to the class of 2010

After announcing the 6^th best recruiting class for 2009, incoming Lions wrestling coach Cael Sanderson hit another home run for the class of 2010 landing highly sought after Dirk Cowburn of Coudersport High School.

Penn State coach Cael Sanderson visited Cowburn's home last week, and Sanderson didn't have to make an extensive sales pitch. Cowburn quickly selected the Nittany Lions over Oklahoma State and Nebraska.

"There were a few schools that I had in mind, but it really came down to the atmosphere at Penn State, with the wrestling room, practice partners and team unity," Cowburn said. "I know a lot of people that go there."

With Cowburn and fellow future teammates Dylan and Andrew Alton the first three verbals of the 2010 class have combined for five PIAA state titles and all three are heavy favorites to win this year. Combine that with 2009 incoming super stud and four-time Ohio state champion David Taylor and you have four wrestlers in the middle of Penn State's future lineup that looks pretty impressive. But even more exciting is the comments all these blue chip wrestlers are now saying about Penn State.

"I think the ball is really rolling," Cowburn said. "Everybody wants to go to Penn State. Right now, we are getting the best recruits in the nation, we have the best coaching staff in the nation and we are going to have the best practice partners."

As a long time wrestling fan it's very hard to not get really excited about Penn State's future under Cael Sanderson.

Oh Hell with it give me a dancin' monkey!!!

Cael Sanderson era begins with #6 recruiting class

Incoming Penn State wrestling Coach Cael Sanderson has finalized his first recruiting class in fine fashion. The wrestling gurus at Intermat have ranked Penn State's class sixth best in the country one spot behind returning Big Ten champ Iowa and four spots behind Minnesota the highest ranked Big Ten school. Penn State had a small class but more than made up for it in quality. I'll let Intermat do the work for me:

6. Penn State

Top 100 Recruits: No. 1 David Taylor (Graham, OH), No. 5 Ed Ruth (Blair Academy, NJ)

Impact Transfer: Cyler Sanderson (Iowa State/Wasatch, UT)

Other Notable Recruit: Luke Macchiaroli (Corona, AZ)

Commentary: What this group lacks in quantity, it more than makes up for in quality. New head coach Cael Sanderson inherited Ruth, who signed in the early period under the previous Penn State coaching staff. Two incoming freshmen -- Taylor and Macchiaroli -- had signed National Letters of Intent to wrestle for Sanderson at Iowa State. However, when Sanderson left, they were released and chose to join the coached that had recruited them in Happy Valley. Also coming along with Cael Sanderson is his brother Cyler, who will be a senior this coming season, and was an All-American in 2008 at 157 pounds.

It was already announced that David Taylor will redshirt next season but I would think that Macchiaroli would probably get a chance to start as a true freshman. He's projected to wrestle 197 in college and Penn State has a dearth of talent at that weight, he could be an instant impact. Also noted is the transfer of Cael's younger brother Cyler who will strengthen the lineup for his final season and help the Sanderson transition go a little smoother. Cyler was an All-American two years ago but just missed out last season. Cyler's transfer was also made official Tuesday.

Penn State gets a huge Wrestling recruit

There has been rumor and speculation for some time now that erstwhile Iowa State wrestling recruit David Taylor was leaning heavily toward following Cael Sanderson to Penn State and it's now official.

It's been a much longer road than all-everything Graham High School wrestler David Taylor had ever expected, but now that he's finally reached its end, he'd grateful for the journey. Taylor announced Monday, June 8, that he has accepted a full-ride scholarship to wrestle for Penn State University and its new head coach, Cael Sanderson.

Taylor is a huge get for Penn State and Sanderson, he was only the 17^th wrestler to win four state titles in the state of Ohio, finished his high school career with an amazing record of 180-2, and won the prestigious Ironman Tournament four times (he's the only wrestler to accomplish that feat). He also won the 2009 Dave Schultz National High School Excellence Award given to the high school wrestler who displays excellence in wrestling, scholastic achievement, character, citizenship, and community service.

Sanderson officially introduced as Penn State’s wrestling coach

You think Penn State fans are fanatic about their wrestling? Look no further then the star treatment they gave incoming coach Cael Sanderson:

Cheerleaders waved pom-poms, the lights dimmed and about 500 fans cheered and rose to their feet as Cael Sanderson walked out for his official introduction as the new wrestling coach at Penn State.

He stopped at a podium set up in the middle of the Rec Hall floor under the scoreboard, right where the wrestling mat is laid out for home meets.

"I don't really have a lot to say right now ... I'm ready to get my feet on the ground and start moving," a soft-spoken Sanderson said to the crowd. "My plans are big, and my vision is big. It's just a matter of getting it done."

