Coach Cael Sanderson said Tuesday that sophomore Frank Molinaro, who placed eighth at 141 pounds during last season’s NCAA Championships, will compete at 149.
Molinaro is taking the weight Bubba Jenkins wrestled the past two seasons. Jenkins, who is academically ineligible this semester, will likely redshirt during 2009-10.
“Molinaro is going to be wrestling the first part of the season at 149,” Sanderson said during the team’s annual Media Day. “I don’t know if that’s news or not, but he’s gotten bigger. He feels more comfortable at 149. We will see how that goes.”
The switch took no coaxing from Sanderson.
Molinaro said he felt uncomfortable throughout last season. He qualified for the NCAA Championships as a wildcard before finishing 4-3 in St. Louis. But he battled a variety of illnesses, including mononucleosis. To control his weight, Molinaro often ran for 11/ 2 hours in full sweats. Signs of Molinaro’s plight were noticeable as he struggled during third periods of multiple home matches.
“It wasn’t fun for me,” he said. “It was nice at the end of the year pulling that out of nowhere, but I don’t think last year was a reflection of how I wrestle in the room and how I want to present myself.”
Molinaro, an avid weight-lifter, wants to return to the form he displayed during 2007-08, when he went 17-2 and won three open tournaments. He said wrestling bigger practice partners such as 157-pounders Cyler Sanderson and David Taylor and 165-pounder Jake Kemerer should help with the transition to 149.
“The only thing I was doing last year was cutting weight,” he said. “I didn’t get much better. My freshman year I made some big jumps. Last year I was trying to survive all season.”
The possibility of returning to 141 remains because Molinaro certified at his 2008-09 weight earlier this fall.
Who are they?
Penn State’s biggest question could be at 133, where three wrestlers are competing to replace Jake Strayer.
The group includes sophomore Tyler Saltsman and redshirt freshmen Bryan Pearsall and Jack Chidester. Saltsman is expected to miss a few weeks because of a knee injury, which means Pearsall and Chidester are competing to start the Nov. 13 opener at Lehigh.
Neither wrestler placed in the PIAA Championships as high school seniors. Pearsall attended District 3 Warwick High School. Chidester graduated from District 1 Conestoga. The duo qualified for the state tournament at 125 pounds.
English back
Redshirt freshman James English experienced a frustrating 2008-09, missing the entire year with a neck injury.
But English, a two-time PIAA Class AAA placewinner at 145 from District 3 Central York, has returned to the practice room and could add needed middleweight depth. English knocked off former Central Dauphin star Walter Peppelman and Cumberland Valley standout Joey Napoli to capture a District 3 title in 2008.
“He’s getting back to it,” Sanderson said. “It’s tough when you have to sit out a whole year coming out of high school because you don’t get to jump in there as a redshirt and utilize that year. But he’s a tough kid and a guy we have high hopes for.”
Alone again
Living away from his Harrisburg home is nothing new for freshman Ed Ruth, who spent last season at Blair (N.J.) Academy after three years at District 3 Susquehanna Twp. High School. Ruth lived alone at Blair Academy, where he flourished under coach Jeff Buxton’s college-like system.
“Blair was really, really tough,” said Ruth, a two-time PIAA Class AAA semifinalist who captured national prep and senior national titles earlier this year. “I can’t tell you how much it helps. Buxton was really hard on us and then you come here and they are hard on us, so it’s no surprise.”
Good example
Former Penn State heavyweight Aaron Anspach, a coach with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club, won the 120 kilogram title (264.5 pounds) during last weekend’s Sunkist Open in Phoenix. Anspach, a NCAA finalist in 2007, defeated Blake Gillis 1-1, 2-1, 1-1 in the finals.
Anspach also made his Mixed Martial Arts debut earlier this month, defeating Frank Armstrong by TKO in an event at Altoona’s Jaffa Shrine.
Even though we don't have a full version of the line ups out (and the line ups will almost definitely change anyway) I figure I'll get this thread out and started.
