No. 14 Penn State visits No. 19 Lehigh and Hosts Bloomsburg to Begin 2009-10 Wrestling Season

Published on November 10, 2009 by viratas   ·   No Comments

TODAY’S ACTION

STATE COLLEGE, Pa.; November 10, 2009 — The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team will open up the 2009-10 season with two duals in three days. No. 14 Penn State (0-0) visits No. 19 Lehigh (1-0) on Friday, Nov. 13, in a 7 p.m. battle in Stabler Arena. On Sunday, Nov. 15, Penn State hosts Bloomsburg (2-0) at 12 p.m. in Rec Hall.

Head coach Cael Sanderson will have five ranked grapplers in his starting line-up, including No. 8 Brad Pataky at 125, No. 6 (at 141) Frank Molinaro at 149, No. 5 Cyler Sanderson at 157, No. 9 Dan Vallimont at 165 and No. 20 Cameron Wade at HWT.

The Nittany Lions open up the season with a rugged dual at No. 19 Lehigh on Friday night. While the Mountain Hawks come in 1-0 after a 31-3 win over Rider last Sunday, Penn State will be making its 2009-10 debut. Key match-ups to watch would be No. 9 Vallimont of Penn State against No. 12 Mike Galante of Lehigh at 165 and No. 20 Wade against No. 6 Zach Rey at HWT. Penn State owns a 61-33-3 edge in the all-time series against Lehigh. The Mountainhawks won last year’s meeting in Rec Hall, downing Penn State 17-16. Prior to that, Penn State had won four straight over LU, including a 33-0 win in Bethlehem in 2007-08.

Bloomsburg will visit Rec Hall on Sunday at noon for Sanderson’s first home dual as head coach of the Nittany Lions. The Huskies, a rising power in the Eastern Wrestling League, bring a 2-0 mark into the dual after commanding wins over Boston by a 26-9 margin and Millersville by a 35-(-2) margin last Saturday at Millersville. Key match-ups against the Huskies include a battle at 157 featuring No. 5 Sanderson against No. 2 Matt Moley of Bloomsburg and a potential meeting at 165 between No. 9 Vallimont and No. 19 Rick Schmelyun. The Nittany Lions own a 13-5-1 edge of the Huskies, dating back to Penn State’s days in the EWL. The two teams last met on Jan. 12, 2006, at the Virginia Duals with Penn State getting a 22-9 win.

Penn State will travel to the Sprawl and Brawl Duals in Binghamton, N.Y., for three duals on Sunday, Nov. 22. Penn State will face Rutgers at 9:45 a.m., No. 22 Harvard at 11:30 a.m. and 12 Edinboro at 3 p.m. on the campus of Binghamton, N.Y. Penn State Wrestling season tickets for the 2009-10 season are on sale now. The five-event package (which does not include the Nittany Lion Open) costs $30 for adults ($6 per event) and $25 for youth ($5 per event). Single event tickets will cost $8 for adults and $6 for youth. Group sales are available once again for groups of 15 people or more. Group prices are $5 in advance and $6 walk-up. Fans can purchase tickets by calling 1.800.NITTANY between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. All Penn State events will once again air live on Forever Broadcasting’s WRSC (1390 AM) and on GoPSUsports. com as well. The 2009-10 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.

TODAY’S POSSIBLE LINE-UP As of November 9, 2009

#14 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (0-0, 0-0 Big Ten)

Wt. Name Yr. Hometown/High School 2009-10 Record

125 #8 Brad Pataky Jr. Clearfield, Pa./Clearfield 0-0

133 Tyler Saltsman So. Concord, N.H./Concord 0-0

OR Bryan Pearsall Fr. Lititz, Pa./Warwick 0-0

141 Colby Pisani So. Ridgway, Pa./Ridgway 0-0

OR Adam Lynch Sr. Mifflinburg, Pa./Mifflinburg 0-0

149 #6 (@ 141) Frank Molinaro So. Barnegat, N.J./Southern Regional 0-0

157 #5 Cyler Sanderson Sr. Heber City, Utah/Wasatch 0-0

165 #9 Dan Vallimont Sr. Lake Hopatcong, N.J./Jefferson Twp. 0-0

174 David Erwin Sr. Urbana, Ohio/St. Paris Graham 0-0

OR Justin Ortega Fr. Oxford, Pa./Oxford 0-0

184 J.R. Brown So. Bellefonte, Pa./Bellefonte 0-0

197 Clay Steadman So. McKean, Pa./General McLane 0-0

285 #20 Cameron Wade So. Twinsburg, Ohio/St. Peter Chanel 0-0

#19 LEHIGH MOUNTAIN HAWKS (1-0)