Cael answered some questions about his staff but left some things up in the air:

Sanderson confirmed that two of his Iowa State assistants, including his older brother, Cody, are joining Penn State's coaching staff. Cael and Cody will be joined by Casey Cunningham.

One of Sanderson's toughest decisions could be determining the status of Penn State's current assistants, a group that includes Matt Dernlan, Aaron Anspach and Mark Perry. Director of wrestling operations Troy Letters and strength and conditioning coach Eric Childs also play vital roles in the program.

"I have to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my staff," Sanderson said "That's going to take time."

Mark Perry has openly stated that he wants to remain on the Penn State coaching staff but surely a lot of those guys will be going. Cody wrestled at 133 pounds so he will most likely be coaching the lightweights which means Dernlan's services may not be needed. Cunningham wrestled at 157 which means he'll be handling the middleweights so Perry may be out of a job. Anspach looks like the most likely guy to hold his job but you never know, I guess we'll have to wait and see. Sanderson also hinted that he told a lot of the current Iowa State wrestlers to stay and not follow him to Penn State.

"We have a great junior class at Iowa State and I think it's important that they stick together and finish out what they started," he said. "But I'm not sure 100 percent what's going to happen in that area."

One thing's for certain, even if none of his current wrestlers or recruits follow him to PSU you can bet future recruits just put Penn State as one of their final schools.

Wrestling Wreport: the All-American edition

Congratulations to redshirt freshman Frank Molinaro (8^th) and true freshman Quentin Wright (6^th) both finished as All-Americans for Penn State over the weekend. Molinaro finally wrestled like most thought he could after a disastrous Big Ten Championship tournament. Frank turned a "wild card" birth in the nationals into All-American status while going an impressive 4-3 against the #1, #2, #8, #9 and #12 seeds.

141 - Frank Molinaro

174 - Quentin Wright

That's about all the good news to come out of the weekend as Penn State could not get a single wrestler past the quarter finals and ended in 17th. Bubba Jenkins ranked #2 never won a match and left the tournament early with a 0-2 mark. Both Dan Vallimont and Jake Strayer made it to the round of 12 but both fell just one win shy from All-American status and both were returning All-Americans. Brad Pataky made it to the third round of consolations before losing to Nick Bedelyon of Kent State who finished eighth. I mention that because I was actually rooting for Nick, he graduated from my high school and is the first All-American wrestler to come out of my area. I love Penn State and I hate rooting against one of their wrestlers but I know Nick and his dad and I was very happy for them.

So the season ends like it did for most of the year on disappointment. I'm not one of these guys yelling for coach Troy Sunderland's head but this post season is probably going to be the end for Troy as coach of the Nittany Lions. Before the NCAA's Penn State athletic director Tim Curley said he was going to "assess the state of the program" and things didn't go very well this weekend. Penn State could have easily had four or five All-Americans but came away with only two. With a program like Penn State's with the top-notch facilities sitting in one of the best states for recruiting there is no excuse for this kind of lackluster season. Hopefully better times are around the corner.

Wrestling Wreport: The National Championship edition

Six Penn State wrestlers start their quest for individual nation championships today at noon. Penn State qualified only five wrestlers through automatic bids in the Big Ten championships but 141 pounder Frank Molinaro received a "wild card" bid from the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee. For those of you that are unaware, this was the first year that a selection committee chose the wild cards. In the past, the coaches from each conference chose the wild cards from the pool of wrestlers who did not place high enough to automatically qualify in their respective championships, this year it's done by a committee, much like NCAA basketball.

Penn State will have three seeded wrestlers: Jake Strayer is No. 10 at 133, Bubba Jenkins is No. 2 at 149, and Quentin Wright is No. 11 at 174. The others are all unseeded. Out of the three, Jenkins has the best shot at All-American honors (place 8^th or better) but it's not a stretch to think Penn State could come out with three.

Penn State Wrestlers in the NCAA Championships
125: (soph) Brad Pataky – unseeded
133: (senior returning All-American) Jake Strayer – #10
141: (fresh) Frank Molinaro – unseeded wild card
149: (junior returning All-American) Bubba Jenkins - #2
165: (junior returning All-American) Dan Vallimont – unseeded
174: (fresh) Quentin Wright - #11

Coverage
Thursday 19^th -- ESPN360 -- 12 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. -- All rounds
Friday 20^th -- ESPNU HD, ESPN360 -- 11 a.m. -- Quarterfinals
Friday 20^th -- ESPNU HD, ESPN2 HD, ESPN360 -- 7 p.m. -- Semifinals
Saturday 21^st -- ESPNU HD, ESPN 360 -- 10:30 a.m. -- Medal Round
Saturday 21^st -- ESPN HD, ESPN 360 -- 6:30 p.m. -- National Finals

Media guide can be found here.

