By Andy Elder
For the CDT
UNIVERSITY PARK — For most of Troy Sunderland’s nine years as head coach of the Penn State wrestling team, he’s had plenty of nationally ranked wrestlers in his starting lineup.
But, for the most part, it ended there. Most years it was pretty much send the starter out and then hold your breath he didn’t get hurt.
No more.
If the 2005 Penn State Wrestle-Offs on Sunday at Rec Hall revealed anything, it’s that Sunderland has stockpiled talent two-deep at nearly every weight. The collection, taken as a whole, might be his best yet.
“I think so, “Sunderland said. “We were healthy, for the most part, again. What time is it? This is the longest wrestle-offs we’ve had. We went two mats the whole way through. It’s a credit to our fans to come out and watch our guys compete. Obviously, there are a lot of parents here, but there’s a lot of wrestling fans here. That’s exciting, too.
“I was really impressed. I was impressed by the crowd. I was impressed at how the guys went after it, even the younger guys. Everyone gave a great effort, I thought. There were a lot of scrambles, a lot of great flurries, a lot of great wrestling. Barring the injuries, it was a great performance.”
Ahh, injuries.
That seemingly ever-present Penn State bugaboo reared its ugly head again Sunday, dulling what had otherwise been a sparkling coming-out party for the Nittany Lions.
Eric Bradley, the returning All-American who is ranked No. 1 at 184 pounds in every poll released so far, had to injury default his match to Chad Unger. Bradley was the center of the athletic training staff’s undivided attention. He left the gym on crutches with a wrap on his left ankle.
“I don’t know at this point, “said an evasive Sunderland. “I’d rather not elaborate.”
The only other injury came in a nip-and-tuck match at 165. With the match tied 6-6, freshman David Erwin was in the process of securing the go-ahead takedown on Philip Bomberger when the redshirt freshman from Juniata cried out in pain clutching his knee. He had to injury default. He, too, will be evaluated this week.
While the injuries cast a slight pall of uncertainty on the proceedings, winners were declared at nine weights:
– 133: redshirt freshman Jake Strayer
– 141: senior DeWitt Driscoll
– 149: senior James Woodall
– 157: junior Nathan Galloway
– 165: Erwin
– 174: junior James Yonushonis
– 184: sophomore Unger
– 197: sophomore Phil Davis
– Heavyweight: Joel Edwards
At 125, junior Mark McKnight was undefeated. Sophomore Tim Haas and freshman Brad Pataky had split a pair of one-point bouts. McKnight, a transfer from Buffalo, must redshirt this season, so Haas and Pataky will meet again to settle the weight. Or, they might split time during the year.
“We’re going to meet as a staff tomorrow to discuss redshirting and who we’re looking at as far as the lineup for the (Pennsylvania) duals and the lineup for the rest of the year, “Sunderland said.
Like 125, the front-line matches at the other weights were almost all close.
At 133, Strayer unseated incumbent starter Bryan Heller, winning both meetings convincingly, 11-2 and 8-2.
“Obviously, you’ve seen Jake Strayer do a tremendous job, “Sunderland said. “And I thought Heller wrestled a great match. He was on, I thought. He maybe could have done a little bit better, but Strayer kind of met him.”
Driscoll was uncontested at 141, so he will be the starter.
At 149, going into Sunday the spot was thought to be James Woodall’s with no questions asked. It still belongs to Woodall, but the sixth-year senior had to work to secure it. Dan Vallimont, a true freshman, led in both matches but couldn’t match Woodall’s intensity and technique for seven minutes in 9-6 and 13-5 losses.
At 157, State College graduate Nathan Galloway defended his starting spot with a pair of close decisions over redshirt freshman Mark Friend, 8-4 and 3-1.
Fellow Centre Countian James Yonushonis, the 174-pounder from Philipsburg-Osceola High School, was expected to be pushed but made it look easy in securing the spot for a third straight year. He yielded only two points in 7-0, 6-1 and 9-1 wins.
At 197, returning starter and All-American Phil Davis posted two close wins over A.J. Cummins, 4-2 and 5-2.
And at heavyweight, where 197-pounder turned heavyweight Joel Edwards, who goes around 240 pounds these days, was tested. In two entertaining, spirited bouts with junior Aaron Anspach, Edwards won by fall (he was losing at the time) and by decision 2-1.
When all was said and done, it made for the most entertaining wrestle-offs in years before a crowd of what looked like approximately 1,500 people. That was the largest in recent memory.
“It’s a credit to all of those guys. They were just scrapping hard. They’re going to make each other better. That’s been proven so far, “Sunderland said. “They’re going to make each other better throughout the year.”
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