Penn State's Mike Bevilacqua won the 150-pound class at the Sunshine Open in Tampa, Fla., with a 7-4 decision of Tim Tousighnant of Augsburg College. Three other Lions also placed at the open, held Dec. 28-29.

Heavyweight Greg Haladay and 142-pounder Peter Horst both placed third at the Open and Chad Dubin placed fifth at 134. Mark Verratti, suffering from four impacted wisdom teeth and a 103-degree fever, lost his first two matches. The efforts of the five wrestlers earned Penn State a sixth-place finish, with over 40 schools participating.

The Lions also defeated Eastern Western League rival Edinboro, 22- 19, on Dec. 10 after Haladay, in a repeat of last year's performance, recorded a pin of Bill Friburger to break a 16-16 tie.

Haladay pinned Friburger with a cradle after scoring a reversal in the second period. Last year, Haladay pinned Edinboro's Martin Buzas to break a 19-19 tie.

"The kids wrestled hard but we weren't sharp," Coach Rich Lorenzo said. "It was more of a battle, it didn't look pretty. Bob Truby, Jason Suter and Greg Haladay looked sharp, but the rest of the kids just battled hard."

Lorenzo pointed to freshman Tom Barley's 2-0 victory at 142 as a key win. Barley, filling in for injured Peter Horst, defeated Jim Mulligan to put Penn State ahead, 8-6.

"If anyone got a hero award it's Tom Barley," Lorenzo said. "He's a true freshman that got a big win for us."

Edinboro took an early lead when Lou Rosselli decisioned freshman Shawn Nelson, 3-2, in the 118-pound match. Rosselli is ranked ninth at 118 by Amateur Wrestling News.

"I thought that Shawn Nelson wrestled well," Lorenzo said. "He wrestled one of the best wrestlers in the nation."

Truby brought the Lions back on top with a second period technical fall (17-0) over Brett Porter. Truby scored an early takedown and added six back points in the first period.

"I wanted to get the pin really bad, because six points are better than five," Truby said. "I should've controlled it a little more."

Edinboro regained the lead after Audie Atienza defeated Chad Dubin in the 134-pound class, 7-6. Bevilacqua added three team points with a 8-3 decision of Scott Tootman. Edinboro's Robert Taylor scored a major decision over Mark Verratti to pull the Fighting Scots within one, 11-10. Jason Suter scored a key technical fall at 167 to increase the Lions' lead to 16-10.

All-American Frank Zelinsky, ranked fourth by Amateur Wrestling News, defeated John Yankanich, 8-6, to bring Edinboro within three. Yankanich was filling in for Adam Mariano, who is recovering from slight pneumonia. Yankanich battled back from a 5-0 deficit.

Rod Wright decisioned Penn State's Frank Buchman to set up the heavyweight showdown. Buchman wrestled for Jeff Ellis, who is recovering from a knee injury.

"I was pleased to come away with the win with the way we wrestled," Lorenzo said. "And with the injuries and having five walk-ons in the line-up."