The urgency Sanderson alluded to was because Penn State had to forfeit at 197 pounds. Sanderson said Clay Steadman was suspended for the weekend’s dual meets for disciplinary reasons. Wade’s urgency came at the end of what was initially thought to be a 2-0 win over former junior college national champion Brandon Williamson. Wade, who had been riding Williamson hard with legs and cranking his neck with a power half Nelson, jumped to his feet at the final buzzer looking agitated and showing his arm to referee Angel Rivera. After Rivera separated Wade from Williamson, he raised Wade's hand in victory and went straight to the scorer's table. Wade was declared the winner by disqualification because Williamson had bitten him. WVU was also deducted a team point. “The West Virginia kid is a big, strong kid. He’s a tough kid,” Sanderson said. “Wade wrestled hard. He pushed the pace. The kid made a mistake on his feet and gave us a stalling point and Cam rode him really hard and was close to turning him a few times.” That was perhaps why Williamson bit Wade and was seen outside the WVU locker room getting what looked to be stern talking-to by Mountaineer head coach Craig Turnbull.
The usually outgoing, engaging Turnbull, who is in his 32nd year as WVU’s head coach, was reduced to one word to describe his team’s performance. “Lousy,” he said. Turnbull did, however, expand on that description in explaining what he thought his Mountaineers couldn’t put up more of a fight against Penn State. “We knew we were in trouble at 141 and 149. We put three in the middle there that just kind of deflated the whole energy out of everything. The three in the middle really did hurt us and we knew coming in that it could happen that way,” he said.
Unfortunately for the Turnbull and his Mountaineers, that was like throwing raw meat to a pack of hungry wolves. Seventh-ranked Brad Pataky started the feeding frenzy at 125 pounds for the Nittany Lions with a veteran 11-5 win over Shane Young. After WVU took its only lead of the night with a major decision at 133, Penn State responded with three consecutive falls, turning the 4-3 deficit into a 21-4 lead. Colby Pisani started the three-pin streak by piling up an 11-3 lead over Anthony Curcio, who has wrestled at 125 pounds all year, before pinning him in 5:28. At 149, No. 6 Frank Molinaro, sporting a new shaved dome, built a 9-0 lead before decking Brandon Loro, another WVU backup, in 5:22. Then at 157, No. 3 Cyler Sanderson used a near cradle to put away Ryan Goodman in 2:22. Ninth-ranked Dan Vallimont earned a 4-3 decision over Donnie Jones at 165 pounds, but he was pushed to the limit in the process.
After West Virginia claimed a decision at 174, Penn State closed with wins at 184 and heavyweight. In the only bout between ranked wrestlers, No. 14 Nittany Lion 184-pounder David Erwin used two takedowns, a reversal and a point for 2:47 in riding time to throttle No. 19 Matt Ryan 7-1. “I think he’s looking really good at 184,” Sanderson said. “The sky’s the limit with Erwin. He’s just tough. There’s not a position he can’t win. There’s not a scramble he can’t win. We’ve just got to make sure he’s having fun. When he’s having fun, he’s hard to beat.”
The Nittany Lions hit the mats again at 7 p.m. tonight against No. 24 Pittsburgh at Fitzgerald Fieldhouse.
Thanks to Andy Elder and the "Centre Daily Times" (State College, Pa.) for the article