Secrets are dwindling in the primitive sport that brought 4,883 charged fans to Rec Hall on Friday night. But knowledge acquired through the Internet or video means nothing when a scramble breaks out at center mat. This is where Penn State’s Adam Lynch found himself against Illinois’ Ryan Prater. The way Lynch handled the situation makes him a secret-breaker. A flurry ended with Lynch pinning the 11th-ranked Prater, a surprising ending to the 141-pound bout of Penn State’s 24-11 victory in the Big Ten opener for both teams. Neither Lynch nor the man who introduced the technique to the Nittany Lions (9-3-1) provided nomenclature for the move. “I forget what he calls it,” Lynch said. He, of course, is Penn State coach Cael Sanderson. “If we name it, then people will start doing it,” Sanderson joked. “We want to keep it to ourselves.” OK, we understand, Coach. But thanks to Lynch, whose pin helped Penn State race to a 21-0 lead after six bouts, the secret is out.

The sequence that helped the Nittany Lions defeat the Fighting Illini (5-4) for the first time since 1957 — the teams had only wrestled eight times since Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1992 —started with Prater attempting a double-leg. Lynch responded by pushing Prater’s head and reaching around his waist. Lynch rolled through once, nearly flattening Prater without extended exertion. Referee Ken Daws allowed the wrestlers to continue, so Lynch rolled through and sat up, sticking Prater in 3:56. “Coach Sanderson showed us that move a few weeks ago,” said Lynch, a senior from Mifflinburg who has improved under Sander-son’s tutelage. “He told us it was unstoppable in the practice room. I don’t know. Maybe it is. I took a risk and came out on top.” Sanderson said he learned the move through experimentation with his brothers, Cody and Cole. “I tell them that’s the best move in the world,” he said. “You have to really commit to it. It’s just technique. We have had a couple of guys doing it in the room. It was fun to watch.” The pin was Lynch’s second in a dual meet many expected to be close. He also pinned Kent State’s Chase Skonieczny to help Penn State reach the semifinals of this month’s Virgina Duals. Lynch, who never qualified for the PIAA Class AA Championships, will enter Sunday’s match at Ohio State with a deceiving 6-8 record. “He just keeps getting better,” Sanderson said. “He’s real consistent with his effort and it’s good to see the results are coming.”

Despite winning seven bouts, including the first six, Sanderson soured when assessing the rest of Friday’s meet. If Lynch’s victory was reason 1A for Penn State distancing itself from Illinois, then Byran Pearsall’s 13-12 victory over Daryl Thomas at 133 represented reason 1B. Pearsall, who led 6-2 after a takedown and three-point tilt in the first period, allowed three third-period take-downs and needed to fight off Thomas’ single-leg attempt at the buzzer. But Sanderson expected more. “It was obviously a big win,” Sanderson said. “I don’t care about the win as much as having the effort that we want and competing with the right look in the eye. He didn’t really show that. We were a little tired, which I think is uncharacteristic. Maybe we trained them a little bit too hard this week and last week. But that will be good in the long run.” Still, a victory before a large crowd should help Pearsall. The redshirt freshman who never placed in the PIAA Class AAA Championships entered Friday 0-9 in dual meets. “It feels good,” he said. “Everybody is cheering for you. It’s a big a win being a freshman, being so young and having everybody back me up.” The defeat at 141 and 133 doomed the Fighting Illini. Illinois didn’t receive its first victory until Jordan Blanton’s 22-7 technical fall over Justin Ortega. The Fighting Illini’s highest-ranked wrestler — No. 2 John Dergo — needed an overtime takedown to defeat David Erwin 6-4 at 184 while 10th-ranked Patrick Bond defeated Clay Steadman 9-5 at 197. “It was huge,” Heffernan said of the pin at 141. “That changed things. We had potential to get bonus points and we got pinned. The other eight matches went the way everybody in the gym kind of figured they would go. That’s what cost us the chance to win the meet.”

Penn State’s other victories, which included decisions by Brad Pataky (125), Frank Molinaro (149), Cyler Sanderson (157), Dan Vallimont (165) and Cameron Wade (Hwt), did little to enthuse Cael Sanderson. Cyler Sanderson and Dan Vallimont earned consecutive 9-4 decisions over Conrad Polz and Joe Barczak, respectively, Pataky struggled from the bottom position in a 7-3 victory over John Deneen, Molinaro compiled two take-downs in a 5-1 victory over Eric Terrazas and Wade cloed the meet by defeating Marty Smith 8-1. “It was definitely a frustrating night to say the least,” Cael Sanderson said. “But I have to take the blame for that. Being fatigued is a coaching thing. Our guys aren’t in bad shape. We’re in great shape. It’s just about the way we train. We will be fine. We got the win, but it didn’t look very good.”

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