Blog Chips: the Jamaican rum edition

Sorry about the lack of posting lately but I've been extremely busy getting ready for vacation in Jamaica mon! Suffice it to say for the next 4 days (starting Thursday) my life will consist of the following:

I'm booked at an all-inclusive (read: all the alcohol you can drink!) resort and I plan to take full advantage of it.

Goal #1: Have more fun than an adult should be allowed

Goal #2: Stay out of Jamaican prison

Yes, in that order.

In the mean time the Big Ten conference handed out men's Basketball awards and Penn State is well represented. Talor Battle was selected first team by both the coaches and the media, Jamelle Cornley was selected second team by the media and third team by the coaches, and Stanley Pringle was honorable mention by both.

The Big Ten Wrestling championship was last weekend and Penn State finished a very disappointing 7^th place with no Big Ten champs. Quentin Wright and Dan Vallimont were the lone bright spots for the Nittany Lions but the team finished at or near their pre-seeds and often lost by fall. Questions are really starting to mount about the future of head coach Troy Sunderland.

Penn State athletic director Tim Curley attended both days of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Curley said he's waiting until after this month's NCAA Championships in St. Louis to assess the state of the program.

"Right now, we are anxious to see how we come out of this weekend and how well we can do in two weeks out in St. Louis," Curley said before Sunday's 184-pound final. "We will see where we are from there."

"The Big Ten is a strong conference," Curley said. "We certainly would like to be in contention year in and year out, but there's a lot of good competition and programs in the Big Ten."

I'm not one of these "what have you done lately" kind of fans but this season has fallen way short of expectations. From the Dual meet season to the Big Ten's this team just hasn't performed like most would have expected.

Wrestling Wreport: the Big Ten Championships edition

The Penn State Nittany Lions host the 2009 Big Ten Wrestling Championships starting this Saturday March the 7^th. The pre-seeds are out for all ten weight classes and after the disastrous year Penn State has had during the dual meet season, they are actually represented quite well.

Wt. – Rank. Name
125 - #4. Brad Pataky, PSU
133 - #6. Jake Strayer, PSU
141- UR Frank Molinaro, PSU
149 - #2. Bubba Jenkins, PSU
157 – UR Tim Darling, PSU
165 - #6. Dan Villamont, PSU
174 - #3. Quentin Wright, PSU
184 – UR Jack Decker, PSU
197 – UR Clay Steadman, PSU
HWY UR - Tighe / Wade, PSU

Half the team is ranked with Jenkins coming in the highest ranked of any PSU wrestler. This season the NCAA has a new system of "qualifying" the number of spots or automatic bids each conference gets according to a rating system.

Qualifying tournaments were awarded spots at each weight based on data, ranging from winning percentage, RPI rating and a coaches ranking. Each wrestler that reached two of the following three criteria — .725 winning percentage, top 28 RPI or top 28 coaches ranking — received an NCAA tournament spot for his conference in his weight class.

Five Nittany Lions — sophomore 125-pounder Brad Pataky, senior 133-pounder Jake Strayer, freshman 141-pounder Frank Molinaro, junior 149-pounder Bubba Jenkins and freshman 174-pounder Quentin Wright — met at least two of three criteria at their respective weights.

The Big Ten easily received the most qualifying spots at 61 compared to the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association's 38.

As far as our hero's go the Big Ten received 7 spots at 125, 6 at 133, 5 at 149, 8 at 165 and 6 at 174. At 165, Dan Vallimont only needs to win twice to earn a NCAA tournament spot, easily the best chance for any Penn State wrestler. The Big Ten also received 7 spots at 141, if Frank Molinaro can wrestle up to his potential he could make an impact. In the end you want to finish as high as possible but winning enough in the Big Ten's and getting through to wrestle in the NCAA's is the goal.

With Dan Vallimont's up and down year it would not be a surprise if Penn State only gets Pataky, Strayer, Jenkins and Wright through although Vallimont and Darling or Molinaro could make some noise. Decker, Steadman and whoever wrestles heavyweight don't have a chance in my mind, getting one of those guys through would be a huge bonus.

Update: the championship finals can be seen live on the Big Ten Network starting at 2PM Sunday March 8th.

Wrestling Wreport: one step forward two steps back

The Penn State wrestling team entered the weekend needing to gain some momentum for the Big Ten and National championships coming up in less than a month but after a good match Friday it was more 'par for the coarse' on Sunday.

The Ugly*

Penn State got destroyed by a Michigan team (31-6) that they beat earlier in the season by a 21-18 score. The score differential shows how far Penn State has dropped over the past couple months. There are plenty of arguments to why Penn State has fallen (e.g. injuries, lack of confidence, etc.) but they have really bottomed out and, barring some unforeseen miracle, this team isn't looking to relive their spectacular run of last year that saw them finish 3^rd in the nation.

