With no matside prodding from his coaches, Penn State’s Frank Molinaro ran to the center of the mat. He waited for company as Edinboro’s Torsten Gillespie adjusted his left knee pad twice. Gillespie then lumbered to the center for the final 38 seconds of the 149-pound bout. Even during the third dual of the season’s first demanding day, Molinaro demonstrated subtle changes emerging within the Penn State wrestling program. Instead of casually trudging toward restarts, these Nittany Lions run, and on Sunday they bounced into three victories, including a 22-9 triumph over 15th-ranked Edinboro during the Sprawl and Brawl Duals at Binghamton University. Penn State also edged Rutgers 18-17 and hammered Harvard 36-6 to improve to 4-1. The day will be remember for the Nittany Lions’ performance against the Fighting Scots, who finished sixth at last year’s NCAA Championships. “I’m not too worried about the results right now as much as these guys doing what we want them do,” coach Cael Sanderson said. “But that was a good win for us, wrestling an instate rival and going hard.”

Molinaro, who went 3-0 Sunday, said the Nittany Lions want more than what they received Sunday. “Looking back on it, we missed a couple of opportunities where we could have scored more points and bonus points,” he said. “I think we are wrestling hard and showing good improvements. We still have a lot of room to improve, which is good. But it’s always good getting a win, especially against a Pennsylvania team.”

The Nittany Lions (4-1) raced out to a 13-3 lead by capturing four of the first five bouts against the Fighting Scots. Signs of fatigue were non-existent. Penn State dominated the start of the dual, compiling a 12-1 takedown advantage from 125-165. The stretch included sixth-ranked Brad Pataky’s 4-0 victory over eighth-ranked Eric Morrill at 125, Tyler Saltsman’s 7-3 decision of Ashter Osterberg at 133, Molinaro’s 8-4 triumph against Gillespie and Cyler Sanderson’s 16-5 major over Matt Laird at 157. Penn State’s only loss during the stretch was Colby Pisani’s 2-0 setback against Joel Webster. Pisani scrapped until the end, inducing a third-period stall warning and shoving Webster out of the bounds with 14 seconds remaining.

David Erwin showed similar vigor in his 6-4 victory over Pat Bradshaw at 184. After reversing Bradshaw in the second period, Erwin immediately attempted a crossface. He couldn’t turn Bradshaw, but the decision helped Penn State take a 16-9 lead. “I think our conditioning is playing a big role,” said Erwin, who went 2-0 in his first competition at 184. “We are in good shape.” Clay Steadman followed Erwin’s victory with a 2-0 decision over Pat Murphy at 197 and Cameron Wade ended the dual by hitting a five-point move in the third period of a 9-2 victory over 11th-ranked heavyweight Chris Birchler. As both teams collected their equipment, Wade paced along the way, another sign of the Nittany Lions stored energy. “Conditioning is big,” said Saltsman, who went 2-0 at 133. “It helps you break an opponent.”

The Nittany Lions held a 15-5 takedown advantage and lost just three bouts against Edinboro (2-1). Penn State also held 18-13 and 16-5 takedown advantages against Harvard and Rutgers. The tournament allowed Penn State to face Rutgers for the first time since the 1973-74 season. The Scarlet Knights’ program has changed for the better since the 1970s. Using a lineup with nine New Jersey products, Molinaro’s 11-3 victory over David Greenwald and Sanderson’s 18-8 major of Braden Turner prevented Penn State from suffering its first ever loss to Rutgers. Harvard never came close to earning its first victory over the Nittany Lions. Pataky converted a cement mixer to pin Steven Keith in 1:13. Saltsman followed the fall with a 22-6 technical fall against Fermin Mendez and Colby Pisani added another bonus point with a 12-4 major of Paul Liguori.

The only glitches Penn State experienced came in the marquee individual bouts. Cyler Sanderson surrendered three takedowns in an 8-2 loss to two-time All-American J.P. O’Connor of Harvard in a bout featuring two of the nation’s top-five ranked 157-pounders. Dan Vallimont scored the initial takedown against returning NCAA 165-pound champion Jarrod King of Edinboro. But King converted his own first-period takedown and executed painful splits to thwart two deep third-period shots and earn a 4-3 victory. “I think we are coming along,“ Cael Sanderson said. “We have some work to do obviously. I was a little upset that we didn’t take advantage of the opportunity to score more bonus points. You never know when you might need them. I want guys treating every match like the whole meet depends on it because it might. But the team is wrestling well and making progress.”

Notes: Two all-Penn State finals highlighted this past weekend’s East Stroudsburg. Bald Eagle Area graduate Quentin Wright defeated Ed Ruth 5-2 at 184 and Bubba Jenkins edged David Taylor 4-3 at 157. Wright and Jenkins, a pair of All-Americans who are redshirting, made their 2009-10 debuts at the open. Penn State swept the top three spots at 184 as Dave Crowell finished third behind his teammates. Jake Kemerer (third, 165), Brendan Herlihy (fifth, heavyweight), Luke Macchiaroli (fifth, 197), James English (fifth, 149), Nick Fischer (fifth, 165) and Jim Volrath (seventh, 165). Central Mountain’s Andrew Alton won the 141-pound title and Dylan Alton tied for third at 141. The twins signed letters of intent with Penn State earlier this month.

Thanks to Guy Cipriano and the CDT for the article