Penn State Wrestlers Crown Five Champs at Nittany Lion Open
Ten finalists for Sanderson’s crew in strong showing in Rec Hall.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; December 2, 2012 – The top-ranked Penn State wrestling team sent nearly its entire roster into action at the 2012 Nittany Lion Open on Sunday and came away with five champions. Of Penn State’s 30 participants (both attached and unattached), 18 placed at their respective weights.
Sophomore Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) made a stellar return to the mat after missing Penn State’s first two duals, posting a 6-0 mark at 149 with five pins to win the title. Four of Alton’s five pins were in the first period, including two in the first minute. Junior All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) was Penn State’s next champion, going 5-0 with three pins and two tech falls to win the title at 165. Taylor pinned No. 13 Mark Lewandowski of Buffalo in the finals. Sophomore Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah) stormed through 174 to win his first NLO title. Brown went 5-0 on the day with a tech fall and two majors. He downed No. 11 Greg Zannetti of Rutgers in the finals.
All-American Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) was untouchable at 184 as well. Ruth went 5-0 win the 184-pound crown with a pin, a tech fall and two majors. He downed No. 10 Jimmy Sheptock of Maryland in the finals. All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) met teammate Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.) in the finals at 197. Wright grabbed a hard-fought 5-3 (sv) win to claim the crown while McIntosh, who is red-shirting, placed second. Wright went 5-0 with three pins, including two first period falls. McIntosh was superb with a 4-1 mark, including two majors.
All-American Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.) went 4-1 at 125, advancing to the finals before losing a 3-2 decision to red-shirting Pitt Panther upperclassman Anthony Zannetta in the finals, taking second place. True freshman Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.) lost a hard-fought 3-2 decision on riding time to Lehigh’s Mason Beckman in the finals at 133. Gulibon went 4-1 on the day. All-American Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), ranked No. 5 at 157, was 4-1 on the day, advancing to the finals before dropping a tough sudden victory decision (9-4) to No. 3 James Fleming of Clarion. Sophomore Jimmy Lawson (Tom’s River, N.J.) had a good run to the finals at 285, going 4-1 on the day, his only loss in the finals. Lawson had a major and a pin to take second place.
Setting up Penn State’s run to 10 finalists and five champions was a superb first half of the event. By 3 p.m., with the quarterfinals set, Penn State still had 21 of its 30 wrestlers alive, including a gaudy 17 quarterfinalists. Penn State had four quarterfinalists at 149 alone.
Junior Frank Martellotti (Pittsburgh, Pa.) went 4-1 at 133 and took third place, his only loss to teammate Gulibon in the semis. Senior James English (York, Pa.) went 5-1 at 149, taking third place. Sophomore Jon Gingrich (Wingate, Pa.) went 4-1 at 285, placing third. Gingrich had a major decision in the third place bout.
Freshman Luke Frey (Montoursville, Pa.) was outstanding at 149 as well, going 6-1 with a tech fall and a major to place fifth. Junior James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) was 5-2 at 157 with two pins to place sixth. Senior Nick Fischer (Unionville, Pa.) went 4-2 with two pins to take sixth at 165. True freshman Zack Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.) went 6-2 at 141 to take seventh place. Senior Bryan Pearsall (Lititz, Pa.) went 5-2 with two pins at 141 to place eighth.
Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.) posted a 2-2 record at 133. Kyle Moran (Oxford, Pa.) had a 2-2 day at 141 for Penn State. Seth Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.) went 3-2 and advanced to the quarterfinals at 149. Rex Lutz (Easton, Pa.) was 3-2 at 165. Brandon Phillips (Timonium, Md.) and James Frascella (Carmel, Ind.) both went 1-2 at 174.
Also competing at the event were Michael Waters (Advance, N.C.) at 141; David Batkowski (Montoursville, Pa.) at 141; David Owens (Derry, N.H.) at 149; Caleb Livingston (Drexel Hill, Pa.) at 165; Andrew Church (Erie, Pa.) at 174; and Scott Syrek (Chester Springs, Pa.) at 197.
In all, The Nittany Lions ended the event with 18 placers and a 97-34 overall record. Penn State put on a pinning clinic, tallying 23 falls at the event, led by Andrew Alton with five.
Penn State’s next home dual is set for Sunday, Dec. 9, when the Indiana Hoosiers come to town for a 2 p.m. meeting. Penn State’s full season of home duals is sold out but limited Standing Room Only tickets are available for select dual meets. For information on which duals have a limited number of SRO tickets available and to purchase tickets, fans can call 1-800-NITTANY or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office windows from 10 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at www.twitter.com/pennstateWREST and on Penn State Wrestling’s facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling. The 2012-13 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
2012 NITTANY LION OPEN FINALS RECAP:
Sunday, Dec. 2, 2012 – Rec Hall – University Park, Pa.