197 and Heavyweight are throwaways once the Big Ten's start, if Penn State gets any points from those two weights consider it a Godsend.

The Bad*

Frank Molinaro wrestled really well against the number 5-ranked wrestler Kellen Russell of Michigan losing by a slim 3-1 score. Why do I list that under 'bad'? Because its matches like this one that make you scratch your head and ask "where is that intensity against everyone else?" If Molinaro could come out and wrestle like that every match he'd be a top-ten wrestler. He's such an enigma. Speaking of puzzles, Dan Vallimont fits that category nicely losing to an unranked Justin Zeerip of Michigan. It's looking more and more like the move from 157 to 165 was not a good one for Dan.
Jake Strayer didn't make weight for either match this weekend and I have no idea why, definitely not a good thing.

The Good*

Penn State dominated an overmatched and unranked Michigan State team Friday winning 7 of 10 bouts on the way to a 28-12 victory. Bubba Jenkins returned to the lineup and kept his undefeated record intact winning twice. Quentin Wright continues to impress losing to top-ranked and undefeated Wolverine Steve Luke at 174lbs by a thin 6-4 margin. Wright gave up two early period takedowns but came back to make things close, taking Luke down late in the third to tighten the bout at 5-4 with 32 seconds left but could not get the tying takedown (after cutting Luke lose). Brad Pataky continues a hot hand winning by Tech fall and beating #17 Michael Watts of Michigan 11-9.

*I'm totally stealing this from Mike's basketball write-ups, sure he's not the one that coined the "good, bad, and ugly" literary device but he uses it to perfection and I'm lazy, so here we are. Oh, and I leave you with 'The Good' because I'm an optimist like that. Stop laughing!

Wrestling Wreport: down the home stretch edition

The Penn State Wrestling team hasn't won a dual meet since the 10^th of January when they beat Michigan 21-18 in the National Duals. This weekend PSU travels to the state of Michigan to face the same Wolverine wrestling team and MSU. These two matches will close out the Big Ten dual meet schedule and the only remaining dual will be a matchup against Penn next Friday at Rec Hall. All three matches are critical because they are all winnable and Penn State needs some momentum going into the Big Ten Championships in three weeks (March 7^th and 8^th).

Unlike recently, Penn State should* be going into this weekend with a lot healthier lineup as #2 Bubby Jenkins returns and Redshirt Freshman Tim Darling adds depth to the lineup at 157 (Darling made his dual meet debut last weekend and had one of Penn State's four wins). If Jenkins wrestles it would easily be a 6-9 point swing and Darling proved his takedown ability last weekend if he can continue to improve in other aspects Penn State should be fine.

#24 Penn State Nittany Lions (7-10-2, 0-4-2 Big Ten)
Wt. Name Yr. 2008-09 Record
125 #13 Brad Pataky So. (24-6)
133 #9 Jake Strayer Sr. (15-4)
141 Frank Molinaro Fr. (17-11)
149 #2 Bubba Jenkins Jr. (19-0)
157 Tim Darling Fr. (14-5)
165 #20 Dan Vallimont Jr. (15-8)
174 #16 Quentin Wright Fr. (24-8)
184 Jack Decker Sr. (8-10)
197 J.R. Brown Fr. (3-14)
HWT Cameron Wade Fr. (12-10)

Michigan State Spartans (6-6-0, 1-4-0 Big Ten)
Wt. Name Yr. 2008-09 Record
125 Eric Olanowski Fr. (18-12 )
133 #6 Franklin Gomez Jr. (14-2)
141 Collin Dozier Fr. (13-13 )
149 David Cheza Fr. (14-17)
157 Anthony Jones So. (20-9)
165 Rex Kendle Sr. (20-9)
174 Ian Hinton Fr. (16-11)
184 Nick Palmieri Jr. (7-8)
197 Tyler Dickenson Fr. (8-16)
HWT Alan O'Donnell Jr. (16-15)

#17 Michigan Wolverines (8-6-1, 3-0-1 Big Ten)
Wt. Name Yr. 2008-09 Record
125 #17 Michael Watts Sr. (12-7)
133 Zac Stevens Fr. (13-14)
141 #5 Kellen Russell So. (18-2)
149 Mark Beaudry So. (2-6)
157 Aaron Hynes So. Mt. (14-10)
165 Justin Zeerip Fr. (6-12)
174 #1 Steve Luke Sr. (20-0)
184 #13 Anthony Biondo So. (14-8)
197 #6 Tyrel Todd Sr. (14-1)
HWT Eddie Phillips So. (11-11)

Against Sparty the only marquee matchup is #9 Jake Strayer vs. #6 Franklin Gomez at 133, but important for individual and possibly dual meet reasons are the matchups at 157 and 165. Tim Darling and Dan Vallimont both get wrestlers with decent 20-9 records and both need to get wins not only to build momentum personally but to cement the middle of the lineup in that dual meet. Bubba gets a freshman with a losing record and that's pretty much what the doctor ordered to get him back into the swing of things and test that ankle.

