The Penn State Wrestling team split the weekend duals getting trounced by Iowa 29-6 but bouncing back to beat Wisconsin 22-15. A couple things about this Wrestling team jump out at you, while the Iowa match wasn't a surprise (I predicted a 28-7 loss), the Wisconsin victory shows a lot of promise. Last season this team would have folded after such a demoralizing loss but it's becoming more and more apparent that the wrestlers are adopting Sanderson's 'never quit fighting' attitude. Despite winning only two matches against Iowa, Penn State won 6 of 10 against the Badgers and 2 of the 4 losses were close.
#13 Penn State 6, #1 Iowa 29
125: #4 Matt McDonough IA dec. #12 Brad Pataky PSU, 7-2
133: #6 Daniel Dennis IA maj. dec. Bryan Pearsall PSU, 17-7
141: Adam Lynch PSU dec. #5 Montel Marion IA, 8-6 (sv)
149: #1 Brent Metcalf IA pinned #5 Frank Molinaro PSU, WBF (3:56)
157: Jake Kerr IA dec. #5 Cyler Sanderson PSU, 4-2
165: #5 Ryan Morningstar IA dec. #8 Dan Vallimont PSU, 2-0
174: #2 Jay Borschel IA maj. dec. Justin Ortega PSU, 14-2
184: #13 David Erwin PSU dec. #7 Phil Keddy IA, 6-4
197: Luke Lofthouse IA dec. Clay Steadman PSU, 5-2
285: #9 Dan Erekson IA dec. #11 Cameron Wade PSU, 6-1
The Lynch sudden victory win over #5 Montel Marion is stunning but more on that later. Molinaro's loss isn't surprising, Metcalf is just a buzz saw and will be a tough matchup for Molinaro come Big Ten Championship time. The real disappointment was Cyler Sanderson's loss to Jake Kerr, who came into the match unranked, I had hoped for more from Sanderson but he bounced back against Wisconsin. David Erwin had a great victory over Keddy and Dan Vallimont is very close to Morningstar. Actually all of Vallimont's matches with Morningstar are close, Dan just needs to get over the hump.
#13 Penn State 22, #12 Wisconsin 15
125: #12 Brad Pataky PSU maj. dec. Drew Hammen UW, 11-3
133: #8 Tyler Graff UW tech. fall Bryan Pearsall PSU, 23-8 (TF; 6:44)
141: Adam Lynch PSU dec. #20 Cole Schmitt UW, 5-4
149: #5 Frank Molinaro PSU dec. #2 Kyle Ruschell UW, 6-5
157: #5 Cyler Sanderson PSU pinned Greg Burke UW, WBF (6:39)
165: #1 Andrew Howe UW dec. #8 Dan Vallimont PSU, 7-2
174: Brendan Ard UW dec. Justin Ortega PSU, 6-4
184: #13 David Erwin PSU dec. #16 Travis Rutt UW, 2-0
197: #8 Trevor Brandvold UW maj. dec. David Crowell PSU, 11-3
285: #11 Cameron Wade PSU dec. Eric Bugenhagen UW, 4-0
Molinaro used a four point move in the first period and held off Ruschell for the 6-5 victory. Frank couldn't get out from underneath in the second surrendering a riding time point and a stall warning but was aggressive in the third when it counted. Erwin used an escape and a strong third period ride for the 2-0 victory over the 16th ranked wrestler. But the real story of the weekend was that of Adam Lynch who beat two ranked wrestlers. Considering he came into the weekend with a below .500 record it's stunning that he beat the 5th and 20th ranked guys and these weren't fluke matches where Lynch got lucky, he did his homework and was well prepared. Against Marion, Lynch was the aggressor getting the bouts first two takedowns. The final sudden victory takedown was off a Marion shot but it's obvious that Lynch is gaining experience and confidence. For his efforts, Adam Lynch is Linebacker-U's MVW.
MVW(Most Valuable Wrestler) - Senior Adam Lynch
So Penn State comes out of the weekend with a road win over a ranked Big Ten opponent. With their efforts they moved up to No. 11 in this week's polls. Molinaro moved up a spot to No. 4 after his Ruschell victory and Penn State still has six ranked wrestlers. Penn State now gets two very beatable opponents this weekend as Northwestern invades Rec Hall Friday night and Michigan visits Super Bowl Sunday. Hopefully they can build some momentum as there are just four duals left until the Big Ten Championships in early March.
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