Penn State Wrestling: Seven Advance to Friday’s Quarterfinal Round at NCAA Championships

Penn State opened up the first day of the 2012 NCAA Wrestling Championships in a similarly dominating way as it did two weeks ago in the Big Ten Championships.

And when it was all said and done, seven Nittany Lions are alive in the championship bracket and headed to Friday’s quarterfinals, which start at 11 a.m. at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

David Taylor (165 pounds) and Ed Ruth (174) were the highlights of the day, as each recorded two first-period falls to advance, with Ruth using his signature cradle to secure both pins.

Nico Megaludis (125), Frank Molinaro (149), Dylan Alton (157), Quentin Wright (184) and Cameron Wade (285) also advanced to the third round in the championship bracket.

After scoring a major decision in his opening bout, Megaludis found himself in a 3-0 hole heading into the third period in his second-round bout with Oklahoma’s Jarrod Patterson. Ever resilient though, the freshman scored seven third-period points, including a five-point move that started on a single leg takedown and ended with three near-fall points to earn the 7-3 victory.

Molinaro, Alton and Wade all won their second-round matchup by decision, with Alton notching a 2-1 victory against Michigan State’s Anthony Jones. It was the third time this season Alton has beat Jones by a point. Wright won by major decision, 10-1. 

Penn State’s lone two losses came to No. 1 seeds, as Frank Martellotti dropped his opening-round match at 133 pounds to Jordan Oliver by fall, before surviving, 2-1, in the opening round of wrestle-backs.  Freshman Morgan McIntosh (197 pounds) won by decision in his first-round match before dropping into the second round of the consolation bracket by losing to top-seed Cam Simaz, 22-7. 

Bosak on to Quarterfinals

State High grad and Cornell wrestler Steve Bosak picked up a pair of victories, the second a 10-0 major decision over Nate Schiedel of Binghamton. 

Notes:

• After his second-round match, Molinaro limped off considerably after grabbing his right knee at the end of the match. There was no word at press time as to how serious the injury was, but unofficial word out of St. Louis was that the 149-pound senior was fine.
• Penn State leads in the team points race after Day 1 with 37.5 points. Minnesota, Cornell, Iowa and Oklahoma State round out the top five.

Related coverage:

• LIVE COVERAGE: Immediate Tweets, Comments from the NCAA Wrestling Championships

• StateCollege.com’s Penn State wrestling page