Wrestling Wreport: Penn State sweeps Sprawl and Brawl Duals

Cael Sanderson's team continues their torrid start to the season sweeping the Sprawl and Brawl duals in Binghamton, N.Y. last Sunday. Penn State defeated West Virginia, Harvard and No. 24 Rutgers by a combined score of 105-13. It was complete dominance as the individual wrestlers won 26 duals and lost only 4 while amassing 7 pins.

The Bad
I start off with the bad because well… there really isn't anything bad you can say about this performance. The four losses were by Nick Ruggear, Cameron Wade, Bryan Pearsall, and Jake Kemerer. Wade and Kemerer lost to wrestlers ranked in the top ten by a combined 11 points. Pearsall and Wade despite losing, registered pins and Ruggear is a breath of fresh air at 197 after coming in for Justin Ortega. Ortega has never bought into the offense-first philosophy that Sanderson preaches. Ruggear may not be that much better than Ortega but at the very least he pushes the pace and goes down firing. As a Wrestling fan I cannot ask for anything more. The same could be said for Pearsall, no one will confuse him for an All-American but at least he's aggressive.

The Good

Frank the Tank returned to action Sund

I could write a book of the War and Peace magnitude here but I'll just keep it short and sweet. <sarcasm on>Sadly, true freshman Andrew Alton had a very disappointing performance as he finally was forced to go past the first period. He only recorded two pins and actually had to finish an entire match against Trevor Melde of Rutgers. So sad. <sarcasm off> Melde was a national qualifier last season and Andrew was his aggressive self taking control of the match from the start and never trailed. Alton is 5-0 on the season with 4 pins.

Freshman David Taylor and Ed Ruth were dominate going 3-0 and recording pins (Taylor 1, Ruth 2). Frank Martellotti, filling in for an injured Brad Pataky, continues to impress going 3-0 to remain undefeated on the season. When Pataky comes back the coaches are going to have a decision to make with Martellotti. I'm not sure if he can move up to 133 and beat Pearsall or not but he sure has proven himself.

James English beat two ranked opponents this weekend

The most impressive performance on the day though, was that of James English who wrestled for an injured Frank Molinaro (ranked 3^rd). Frank returned in the last match against Rutgers and beat #13 Mario Mason 4-3, but English was impressive beating two top-ten ranked opponents. English beat #9 Corey Jantzen of Harvard 4-3 and topped it off by beating #8 Brandon Rader of West Virginia 5-3. What makes his weekend even more impressive is that Rader is a returning All-American. Frank has a worthy opponent in the wrestling room in English.
Moving on
Penn State doesn't have a dual until Dec. 12^th when Lock Haven comes to town but they do have the annual Nittany Lion Open Sunday, Dec. 5. After Lock Haven the Lions host Big Ten foe Ohio State, ranked 18^th, on December 19^th.

Rankings Update
Penn State moved up one spot in the latest USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll to No. 5. Freshman 125 pounder Frank Martellotti enters the rankings at No. 18 giving Penn State 8 individually ranked wrestlers.

PSU Ranked Wrestlers
125 Frank Martellotti – No. 18
141 Andrew Alton – No. 12
148 Frank Molinaro – No. 3
157 David Taylor – No. 5
165 Jake Kemerer – No. 12
174 Ed Ruth – No. 14
HWT. Cameron Wade – No. 7

Sprawl and Brawl Scores

	#6 Penn State 45 - Harvard 0	Bout Score
125	Frank Martellotti PSU dec. Steven Keith HAR	8-4
133	Bryan Pearsall PSU pinned Fermin Mendez HAR	WBF (2:00)
141	#12 Andrew Alton PSU pinned Joe Alie HAR	WBF (1:21)
149	James English PSU dec. #9 Corey Jantzen HAR,	4-3
157	#6 David Taylor maj. dec. Walter Peppleman HAR	15-4
165	#12 Jake Kemerer PSU dec. Adam Hogue HAR	6-3
174	#14 Ed Ruth PSU pinned Ian Roy HAR	WBF (0:54)
184	#6 Quentin Wright PSU maj. dec. Cameron Croy HAR	16-5
197	Nick Ruggear PSU maj. dec. Bryan Panzano HAR	12-1
285	#9 Cameron Wade PSU win by forfeit

	#6 Penn State 40 - West Virginia 3	Bout Score
125	Frank Martellotti PSU dec. Shane Young WVU	2-1
133	Nathan Pannesi WVU dec. Bryan Pearsall PSU,	10-5
141	#12 Andrew Alton PSU pinned Michael Morales WVU	WBF (0:21)
149	James English PSU dec. #8 Brandon Rader WVU	5-3
157	#6 David Taylor PSU pinned Ryan Goodman WVU,	WBF (4:55)
165	#12 Jake Kemerer PSU dec. Nick Vallone WVU	10-3
174	#14 Ed Ruth PSU pinned Matt Weston WVU	WBF (5:48)
184	#6 Quentin Wright PSU maj. dec. Matt Ryan WVU	16-4
197	Nick Ruggear PSU dec. Cameron Gallaher WVU	4-2
285	#9 Cameron Wade PSU pinned Philip Mandzik WVU	WBF (3:12)

	#6 Penn State 22 - #24 Rutgers 10	Bout Score
125	Frank Martellotti PSU dec. Matt Fusco RU	5-2
133	Bryan Pearsall PSU dec. Joe Langel RU	7-4
141	#12 Andrew Alton dec. Trevor Melde RU	7-4
149	#3 Frank Molinaro PSU dec. #13 Mario Mason RU,	4-3
157	#6 David Taylor PSU maj. dec. #18 Daryl Cocozzo RU,	13-3
165	#8 Scott Winston RU dec. #12 Jake Kemerer PSU	8-2
174	#14 Ed Ruth PSU dec. Alex Caruso RU	11-5
184	#6 Quentin Wright PSU dec. (SV) Dan Rinaldi RU	6-4 (SV)
197	Mike Wagner RU maj. dec. Nick Ruggear PSU	8-0
285	#6 D.J. Russo RU dec. #9 Cameron Wade PSU	7-2