Wt. Name Yr. Hometown/High School 2009-10 Record

125 John McDonald So. Rehoboth, Del./Sussex Central 1-0

133 #12 Matt Fisk Sr. Wyalusing, Pa./Wyalusing 1-0

141 #18 Seth Ciasulli Sr. Easton, Pa./Easton 1-0

149 Brian Tanen So. Souderton, Pa./Souderton 0-1

157 Sean Bilodeau So. Harvard, Mass./Brooks School 1-0

165 #12 Mike Galante Sr. Ocean City, N.J./Blair Academy 1-0

174 Robert Hamlin Fr. Jonesville, Vt./Mount Mansfield Union 1-0

184 #12 David Craig Sr. Brandon, Fla./Brandon 1-0

197 Joe Kennedy So. Milford, Pa./Delaware Valley 1-0

285 #6 Zach Rey So. Hopatcong, N.J./Hopatcong 1-0

BLOOMSBURG HUSKIES (2-0)

Wt. Name Yr. Hometown/High School 2009-10 Record

125 Jason Guffey Sr. Muncy, Pa./Warrior Run 2-0

133 Dan Gaylord Fr. Vestal, N.Y./Vestal 1-1

OR Jeremiah Biddle So. Slate Hill, N.Y./Minisik Valley 0-0

141 Frank Hickman Fr. Castle Hayne, N.C./E.L. Laney 2-0

149 Josh Roosa Fr. Mountaintop, Pa./Crestwood 2-0

157 #2 Matt Moley Sr. Phoenixville, Pa./Spring-Ford 2-0

165 Mike Dessino Fr. Middlesex, N.J./Middlesex 2-0

OR #19 Rick Schmelyun Sr. New Oxford, Pa./Bermudian Springs 0-0

174 Nate Graham Jr. Selkirk, N.Y./Ravena 2-0

184 Derek Coffey Jr. Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg 0-1

OR Brian Shaw Sr. Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg 0-0

197 Jake Dabashinksy So. Schuylkill Haven, Pa./Blue Mountain 1-1

285 Zach Walsh So. Denville, N.J./Morris Knolls 2-0

All rankings Intermat

HEAD COACH CAEL SANDERSON

Cael Sanderson comes to Penn State after three extremely successful years as the head coach at his alma mater. Sanderson’s teams did not finish any lower than fifth at the NCAA Championships and never had a wrestler not qualify for nationals, getting 30 of 30 grapplers through to the championship tournament. In 2007, Sanderson’s rookie campaign, he led ISU to a 13-3 dual meet record and the first of three straight Big 12 Championships. An NCAA Runner-Up finish in Detroit capped off a wildly successful year as the Cyclones crowned one national champion and Sanderson was honored as Big 12 Coach of the Year, National Rookie Coach of the Year and National Coach of the Year. The next year, Sanderson led ISU to a 16-4 dual meet mark, another Big 12 title and a fifth place finish at nationals. Iowa State’s seven All-Americans in 2008 were the most at the school since 1993. This past season, Sanderson’s team went 15-3 in duals, won its third straight Big 12 title and took third place at the NCAA Championships in St. Louis (just 12 points out of first place). The Cyclones also crowned another national champion. In three years, Sanderson’s teams went 44-10, won three conference crowns, qualified all 30 wrestlers for nationals, and earned 15 All-America awards and two individual national titles. Sanderson now sports a 44-10 dual meet mark in this, his fourth year as a collegiate head coach.

Courtesy of Penn State Sports Information.

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