Nittany Lion Wrestlers Down Northwestern 38-3 in Big Ten Road Dual

EVANSTON, Ill.; January 13, 2012 – No. 3 Penn State continued a lengthy January road trip with a 38-3 win at No. 17 Northwestern on Friday night. The Nittany Lions got a key win out of the gates from true freshman Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.) at 125 and rolled to nine wins in ten bouts.

Megaludis, ranked No. 10 at 125, got Penn State off to a fast start, posting a convincing 7-3 win over No. 7 Levi Mele in the dual’s opening bout. Sophomore Frank Martellotti (Pittsburgh, Pa.) followed that up with a sound 10-4 win over Jameson Oster at 133 and the Nittany Lions quickly bolted out to a 6-0 lead. Junior Bryan Pearsall (Lititz, Pa.) was leading Colin Shober 4-2 at 141 in the second period when Shober was forced to take an injury default, giving Pearsall the win at the 3:18 mark and putting the Lions up 12-0.

No. 1 Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.) then posted a dominating 10-0 major decision over Kaleb Friedley at 149. The All-American’s major put Penn State up 16-0. In one of the dual’s marquee match-ups, Nittany Lion freshman Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) faced off against No. 3 Jason Welsh of Northwestern at 157. Alton gave the undefeated Wildcat all he could handle before dropping a 2-1 decision on riding time. Penn State led 16-3 at intermission.

Top-ranked David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) continued Penn State’s roll with a 20-5 technical fall over Pierce Harger at 165. The All-American got the tech at the 7:00 mark with 4:45 in riding time. Second-ranked Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) then posted perhaps the night’s most dominating win, posting an 18-3 technical fall over No. 9 Lee Munster at 174. The All-American got the tech at the 5:37 mark.

All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.), also ranked No. 2, pinned NU’s Marcus Shrewsbury at the 2:41 mark in the first period before Nittany Lion true freshman Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 12 at 197, downed Wildcat senior John Schoen 6-4. Senior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio), ranked No. 6 at heavyweight, closed out the 38-3 win with a sound 6-3 victory over No. 19 Mike McMullan.

Penn State improves to 6-1 overall, 2-1 in the Big Ten with the win. Northwestern falls to 5-2, 1-2 in the conference. The Nittany Lions owned the takedown battle as well, posting a 22-4 advantage. Penn State notched 11 bonus points off an injury default, a pin, two tech falls and a major.

Penn State continues its Big Ten road swing at Wisconsin on Sunday, Jan. 15, at 2 p.m. (Eastern). Penn State’s next home dual is on Sunday, Jan. 22, when Iowa invades Rec Hall for a 2 p.m. dual that is already sold out. The Nittany Lions then host Ohio State on Sunday, Jan. 29, at 2 p.m. Fans can purchase a limited number of ‘standing room only’ tickets for the Ohio State dual by calling 814-865-5555. Tickets are priced at $8 for adults and $5 for youth (18 and under) and can be purchased from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day or in person at the Bryce Jordan Center box office. A maximum of four tickets may be purchased per person.

The full season slate of live dual meet and tournament action will air locally on WRSC AM (1390 AM) with Friday evening duals being simulcast on WRSC FM (103.1 FM). Lock Haven’s WBPZ (1230 AM) will also carry the entire season live, WIEZ (670 AM) in Huntingdon/Lewistown carries all Sunday events and further affiliates may be added soon. The regular season schedule of radio broadcasts will be streamed live at www.GoPSUsports.com as part of Penn State’s All-Access package, which will also feature live video streams of many home events. Ticket information is accessed easily online at www.GoPSUsports.com/tickets/m-wrestl-tickets.html . Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at www.twitter.com/pennstatepat and on Penn State Wrestling’s facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling. The 2011-12 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.

#3 Penn State 38, #17 Northwestern 3

January 13, 2012 – Evanston, Ill.

125: #10 Nico Megaludis PSU dec. #7 Levin Mele NU, 7-3 3-0

133: Frank Martellotti PSU dec. Jameson Oster NU, 10-4 6-0

141: Bryan Pearsall PSU inj. def. Colin Shober NU (Inj. Def.; 3:18) 12-0

Pearsall leading 4-2 at the time of injury default

149: #1 Frank Molinaro PSU maj. dec. Kaleb Friedley NU, 10-0 16-0

157: #3 Jason Welsh NU dec. #9 Dylan Alton PSU, 2-1 16-3

165: #1 David Taylor PSU tech fall Pierce Harger NU, 20-5 (TF; 7:00) 21-3

174: #2 Ed Ruth PSU tech fall #9 Lee Munster NU, 18-3 (TF; 5:37) 26-3

184: #2 Quentin Wright PSU pinned Marcus Shrewsbury NU (WBF; 2:41) 32-3

197: #12 Morgan McIntosh PSU dec. John Schoen NU, 6-4 35-3

285: #6 Cameron Wade PSU dec. #19 Mike McMullan NU, 6-3 38-3