In the Wolverine match, Penn State really has some bad draws. Whoever fills in the black hole of death at 197 will surely get pinned and Jack Decker is in for a tough match at 184. But Quentin Wright has the toughest test getting unbeaten and top-ranked Steve Luke. Pataky must win at 125 and Bubba has to get bonus points at 149 facing a wrestler with a 2-6 record. The match could hinge on 141 where Frank Molinaro faces #5 Kellen Russell; if Frank wrestles like he has been and loses big, the bonus points could be the difference, but if he digs down and wrestles a full match and keeps it close the lack of bonus points could be in Penn State's favor.

*I have no prior knowledge of any wrestler's injury status, just a logical guess. Bubba has been walking without crutches for a couple weeks now but ankle sprains can be nagging sometimes.

Let’s just pretend this weekend never happened

Wow, what a horrible weekend for Penn State Athletics. It started off Friday night when a shorthanded Penn State wrestling team lost (and lost badly) to #6 Ohio State 33-7. Not to be outdone the Basketball team then played "anything you can do I can do worse" and lost to Wisconsin at home 54-44 in one of the most boring games I've ever watched… ever… in any sport. Thank God I turned it off long before the game was over or I would have been pissed to waste a beautiful afternoon on that garbage. But wait, there's still more! While the Basketball team was demonstrating utter futility Sunday the Wrestling team decided they could top Friday night's pathetic performance and lost to top ranked Iowa 31-6! Not much to report other than that, trying to find something good that came out of this weekend is like trying to find a politician on Obama's cabinet that pays his taxes.

Wrestling Wreport: the impending doom edition

Normally on a weekend like this with matchups against two of the best wrestling teams in the country I would be quite stoked but not so for the duals against #6 Ohio State (tonight at 7) and #1 and defending national champ Iowa (Sunday @ 2). Penn State is without several starters and in wrestling (a sport you have 9.9 scholarships for 10 positions) if your starter goes down the cupboard is VERY bare. Throw in the fact that Penn State is a black hole at 197 and Heavyweight and well, it's going to be a pretty bad weekend for the good guys.

There are interesting matchups that should make it worth the 30 minute trip to State College:

At 125, #13 Brad Pataky is coming off probably his best weekend of wrestling and gets to face #4 Charlie Falck of Iowa.

At 133, #9 Jake Strayer, who is also coming off a pretty good outing besting the returning national champ, has the daunting task of facing #1 AND #2 in #2 Reece Humphrey of OSU and #1 Daniel Dennis of Iowa.

Normally I would be more apprehensive about such matchups but I have a lot of confidence in both Pataky and Strayer right now, I think they are Penn State's best wrestlers at this point.

At 174, well get a chance to see what true freshman #16 Quentin Wright is made of as he gets the 4^th-ranked wrestler in Jay Borschel of Iowa. Coincidentally he also gets erstwhile Penn State wrestler and current OSU 174 pounder Dave Rella, which should make for interesting off-the-mat conversation.

One more reason to hit the panic button is the status of Penn State's only undefeated wrestler, 149 pounder Bubba Jenkins who is still recovering from a sprained ankle and did not wrestle last weekend.

"(Saturday) I tried to move around and it didn't feel good at all," Jenkins said. "I think I'm a couple days behind where I thought I would be."

"We don't want to do that and that's why he didn't wrestle this weekend," Sunderland said. "Dual meets are one thing. But the end of the year focus is the Big Ten Tournament and national tournament. We have to keep the big picture in mind."

Emphasis mine – it's important that Jenkins is 100% because he would be facing #4 Lance Palmer of Ohio State and #1 Brent Metcalf of Iowa whom Jenkins lost to in the national finals last season, both of which are very physical wrestlers.

"I don't think I'm going to rush back, especially because I have Palmer and Metcalf," Jenkins said. "I have to be close to 100 percent to wrestle those guys. I don't know how close I will be Friday."

Even with Jenkins, Penn State has no chance against Iowa they are a machine. Nine of Iowa's ten starters are ranked, including two No. 1's. The aforementioned Brent Metcalf is No. 1 at 149 and Daniel Dennis is No. 1 at 133, Alex Tsirtsis is No. 2 at 141, Ryan Morningstar is No. 3 at 165, Phil Keddy is No. 3 at 184, Charlie Falck is No. 4 at 125, Jay Borschel is No. 4 at 174, Dan Erekson is No. 7 at HWT and Chad Beatty is No. 18 at 197. That's nine out of ten ranked with 7 of those in the top five. That's F-in impressive and even more so, they only have one senior in that group of ranked wrestlers. Yeah, Iowa is going to dominate Wrestling for the foreseeable future.

