UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team will head into the 2011-12 campaign carrying the No. 1 team ranking in Wrestling Insider Magazine’s (WIN) preseason Tournament Power Index.
Penn State, 2011 NCAA and Big Ten Champions, returns four All-Americans and Big Ten champions, all of whom placed in the top three nationally during the team’s title run in Philadelphia last March. Penn State has six wrestlers ranked among the top eight at their respective weights in the TPI, which does not rank true freshmen and differs from a dual meet ranking.
Leading the charge for Penn State are three Lions top-ranked at their weights. 184-pound national champion Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.), 149-pound national runner-up Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.) and 157-pound national runner-up David Taylor are all ranked No. 1. Junior Wright and senior Molinaro are the top ranked men at their ’11 weights while sophomore Taylor is ranked No. 1 up a weight at 165. Sophomore Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), a third-place All-American at 174 last year, is ranked No. 2 at that weight heading into the new season. Sophomore Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), who lost in the round of 12 last year just one win shy of All-America status as a true freshmen, is ranked No. 5 at 141 while senior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio), a two-time national qualifier, is ranked No. 8 at heavyweight.
Penn State leads the team charge in the preseason rankings with a 91.5 TPI while conference rival Iowa is a close second at 86.5. Oklahoma State is third with 75 while Minnesota and Lehigh are tied for fourth with 61.5 each.
The Nittany Lions will start the campaign by hosting the Intrasquad Dual on Thursday, Nov. 3, in Rec Hall (it is free and open to the public). The regular season begins with a home dual against Bloomsburg on Sunday, Nov. 13. Match time in Rec Hall is set for 2 p.m.
Season tickets have sold so well for the upcoming year fans wishing to become new season ticket holders must now place their names on a waiting list should addition season tickets become available. Fans can have their names added to the waiting list by calling Penn State ticket office customer service line at 814-867-2557. As more ticket information becomes available, it can be accessed easily online at is www.GoPSUsports.com/tickets/m-wrestl-tickets.html.