125: Anthony Zanetta, UA-Pitt 3-2 dec. #2 Nico Megaludis, Penn State
133: Mason Beckman, UA-Lehigh 3-2 dec. Jimmy Gulibon, UA-Penn State
141: Devin Carter, UA-Virginia Tech 16-8 maj. dec. Evan Henderson, North Carolina
149: #6 Andrew Alton, Penn State WBF Augustus Sako, UA-Virginia (2:12)
157: #3 James Fleming, Clarion 9-4 (SV) dec. #5 Dylan Alton, Penn State
165: #2 David Taylor, Penn State WBF #13 Mark Lewandowski, Buffalo (5:42)
174: #3 Matt Brown, Penn State 7-4 dec. #11 Greg Zannetti, Rutgers
184: #1 Ed Ruth, Penn State 11-4 dec. #10 Jimmy Sheptock, Maryland
197: #3 Quentin Wright, Penn State 5-3 (SV) dec. Morgan McIntosh, UA-Penn State
285: Nick Gqiazdowski, UA-N.C. State 12-1 maj. dec. Jimmy Lawson, Penn State
Penn State’s weight-by-weight summary:
UA - Note that UA indicates unattached collegiate wrestler
UANR - Note that UANR indicates a Non-Collegiate opponent and that result does NOT count towards individual’s win/loss record.
* - Note that an (*) by a Penn State name indicates a PSU wrestler who is competing unattached.
#2 Nico Megaludis
Rd. 1: WBF over Jordan Wigger, UA-The Citadel (3:18)
Rd. 2: W, 12-4 maj. dec. Nick Hermann, Virginia
Qtrs: W, 13-2 maj. dec. Godwin Nyama, Pittsburgh
Semis: W, 8-1 dec. Nathan Kraisser, North Carolina
Finals: L, 2-3 dec. Anthony Zanetta, UA-Pittsburgh
2nd place; 4-1 overall
Penn State’s 133 agate:
Jordan Conaway
Rd. 1: W, 11-7 dec. Zaack Watson, UA-Virginia
Rd. 2: L, 5-9 dec. Joe Ward, North Carolina
Con 2: W, 11-4 dec. Jenkins Monzey, UA-Maryland
Con 3: L, 6-8 dec. Sam Speno, North Carolina State
2-2 overall
Frank Martellotti*
Rd. 1: W, 9-2 dec. Joe Waltko, Clarion
Rd. 2: W, 16-0 tech fall over Aaron Hansne, The Citadel (5:47)
Qtrs: W, 6-4 dec. Anthony Abidin, UA-Nassau
Semis: L, 2-7 dec. Jimmy Gulibon, UA-Penn State
3rd: W, 9-6 dec. Johnni DiJulius, UA-Ohio State
3rd place; 4-1 overall
Jimmy Gulibon*
Rd. 1: W, 15-0 tech fall over Hunter Jones, UA-Clarion (TF; 5:00)
Rd. 2: W, 8-6 (sv) dec. Mark Grey, UA-Non-Collegiate
Qtrs: W, 11-6 Zach Horan, UA-Central Michigan
Semis: W, 7-2 dec. Frank Martellotti, UA-Penn State
Finals: L, 2-3 dec. Mason Beckman, UA-Lehigh
2nd place; 4-1 overall
Penn State’s 141 agate:
#19 Bryan Pearsall
Rd. 1: WBF over Danny O’Malley, Maryland (4:31)
Rd. 2: WBF over Blake Morder, Clarion (4:32)
Rd. 3: L, 9-12 dec. William Switzer, UA-Lehigh
Con 2: W, 10-4 dec. Jake Keller, UA-Pittsburgh
Con 3: W, 9-4 dec. Joe Moon, UA-North Carolina
Con Qtrs: W, 7-2 dec. Shyheim Brown, UA-Maryland
Con Semi: LBF Tyler Hunt, UA-North Carolina State
Did not wrestle for seventh
8th place; 5-2 overall
Michael Waters
Rd. 1: L, 0-10 maj. dec. Joe Moon, UA-North Carolina
0-1 overall
Kyle Moran
Rd. 1: W, 3-0 dec. Brad Molina, Maryland
Rd. 2: L, 3-9 dec. Sam Sherlock, Clarion
Con 1: W, 5-1 dec. Angelo Amenta, UA-Columbia
Con 2: L, 3-7 dec. Joe Moon, UA-North Carolina
2-2 overall
*Zack Beitz
Rd. 1: W, 12-4 maj. dec. Joseph Gasinski, UA-Hofstra
Rd. 2: W, 13-5 maj. dec. Ben Matthiesen, Central Michigan