Wrestling Wreport

Before I get to a recap of this week's wrestling action I want to congratulate the Penn State Men's Basketball team on a signature win beating No. 9 Michigan State at the Breslin Center. I'm not a basketball fan but, like any sport, I root for Penn State and this is a huge win for this team. I missed the game for the Penn State – Wisconsin wrestling match and believe me, I would have rather watched the basketball game, but more on that later.

No.16 Penn State vs. No. 10 Minnesota and No. 17 Wisconsin

Penn State was all but assured two losses going into this weekend against two ranked opponents without the aid of their best wrestler Bubba Jenkins who was out with an ankle sprain. The team was already smarting from past injuries to the lineup but you simply don't replace Jenkins in any meaningful way and Penn State had no answer.

Despite being shorthanded though, the Lions nearly pulled off the upset against Minnesota, a match that came down to heavyweight. In fact Penn State held a 15-11 team score advantage going into 197, it's unfortunate that 197 and HW are gigantic wastelands of suck for this year's version of the Nittany Lions and Penn State left with an 20-18 loss.

Penn State laid a gigantic egg against Wisconsin losing 38-13 and wrestled probably some of the worst wrestling I've seen in a long, long time. Frank Molinaro continues to put in two periods of effort against ranked opponents; unfortunately there are three periods to each bout. When Molinaro is down he just seems to give up and he did a fine job of that this weekend losing 12-5 to 8^th ranked Mike Thorn of Minnesota and giving up a technical fall to top-ranked Zach Tanelli of Wisconsin. Sure you would expect losses in both cases but the effort just wasn't there once each bout was clearly decided.

Sure Penn State is fighting injuries and there are a lot of freshmen seeing mat time that wouldn't regularly be in the lineup but against Wisconsin there were many instances of Penn State wrestlers getting in deep on singles only to be countered and taken down, that's fundamental flaws you learn to avoid in grade school wrestling.

It wasn't all bad though; there were two shining examples of wrestlers peaking at the right time in 125 pounder Brad Pataky and 133 pounder Jake Strayer. Both wrestlers dominated this weekend especially against Minnesota. Pataky beat No.5 (and returning national champ) Zach Sanders of Minnesota 14-7. Brad picked an ankle on the opening whistle, took Sanders down and tilted him to his back twice to break out to an 8-0 lead.

From there Pataky cruised, kept the pressure on, and walked away with a 14-7 decision. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Brad actually had a 14-6 major decision but the ref called a completely unnecessary and irrelevant stall call with 1 second left in the bout to make the score a 7-point victory instead of the 8-point major. Like every other sport, the Big Ten claims some of the WORST referees in Wrestling and this was a shining example, but I digress.

Jake Strayer also beat the 5^th-ranked wrestler in the nation besting Jayson Ness of Minnesota 4-3. Strayer used a first period takedown and escape (after a reversal) and strong defense to edge Ness.

Strayer nearly had Ness turned for backpoints but lost the hold and gave up the first period reversal. Jake also had a strong ride in the second period and built riding-time advantage but couldn't keep it in the third. Regardless, it was two complete matches from two of Penn State's best wrestlers and they are wrestling their best at the right time. Hopefully they can carry the momentum into the Big Ten's coming next month in early March.

Next Up: Penn State tackles a tough task in Ohio State Friday night and top-ranked Iowa Sunday at 2:00PM.

Wrestling Wreport

The Penn State Wrestling team traveled to start the Big Ten season and if last weekend's results are a harbinger of things to come its obvious The Nittany Lions enjoy kissing their sisters.

Penn State managed two ties last weekend, one against No. 21 Indiana 17-17 Friday night and one against No. 25 Purdue 19-19 on Saturday night. Somewhere Donovan McNabb cringes.

There's ties in wrestling!?!

Friday's dual was a bit of a disappointment while Saturday's was simply a match of survival.

Currently, erstwhile 157 pounder Dan Vallimont can no longer make weight at his former spot and has moved up to 165 leaving a gaping hole at 157 which is presently occupied by Colby Pisani who is up TWO weight classes to wrestle 157. Needless to say, Pisani is at a very distinct disadvantage at that weight and is getting thrown to the wolves.

Against Indiana, Vallimont lost to unranked Paul Young 4-1 making the move look a bit suspect but Dan later bounced back and beat No. 9 Luke Manuel of Purdue. The jury is still out if Dan can compete at 165, but there's no doubt it hurts Penn State at 157. Frank Molinaro continues his up and down season, barely getting by unranked 141 pounder Scott Kelly of Indiana 8-6 in a bout that Molinaro should have dominated. Then, against Matt Hemry of Purdue Molinaro got a quick takedown and rolled Hemry to his back twice to take a 9-0 lead into the second period. Like most of his season though he followed that up by getting taken down three times in a row in the second period. Frank did go on to post an 18-6 major decision but the bout is just another example of the inconsistency he has wrestled with all season.

