Three Wrestlers Earn Victories at No. 15 Penn State
By Ira Green
WVU Sports Information Office
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (December 14, 2008) – Fifth-year seniors Kurt
Brenner (174) and Dustin Rogers (HWT) and freshman Lance Bryson (184)
each earned victories at No. 15 Penn State on Sunday afternoon at Rec
Hall. The Mountaineers fell to the Nittany Lions, 27-10.
"I was talking to Bob Huggins, our basketball coach, after the
game against Davidson and they had two or three of their starters on the
bench. He said, 'I don't like to lose, but it's going to pay dividends
down the road with different guys running our offense,' and that's how I
feel here,” Coach Craig Turnbull said. “We are putting people in there
who are gaining valuable experience and they are going to bring it back
and they'll be better for it. I really think we would have a few
different situations that would have been very competitive."
Brenner, ranked No. 14 nationally, notched the Mountaineers’
first points of the meet after taking a 3-2 decision against Penn
State’s Quentin Wright, ranked No. 18 heading into the bout. The
match was tied at one apiece heading into the third period. Brenner, a
Freedom, Pa., native chose the defensive decision to begin the third
session and earned two reversal points to seal the 3-2 victory. Brenner
leads WVU with a 7-2 overall record.
Bryson continued to rack up points for the Mountaineers. After
earning two takedown points in the first period against Penn State’s
Matt Dodds, Bryson went to work. He earned three points in the second
period and then notched three takedowns in the third for the 12-4 major
decision, his second of the season. With the victory, Bryson improves to
6-3 overall, 2-1 in dual meets.
After sophomore Brandon Boyer dropped his match at 197 pounds,
Rogers, ranked No. 18, squared off against Penn State’s Cameron Wade.
Despite Wade holding a 20-pound advantage, Rogers used his elusiveness
and speed in the third period to take over. Heading into the third
session, Rogers was down 1-0, but he rattled off an escape point to tie
the match and then recorded a takedown for the 3-1 lead. Rogers posted
another three points to take the 6-3 victory and improve to 6-3 overall.
At 141 pounds, freshman Colin Johnston battled Frank Molinaro,
who owned a 12-2 mark heading into the match. Johnston fell behind in
the first session, 5-0, but put together a strong second period. After
scoring two takedowns and an escape point, Johnston was only down 6-5
heading into the third period. Molinaro, who chose the defensive
position in the third period, pulled ahead by two after earning an
escape point. Johnston was able to earn a takedown and tie the match at
seven apiece. Molinaro escaped and then had a takedown to again jump
ahead. Johnston countered with a two-point reversal, but still trailed
10-9. Molinaro, however, would pull ahead. After Johnston earned a
stalling point, Molinaro recorded an escape point for the 11-10
decision.
“We put some very inexperienced guys out there and they battled
very hard. We had some small victories out of some of those losses,”
Turnbull commented.
The Mountaineers will have off for more than two weeks before
returning to action at the Midlands Classic in Chicago, Ill. The
tournament will take place at Northwestern on Dec. 29-30.
Penn State 27 WVU 10
125: Brad Pataky PSU WBF 6-0
133: Tim Haas PSU DEC Tyler Oravec WVU, 10-4
141: Frank Molinaro PSU DEC Colin Johnston WVU, 11-10
149: #2 Bubba Jenkins PSU MAJOR Mark Tsinkerdanos WVU, 20-9
157: #9 Dan Vallimont PSU MAJOR Ryan Goodman WVU, 10-2
165: Micah Bollinger PSU DEC Christian Mory WVU, 5-2
174: #14 Kurt Brenner WVU DEC #18 Quentin Wright PSU, 3-2
184: Lance Bryson WVU MAJOR Matt Dodds PSU, 12-4
197: Clay Steadman PSU MAJOR Brandon Boyer WVU, 12-3
HWT: #18 Dustin Rogers WVU DEC Cameron Wade PSU, 6-3
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