Rd. 3: L, 2-4 U. Khishignyam, The Citadel
Con 2: W, 10-8 dec. Jamel Hudson, UA-Hofstra
Con 3: W, 10-4 dec. Alex Johnson, Navy
Con Qtrs: W, 12-8 (tb) dec. William Switzer, UA-Lehigh
Con Semis: L, 3-6 dec. Chris Mecate, Old Dominion
7th: Win By Forfeit
7th place;6-2 overall
*David Batkowski
Rd. 1: L, 3-8 dec. Brent Jorge, UA-Campbell
0-1 overall
Penn State’s 149 agate:
#6 Andrew Alton
Rd. 1: WBF over Albert Woody, Lehigh (5:34)
Rd. 2: WBF over Christian Barber, North Carolina (0:44)
Rd. 3: WBF over Colin Saunders, Boston (0:43)
Qtrs: W, 13-5 maj. dec. Matt Cimato, UA-Drexel
Semis: WBF over Nick Heilmann, North Carolina
Finals: WBF over Augustus Sako, UA-Virginia
1st place; 6-0 overall
James English
Rd. 1: W, 8-2 dec. Dillon Gavlok, UA-Lock Haven
Rd. 2: W, 8-0 maj. dec. Jordan Michelson, Penn
Rd. 3: W, 2-0 dec. Mitchell Minotti, UA-Lehigh
Qtrs: W, 3-0 dec. Seth Beitz, Penn State
Semis: LBF (sv) to Augustus Sako, UA-Virginia (7:37)
3rd: W, 7-3 dec. Nick Heilmann, North Carolina
3rd place; 5-1 overall
Seth Beitz
Rd. 1: W, 16-3 maj. dec. Daniel Luty, Campbell
Rd. 2: WBF over Tre Miller-Scott, UA-West Virginia (4:40)
Rd. 3: WBF over Pete Baldwin, Old Dominion (4:39)
Qtrs: L, 0-3 dec. James English, Penn State
Con Qtrs: L, 1-3 (tb) dec. Trey Duncan, Navy
3-2 overall
Luke Frey
Rd. 1: W, 4-3 dec. Aaron Walker, UA-The Citadel
Rd. 2: W, 18-2 tech fall over Walker Fulk, UA-North Carolina State
Rd. 3: W, 6-3 dec. Ryan Dunphy, UA-Cornell
Qtrs: L, 0-6 dec. Augustus Sato, UA-Virginia
Con Qtr: W, 9-0 maj. dec. Ben Hunter, Navy
Con Semis: W, 7-2 dec. Trey Duncan, Navy
5th: W, 9-4 dec. Christian Barber, North Carolina
5th place;6-1 overall
David Owens
Rd. 1: L, 3-7 dec. Chad Strube, UA-Virginia Tech
0-1 overall
Penn State’s 157 agate:
#5 Dylan Alton
Rd. 1: W, 6-3 dec. Connor Brennan, UA-Rider
Rd. 2: WBF over Dakota Cooley, Central Michigan (0:32)
Qtrs: W, 4-0 dec. Matt Stephens, Virginia Tech
Semis: W, 3-1 dec. Jake Kemerer, Lock Haven
Finals: L, 4-9 (sv) #3 James Fleming, Clarion
2nd place; 4-1 overall
James Vollrath
Pigtail: W, med. forf. Over Dan Manley, UA-Hofstra
Rd. 1: W, 6-1 dec. Blaise Butler, Virginia
Rd. 2: WBF (tb2) over Ian Miller, Kent State (7:00)
Qtrs: L, 0-6 dec. #3 James Fleming, Clarion
Con Qtrs: WBF over David Wesley, Virginia (2:35)
Con Semis: W, 5-2 dec. Nestor Taffur, Boston
5th: LBF to #9 Scott Winston, Rutgers (3:43)
6th place; 5-2 overall
Penn State’s 165 agate:
#2 David Taylor
Rd. 1: WBF over Michael Harper, The Citadel (4:05)
Rd. 2: WBF over Russ Benner, UA-Hofstra (3:29)
Qtrs: W, 23-6 tech fall over Bobby Nash, Michigan State (5:20)
Semis: W, 17-2 tech fall over Corey Mock, UA-North Carolina (TF; 6:06)
Finals: WBF over #13 Mark Lewandowski, Buffalo (5:42)
1st place; 5-0 overall
Nick Fischer
Rd. 1: WBF over Vincent Bellaran, The Citadel (4:38)
Rd. 2: W, 4-1 dec. Nick Becker, UA-Central Michigan
Qtrs: L, 1-4 dec. #13 Mark Lewandowski, Buffalo
Con Qtrs: W, 7-6 dec. Josh Snook, Maryland
Con Semis: WBF over Geno Morrelli, UA-Pittsburgh