Like I said previously, the Indiana dual was disappointing because of the opportunities lost. 125 pounder Brad Pataky started the dual off with a bang beating defending national champion Angel Escobedo 4-3. The dual ended in a tie though as opportunities to score the winning points were lost at 165 where the aforementioned Dan Vallimont lost to and unranked wrestler, at 149 where Bubba Jenkins injured his ankle early in the first period on a takedown and had to wrestle on one leg the rest of the bout, and at 174 where Quentin Wright (ranked 14^th) lost to Indiana's Trevor Perry (ranked 17^th) in sudden victory overtime. The injury to Jenkins was enough to keep him out of the lineup against Purdue so the tie Saturday night was more of a victory to a team that was so shorthanded.

Pataky had a great weekend beating the defending national champ and then notching an 8-0 major decision shutout against Purdue. The other wrestler that was impressive last weekend was 184 pounder Jack Decker who posted an amazing 15-0 tech fall without the aid of a takedown. Decker used the same move against Indiana's Eric Cameron to roll the Hoosier to his back and score 3 near fall points five times to post the win. Then against Purdue, Decker held serve against No.14 A.J. Kissel losing a tough 2-1 decision. Considering Decker wasn't the starter at the beginning of the season, that's a pretty impressive weekend. It's apparent that Penn State is going to be a total wasteland at 157, 197, and Heavyweight, so they will need the rest of the team to pick it up at least in the dual meet season. Once the Big Ten's start it's just a matter of getting as many wrestlers through as possible.

Penn State returns home this weekend for a huge dual against No 10 Minnesota Friday night, a team they could have beat in the National Duals. The Nittany Lions then take on No. 17 Wisconsin Sunday a match that could go either way.

Wrestling Wreport

Penn State's roller coaster season continued last weekend with an 8^th place finish at the 2009 National Duals. The National Duals is an invitational team tournament held every year and Penn State was one of 16 teams invited to participate. Of the 16 teams, 14 were nationally ranked with the top 6 in attendance. While the 8^th place finish is good for the Nittany Lions, considering they were unseeded, but they could have done better.

Penn State started the tournament with a bang beating No. 5 Missouri 20-19. Both teams won 5 bouts but the difference was bonus points, the Nittany Lions held a slim 5-4 advantage. Bubba Jenkins and Jake Strayer made the difference. Jenkins pinned Brandon Weist with his patent cement mixer in the first period at 149 and Strayer posted a technical fall at 133.

Yes, Bubba Jenkins will shove your head up your ass

Head coach Troy Sunderland made a brilliant move at 174 shifting Quentin Wright up a weight to face unranked Dorian Henderson instead of facing #6 ranked Raymond Jordan in his normal spot at 174. The move allowed Penn State to get another win at 184 instead of two losses at both weights. Also worth mentioning was the effort freshman Cameron Wade put in at Heavyweight. Facing #2 ranked Mark Ellis, Wade had to give up a major or less and he did just that with a hard-fought 4-2 loss.

The Nittany Lions then lost a tough 20-16 match with No. 4 Nebraska. The match went as expected with no upsets at any weight. The match actually came down to Heavyweight where PSU's Cameron Wade lost a close 4-2 decision to #17 Tucker Lane. With the match at a tight 17-16 score, had Wade won Penn State would have pulled off another upset. The score of the Heavyweight match was 2-2 with 45 seconds to go when Wade gave up the clinching takedown. It was a good effort against a team with more ranked wrestlers.

Penn State then barely got by #17 Michigan 21-18. Brad Pataky posted a huge upset at 125 beating #11 Mike Watts of Michigan. Sunderland once again shuffled his lineup at 174-184 moving Wright up a weight instead of facing #1 Steve Luke who pinned Penn State's Micah Bollinger. This time around though, it was a bit more of a gamble because waiting at 184 was #11 ranked Anthony Biondo. Quentin, once again, got things done beating Biondo in sudden victory overtime. It was an impressive win, Wright was not only wrestling a bigger man but he was one of the nation's best 184 pounders.

Quentin Wright does not fear your 10-pound advantage

At Heavyweight with the score tied at 18, Stefan Tighe got a close 2-1 victory without a takedown. The deciding point was a penalty point in the first period for a slap in the back of the head by Michigan's Edwin Phillips. Not exactly the way you want to win a bout and a dual meet but we'll take it.

