Before heading to Omaha for the 2010 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, Penn State coach Cael Sanderson insisted his six-man gang could be a factor in the team race. After the first day at the Qwest Center, it looks like he’s right. With four wrestlers in the quarterfinals — 125-pounder Brad Pataky, 149-pounder Frank Molinaro, 157-pounder Cyler Sanderson and 165-pounder Dan Vallimont — and 184-pounder Dave Erwin and heavyweight Cameron Wade alive in the consolations, Penn State is tied with three other teams for 10th place. Central Michigan, Lehigh and Virginia also have 17 points. Iowa leads the team race with 34.5 points and eight quarterfinalists. Oklahoma State is second with 26 points and five quaterfinalists. Iowa State, with five quarterfinalists and 24 points, stands in third place. “Overall, it’s been a good day,” Cael said. “I think we’re sitting in a good place. You want to win all of them but it was a good day. We’re giving ourselves a chance to do well (today). We have to have a big day.”

Pataky mowed through two seeded wrestlers to earn his quarterfinal berth. He knocked off No. 9 seed Jarrod Patterson of Oklahoma 6-4 then No. 8 Matt Steintrager of Central Michigan 3-2. Pataky faces a rematch with No. 1 seed Angel Escobedo of Indiana in this morning’s quarterfinals. Escobedo beat him 14-1 at the Big Ten Championships. “I think Brad had a great day,” Cael said. “He came out and beat the ninth seed and then the eighth seed. They’re tough kids. This is the national tournament and he’s competing well.” Molinaro, the fifth seed, was dominant in his two wins. He started with a solid 9-4 decision over Donald Vinson of Binghamton. He added an 8-0 major decision over Pitt’s Eric Albright. That sets up a quarterfinal showdown with Edinboro’s Torsten Gillespie, who upset No. 4 seed Kyle Ruschell of Wisconsin. Molinaro beat Gillespie 8-4 in November.

Cyler Sanderson, seeded fourth, survived a rollicking 16-12 donnybrook with Northern Illinois’ Bryan Deutsch in the opening round. In the second round, he nipped Virginia’s Dan Gonsor 4-2. In the quarterfinals, Sanderson meets American’s Steve Fittery. No. 6 seed Vallimont was not challenged in either match. He opened with an 8-3 win over Virginia Tech’s Matt Epperly. After that came a 9-0 major decision of Bloomsburg’s Rick Schmelyun. Vallimont meets Stanford’s Nick Amuchastegui in the quarters, who knocked off No. 3 seed Nick Marable of Missouri in the opening round. Cael sounded especially pleased with how dominant Molinaro, Cyler and Vallimont were. “They’re all looking good,” he said. “I think they’re excited and they’re in the quarterfinals of the national tournament, right where they want to be. Now they just need to go out there and compete and make it happen.”

Erwin, seeded 11th, split his first two matches. He got off to a promising start with a 4-0 win over Erich Schmditke of Oklahoma State. But in the second round, No. 6 seed Max Askren countered a takedown attempt by Erwin by locking up a cradle and pinning the Nittany Lion senior in 3:51. Wade started his day by taking No. 3 seed Zach Rey of Lehigh into overtime tied 1-1. But in the sudden victory period, Rey converted a single for a takedown and a 3-1 win. In the first round of consolations, Wade met Eastern Michigan’s David Wade and a third-period escape gave the Nittany Lion sophomore a 1-0 win. He meets Pitt’s Ryan Tomei in a consolation bout. “They just need to keep their heads up and stay positive,” Cael said of Erwin and Wade. “You have the chance to show a lot of character and come back and fight for the team and, more importantly, fight for yourself. This is what we trained for. Not everything goes your way.”

Cornell sophomore 184-pounder Steve Bosak, the two-time PIAA runner- up for State College High School, is still alive after going 1-1. He took No. 3 seed Dustin Kilgore of Kent State to the wire before falling 6-5 in the opening round. In the consolation bracket, Bosak pulled out a 3-1 win over Hofstra’s Ben Clymer. Bosak meets Ivy League foe Louis Caputo of Harvard in the second round of consolations.

Thanks to Andy Elder and the "Centre Daily Times" (State College, Pa.) for the article