5th: L, 2-11 maj. dec. Nigel Jones, North Carolina State
6th place; 4-2 overall
Rex Lutz
Pigtail: W, 4-1 dec. Marcus Johnson, Old Dominion
Rd. 1: W, 5-2 dec. Mark Boyer, Michigan
Rd. 2: L, 0-13 maj. dec. Corey Mock, UA-North Carolina
Con 2: W, 5-3 dec. Kevin Brown, Columbia
Con 3: L, 3-9 dec. Josh Snook, Maryland
3-2 overall
*Caleb Livingston
Pigtail: L, 1-17 tech fall Josh Snook, Maryland (TF; 3:42)
0-1 overall
Penn State’s 174 agate:
#3 Matt Brown
Rd. 1: W, 15-6 maj. dec. Elliott Riddick, UA-Lehigh
Rd. 2: W, 20-5 tech fall over Steven Nelson, UA-Clarion (TF; 5:45)
Qtrs: W, 12-4 maj. dec. Kevin Bailey, Lehigh
Semis: W, 9-0 maj. dec. T. Luvsandorj, UA-The Citadel
Finals: W, 7-4 dec. #11 Greg Zannetti, Rutgers
1st place; 5-0 overall
Brandon Phillips
Pigtail: W, 6-4 (sv) dec. David Heitman, UA-Hofstra
Rd. 1: LBF to Mike Dessino, UA-Bloomsburg
Con 1: L, 4-11 dec. Jack Duane, The Citadel
1-2 overall
Andrew Church
Pigtail: L, 2-4 (sv) dec. Nick Kaczanowski, Michigan State
0-1 overall
James Frascella
Rd. 1: W, 4-0 dec. Stout Watson, Navy
Rd. 2: L, 2-5 dec. Billy Curling, Old Dominion
Con 2: L, 3-4 dec. Gus Albright, Navy
1-2 overall
Penn State’s 184 agate:
#1 Ed Ruth
Rd. 1: W, 16-2 maj. dec. Chris Heald, Michigan
Rd. 2: W, 19-1 tech fall over Austin Coburn, Old Dominion (TF; 4:37)
Qtrs: WBF over Brandon Griffin, UA-Lehigh (3:28)
Semis: W, 11-2 maj. dec. Victor Avery, UA-Edinboro
Finals: W, 11-4 dec. #10 Jimmy Sheptock, Maryland
1st place; 5-0 overall
Penn State’s 197 agate:
#3 Quentin Wright
Rd. 1: WBF over Matt Snook, Maryland (2:00)
Rd. 2: WBF over Bobby LaVelle, Virginia Tech (1:45)
Qtrs: WBF over Angelo Malvestuto, Buffalo (3:34)
Semis: W, 6-1 dec. William George, UA-Cornell
Finals: W, 5-3 (sv) dec. Morgan McIntosh, UA-Penn State
1st place; 5-0 overall
Scott Syrek
Rd. 1: L, 5-10 dec. Darren Hankins, Virginia Tech
0-1 overall
*Morgan McIntosh
Rd. 1: W, 11-2 maj. dec. Josh Fox, UA-Ohio State
Rd. 2: W, 11-2 maj. dec. matt Meadows, UA-George Mason
Qtrs: W, 5-1 dec. Kevin Beazley, UA-Old Dominion
Semis: W, 8-2 dec. Christian Boley, Maryland
Finals: L, 3-5 (sv) dec. #3 Quentin Wright, Penn State
2nd place; 4-1 overall
Penn State’s 285 agate:
Jimmy Lawson
Rd. 1: W, 14-1 maj. dec. Wyatt Baker, Columbia
Rd. 2: W, 6-0 dec. Terrance Jean-Jacques, UA-Rutgers
Qtrs: WBF over Jacob Kettler, UA-George Mason (6:18)
Semis: W, 2-1 (tb0 dec. Odie Delaney, The Citadel
Finals: L, 1-12 maj. dec. Nick Gwiazdowski, UA-North Carolina State
2nd place; 4-1 overall
Jon Gingrich
Rd. 1: W, 6-2 dec. Dan Garwood, Virginia Tech
Rd. 2: W, 8-2 dec. Chris Nash, Michigan State
Qtrs: W, 3-2 dec. William Smith, Rutgers
Semis: LBF to Nick Gwiazdowski, UA-North Carolina State
3rd: W, 14-1 maj. dec. Odie Delaney, The Citadel
3rd place; 4-1 overall
Patrick Donghia
Penn State Wrestling Twitter: http://twitter.com/pennstateWREST
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Assistant Director of Athletics Communication
Ph: 814 865 1757 -- email: pad11@psu.edu