Penn State holds annual wrestle-offs

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Brian Siegrist (Penn State)
11/03/2003


State College, Pa. - The Penn State wrestling team held its annual Varsity Wrestle-offs Sunday in Rec Hall before a crowd of about 500 fans. Despite several potential starters being sidelined with injuries or weight issues (no competition was held at 125, 141 or 165 pounds on the day), Penn State did determine several positions and got a glimpse of the potential the 2003-2004 Lions hold.    Among those that earned starting positions on the day were returning All-American seniors Josh Moore and Pat Cummins. Moore dominated the 133-pound wrestle-off pinning freshman Bryan Heller in 23 seconds and in 2:25 in their two meetings. Meanwhile, Cummins looked strong in downing junior Josh Walker 12-3 and 13-5 in a pair of meetings to earn the heavyweight starting job. Moore earned a starting job for the fourth season while Cummins earned a starting job for his third season.    At 149 pounds, redshirt freshman Matt Storniolo posted an 11-0 win over Nick Buckman and then won by injury default in the rematch (Buckman left with a knee injury) to earn the first starting job of his career.     At 157 pounds, junior James Woodall posted an 8-6 decision over fellow junior Jarrad Turner in their first meeting. Turner downed sophomore Tom Graney 4-1 and 9-5 in two meetings. Competition in the bracket was suspended due to a slight injury to Woodall. He and Turner will face off later in the week to determine the starter.    At 174 pounds, redshirt freshman James Yonushonis rolled to the starting job after posting a pair of victories over fellow redshirt freshman Brian Cantalupi, 10-1 and 10-4. Cantalupi defeated sophomore Chris Taylor twice on the day posting decisions of 8-7 and 7-5.    At 184 pounds, fourth-year sophomore Eric Bradley, who has been sidelined much of his career due to a back injury, came storming back onto the scene looking every bit as good as the wrestler that brought two National High School Championships to Penn State in 2000. Bradley showed quickness and strength in posting a pair of wins over freshman Chad Unger who battled impressively in his first public appearance foe Penn State. Bradley won 16-4 and 10-5 to earn the starting job, while Unger won a pair of matches, 6-0 and 12-4, over fellow freshman Rich Brooks.    At 197 pounds, freshman Philip Davis won three matches on the day to claim victory in the bracket. He opened with an 8-0 victory over redshirt freshman A.J. Cummins and then downed junior Adrian Rivera 8-4. Rivera wrestled back with a 4-2 overtime win over Cummins and then was downed by Davis again, 3-1, in the final.    Among those sidelined with injuries on the day were two-time NCAA qualifier Marat Tomaev (133) and potential starters Joel Edwards (197) and Jeremy Hart (165). Also, weight certification issues prevented competition between two-year starter Adam Smith and National High School Champion Matt Smith at 125 and kept potential 141-pound starter DeWitt Driscoll out competition. All are expected to return to the line-up before dual meet competition begins.