But neither team seems interested in risking its future to turn this into a brawl. “We’re trying to avoid a letdown,” Penn State coach Troy Sunderland said. “We might let a couple of guys rest. We’re banged-up and we have the flu going around. I’m unsure about my lineup. I seriously don’t know who we are going to have this weekend. It’s a process where we will see who gets on the bus.” Sunderland said sophomore 174-pounder David Erwin, freshman 141-pounder Garrett Scott, sophomore 157- pounder Dan Vallimont and junior 184-pounder Phil Bomberger are questionable because of injury or illness.
Lock Haven (9-7) is facing a similar situation. Bald Eagle Area graduates Clint Shirk (141) and Landis Wright (165) will likely miss the match because of what coach Rocky Bonomo called “health issues.” Bonomo said Shirk and Wright might not return this season. Shirk hasn’t wrestled since injury defaulting against Bucknell on Feb. 8. Wright made his last appearance during a loss to Edinboro on Jan. 26. Shirk and Wright are two of the more experienced wrestlers on a Lock Haven team that currently features five true freshmen in its starting lineup. A knee injury has kept 184-pounder Travis Stem, another BEA graduate, out since December. “With the youth of our team, the injuries and sicknesses have been really hard,” said Bonomo, whose experiencing his own bout with the flu. “It’s what every coach battles. It has hit us really hard.”
Bonomo said he wants his team to use tonight as a primer for next month’s NCAA Championships. “Obviously, Penn State gives us a good indication of what we need to do in the NCAA tournament,” Bonomo said. “They have kids we need to be wrestling well against. This will almost be like a first-round national tournament type deal. They have some nationally-ranked guys who are very good athletes and it will be good for us to see those type of guys.” For Penn State (13-5), the match represents an opportunity to remain active. The Nittany Lions are on a three-match winning streak that includes victories over Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue. “This will be good fine-tuning for our starters,” Sunderland said. “It will be good for them to work on their timing and see if there conditioning is where it needs to be. We want to take control of the matches.”
Sunderland should have some tales of caution to offer his team during tonight’s 45-minute bus ride to Lock Haven. Without 197-pounder Phil Davis and heavyweight Aaron Anspach in the lineup, the Nittany Lions needed a win from backup heavyweight Joe Farina to edge Lock Haven 20-15 last season at Rec Hall. Still, nobody on either roster has participated in one of Lock Haven’s four victories in the series. The Bald Eagles haven’t defeated the Nittany Lions since a 24-14 victory at Thomas Field House on Feb. 23, 2002. “Whoever we send out there we expect to give a great effort and we expect them to win,” Sunderland said. “One of my concerns is our guys kind of look at the records and see they have some guys around .500. You can throw those out the door because their guys want an opportunity to beat somebody from Penn State.”
Notes:Sunderland said senior Mark McKnight’s pending trial in Centre County Court for allegedly punching a fraternity member will not impact his status with the team. McKnight (11-6), who has been the starting 125-pounder the entire season, enters tonight with a 99-40 record that includes 65 victories during his two years at Buffalo. McKnight’s next victory will make him the 25th wrestler in Penn State history to record 100 career victories.
THanks to Guy Cipriano and the "Centre Daily Times" (State College, Pa.) for the article