Main Card
125: #2 Anthony Robles (Arizona State) v. #4 Zach Sanders (Minnesota)
133: #4 Steve Bell (Maryland) v. #5 Daniel Dennis (Iowa)
141: #2 Nick Gallick (Iowa State) v. #3 Alex Krom (Maryland)
149: #2 Lance Palmer (Ohio State) v. #5 Kyle Borshoff (American)
157: #1 Jordan Burroughs (Nebraska) v. #2 Matt Moley (Bloomsburg)
165: #4 Jon Reader (Iowa State) v. #6 Andy Rendos (Bucknell)
174: #2 Chris Henrich (Virginia) v. #7 Stephen Dwyer (Nebraska)
184: #4 Max Askren (Missouri) v. #5 Josh Patterson (Binghamton)
197: #1 Jake Varner (Iowa State) v. #2 Craig Brester (Nebraska)
285: #1 Mark Ellis (Missouri) v. #5 David Zabriskie (Iowa State)
Exhibitions
141: Adin Duenas (Cal State Fullerton) vs. Elijah Nacita (Cal State Bakersfield)
184: Zach Giesen (Stanford) vs Enoch Francois (Cal Baptist University)
197: John Drake (Cal State Fullerton) vs Riley Orozco (Cal State Bakersfield)
From the*4th to the*9th of August, the Junior World Championships will take place for the second consecutive*year in Turkey. This year, the city of Ankara*welcomes the best junior wrestlers of the world. You can follow all the competition in the special and dedicated website http://www.fila-wrestling.com/ankara09 and see all the bouts in video, each day on the FILA WebTV http://www.fila-webtv.com
141
1. Reece Humphrey
2. Nick Gallick
3. Kellen Russell
4. Jimmy Kennedy
5. Alex Krom
6. Chris Drouin
7. Joey Slaton
8. Chris Diaz
I said in the 133 update that I was going off of the assumption that Humphrey is definitely coming up to 41 and if that is what in fact happens I think he betters his finish last year by one spot. He was already a ginormous 133 pounder so I don't think he winds up having much trouble with the bigger guys at 141 and he's one of the quickest and most explosive guys pound for pound in the country too.
Gallick was my preseason pick last year to win it and while he had another solid year and improved on his finish from the year before he didn't quite make the leap like I thought he would. Regardless I think he continues his gradual improvement and winds up bettering his finish from last year and making the finals as a senior.
Russell was my preseason runner up last year. Wound up having another great regular season capped off by his second Big 10 Title then had another pretty rough go of things at NCAA's but still managed to snag 7th. He's won big matches and has beaten just about everyone available to beat at the weight the last two years, just a matter of him putting together that run at the big show.
Another guy who I'm working off the assumption that he's moving up is Kennedy. I've got him a little lower than I have Humphrey because Humphrey is a guy that uses a lot of explosive stuff to get his points while Kennedy is more of a brawler. Since Kennedy is more of a brawler I think he's going to face a little tougher adjustment up 8 pounds than Humphrey will.
Krom was a surprise last year as he crashed the semi finals before going down to Williams. Not the first time he's been that surprise guy either, made the Scuffle finals as Maryland's JV guy a few years back before losing a 1 pointer to Manny Rivera. He won't sneak up on people again this year but I think he comes and matches his placing from last year.
And I think he beats the same guy as last year to earn that placing too. Drouin was Round of 12 as a freshman before snagging an AA finish last year where he finished 6th losing in the 5th place match to Mr. Krom. He's a guy with a lot of good wins at this weight so he could definitely improve on this finish.
Here is a guy that I might be underrating a little bit. We didn't see much of Mr. Slaton last year between Daniel Dennis' emergence early and then the absolute beating that Slaton took from Fanthorpe. He's been in the finals before, now got 8 more pounds to carry and in that room with those coaches it is certainly conceivable to see him get back there.
Maybe that DE bias is shining through again here with this last pick. Diaz had good wins all over the place last year, he kind of vacillated between floating under the radar and then beating a few name guys right in a row to remind people that he was still around. Round of 12 last year before losing a tight one to Gallick.
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Coach Cael Sanderson said Tuesday that sophomore Frank Molinaro, who placed eighth at 141 pounds during last season’s NCAA Championships, will compete at 149.
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