UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Eight members of the Nittany Lion wrestling team continue to be ranked in the latest version of the Intermat national individual rankings. Four Nittany Lion All-Americans are ranked in the top two and all eight are listed in the top 12. Penn State is now 12-1 overall, 7-1 in the Big Ten, after a 39-3 win at Utah Valley on Saturday in front of a Utah-state college dual meet record 5,470 fans. Head coach Cael Sanderson’s Lions are ranked No. 2 in the latest USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll and continue to hold the No. 1 in Intermat’s Tournament Power Index (TPI).
Three-time All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.) is 24-0 on the year and ranked No. 1 at 149. All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) is 22-0 thus far and is No. 1 at 165 and All-American Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) is 23-0 at ranked No. 2 at 174. Two-time All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) is No. 2 at 184 with a 21-2 mark.
Red-shirt freshman Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) is 19-4 at 157 and ranked No. 5 while senior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio) is 21-4 at heavyweight and is ranked No. 6. True freshman Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.) is 20-5 at 125 and ranked No. 8 while classmate Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.) is 15-5 at 197 and ranked No. 12.
Penn State is still ranked No. 2 in the latest NWCA/USA Today Coaches Poll. Oklahoma State is No. 1 with 250 points while Penn State is close behind with 239. Minnesota is in third with 226 while Iowa sits at No. 4 with 223. Illinois now sits at No. 5 with 208 points. The Nittany Lions maintained their hold on the No. 1 spot on Intermat’s Tournament Power Index as well. Penn State checks in at No. 1 with a 106.5 TPI while Oklahoma State is No. 2 with 84.5. Minnesota is No. 3 with 75.0, Iowa is No. 4 with 65.5 while Cornell is No. 5 with 61.5.
The Nittany Lions close out the regular season by hosting No. 9 Pittsburgh on Sunday, Feb. 19, at 2 p.m. The dual meet is already sold out, including standing room only ducats, and will serve as Senior Day for Penn State.