The Nittany Lions then lost two in a row to #11 Minnesota and #16 Boise State, a mild upset. Against Minnesota both Brad Pataky and Frank Molinaro got pinned which offset a great upset victory by 165 pounder Mark Friend who beat #18 Scott Glasser of Minnesota. In the Boise match Strayer redeemed himself pinning #18 Brian Owen but Frank Molinaro had a disappointing loss to unranked Cory Fish and, even more disappointing, Dan Vallimont could not make weight and Penn State was forced to give up a forfeit at 157. The two losses placed PSU at 8^th for the tournament but it could have been better or worse, depending upon how you look at it.

The Nittany Lions now go on the road Jan 23^rd and 24^th to take on #20 Indiana and Purdue. At 7-6 with the start of the Big Ten dual meet season, and ranked 14^th, Penn State needs two victories before coming home for a rematch with Minnesota on Jan. 30^th.

Note: The Friday, Jan. 23 match with Indiana can be seen on the Big Ten Network at 7pm.

Wrestling Wreport

Wrestling season is already in full swing and Penn State has already wrestled in 5 dual meets and sent a contingent to at least 3 open tournaments. The Nittany Lions started out in the preseason ranked #7 but have since dropped to #13 after a tough loss to #18 Hofstra at home and a convincing defeat at the hands of #4 Cornell on the road. Penn State has only 5 wrestlers ranked out of ten weight classes after starting out with six ranked in the preseason.

On the bright side of things Penn State competed in the Sprawl and Brawl dual meet tournament in Binghamton, N.Y. on the weekend of Nov. 23^rd and went 3-0 on the weekend defeating (then) No. 15 Edinboro, No. 24 Virginia and host Binghamton.

Currently Ranked Wrestlers
133 – Tim Haas (No. 20)
149 – Bubba Jenkins (No. 2)
157 – Dan Vallimont (No. 8)
174 – Quentin Wright (No. 18)
184 – Phil Bomberger (No. 16)

On the disappointing side, Dan Vallimont, who finished 3^rd last season, started the year ranked 3^rd in the preseason and has slipped to 8^th after a horrible start. Vallimont is national championship caliber yet he has wrestled terrible in the first couple months. He's losing to wrestlers he beat last season and he even lost to an unranked wrestler against Virginia. At one point Vallimont lost three in a row. I scoured the message boards and there doesn't seem to be anything physically wrong with him. I managed to see the Hofstra match and Vallimont looked gassed at the end, actually the entire team looked out of shape. Hopefully Vallimont will get back to form after the Holiday break.

Another wrestler that has started out slow is 125-pounder Brad Pataky. Pataky started the year off ranked #20 but has since dropped out of the rankings. Brad took two redshirt years (one normal redshirt and a special redshirt to try and make the Olympic team) after a great true freshman season and has a lot of potential. After watching him wrestle it's my guess that he's readjusting back to the college style after wrestling freestyle for two years, but with two years of freestyle he should be dynamite on his feet but he hasn't been. Again, I'm not worried, I think he'll get better as the year goes on and actually had a great weekend going 4-0 with two tech-falls.

After a great junior season Phil Bomberger seems to be reverting back to the Bomberger of the past. Phil had a terrible sophomore season but turned it around his junior season and made it to nationals. But he seems to be having the same confidence issues that plagued him in the past. Phil is a tough competitor but he just needs to be more aggressive.

On the bright side, senior Tim Haas has wrestled well and for the first time is ranked. He lost a close one to #2 Troy Nickerson of Cornell 5-2 and has wrestled well so far. The only bad thing is Jake Strayer, who is a returning All-American from two years ago, will move down from 141 and probably beat Haas out.

The story of the season though is true freshman Quentin Wright at 174. Wright came out of high school as one of the most highly touted recruits but is lean for 174. The plan was for Wright to redshirt after he lost out to junior David Erwin and try to build some muscle on his wiry frame, but Erwin suffered a season-ending injury and Wright was thrust into the starting lineup. His collegiate debut was against #6 Alton Lucas of Hofstra and it was one of, if not the most exciting matches I've ever watched. For a wrestler in his first collegiate match Wright was surprisingly aggressive. Wright got taken down in the first and with two escapes the bout went into the third tied 2-2. Lucas chose down and escaped to take a 3-2 lead with 1:40 left in the bout. Wright kept up his offense but could not break through, but as time was winding down Wright managed to work under Lucas and get behind for what appeared to be the winning takedown just as time expired. Initially the ref gave Wright the takedown but the backup ref thought that time had expired before the two points. After a consultation between the two refs and the scorer's desk, and as the crowd buzzed in anticipation, the head ref threw two fingers in the air signaling the takedown and the crowd exploded. Quentin Wright had beaten the #6 wrestler in his first match.

Wright's potential is through the roof, the only thing he lacks is experience and as the season goes on you'll see him get better and better.

Penn State hosts their annual Open wrestling tournament this weekend and will be back in action next Sunday for a dual meet against West Virginia.