Either way, the Nittany Lions didn’t bring themselves back to the season’s first stage during Friday’s 26-13 victory over Michigan State at Rec Hall. The Spartans (3-12, 0-7 Big Ten), whose lineup features just two ranked wrestlers, pushed the Nittany Lions throughout the match. “There’s no way around it,” Penn State coach Troy Sunderland said. “We were flat for whatever reason.”
Penn State (12-5, 4-3) won seven bouts, including one by forfeit because Michigan State 141-pounder Jeff Wimberly failed a skin check. The match featured a curious start as Penn State’s Dave Rella took three injury timeouts because of leg cramps during his 165-pound bout against Rex Kendle. Rella lost by a 3-0 score. But the decision was nullified midway through the match because Rella’s third timeout resulted in an injury default, giving Michigan State six team points of three. Neither referee Bernie Chapman nor Michigan State coach Tom Minkel recognized the error during the bout.
Penn State’s David Erwin and Phil Bomberger followed the injury default with one-point victories over unranked opponents. Erwin edged John Murphy 5-4 at 174 and Bomberger recorded a takedown with four seconds remaining to defeat Nick Palmieri 7-6 at 184. “It was hard to get going,” Bomberger said. “I felt like we were flat. It’s about fighting through adversity and getting the job done.” Bomberger encountered some dicey moments in his bout. He allowed takedowns in the first and second periods, and Palmieri escaped to take a 6-5 lead to begin the third. Chapman hit Palmieri with a late stall call and the Spartan tried to hop his way out of the circle to end the bout. Bomberger, though, grabbed Palmieri’s ankles to record the decisive takedown. “I learned a lesson,” Bomberger said. “I didn’t attack enough early in the match. I just kind of waited around and almost gave myself a heart attack.”
Heavyweight John Laboranti and 157-pounder Dan Vallimont tried to add spice to the listless dual. Laboranti recorded three takedowns and a third-period tilt to earn a 14-4 major decision over Alan O’Donnell while Vallimont ended the match by recording six takedowns to defeat John Fulger 15-3. Laboranti and Vallimont were the only Nittany Lions to earn bonus points in bouts contested. Freshman Garrett Scott received his second forfeit in three home dual meets when Wimberly failed the pre-match skin check. The aggressive ending by Vallimont — he needed less than 10 seconds to record his first takedown — has the potential to serve as a catalyst to Sunday’s dual against Purdue, another unranked and rebuilding opponent. “That’s how I treat every match,” Vallimont said. “I get in the zone before it and go out there with the same level of intensity. “When we came back for after that 10-minute break, coach was like, ‘We are wrestling flat today.’ It gave everybody a wakeup call.”
Skin conditions impacted two of the 10 bouts. Penn State was forced to use redshirt freshman Eric Caschera instead of starter Mark McKnight at 125. Michigan State’s Joel Trombley recorded two takedowns and a reversal in his 7-1 victory over Caschera, who wrestled at 103 pounds during his senior year at South Williamsport High School.
Franklin Gomez, the Spartans’ best wrestler and a NCAA title contender, then recorded a 13-5 major over Tim Haas at 133 to tie the dual 13-13. Penn State’s other victories included senior Phil Davis’ 7-0 victory over Joe Williams at 197 and Bubba Jenkins’ 7-2 decision over Eddie Skowneski at 149.
“I’m searching for some answers why we were flat and why we didn’t have a little more sense of urgency,” Sunderland said. “Anytime you have an opponent you should beat on paper you need to go out and score the points, look for the major, look for the tech, do your job and get off the mat. You don’t wrestle to the level of your competition. We were just a little off tonight.”
Thanks to Guy Cipriano and the "Centre Daily Times" (State College, Pa.) for the article