Pritzlaff a contender in 1st season

By DAVID COMER
Collegian Sports Writer

Some of Glenn Pritzlaff's toughest matches aren't wrestled on the Rec Hall mat or in any other Big Ten venue. Instead, these intense battles are in a quiet, nearly empty gym at Pritzlaff's high school in Middletown, N.J.

And the opponent -- Pritzlaff's older brother, Ode.

"Neither one of them wanted to give an inch," said Tom Erbig, the brothers' high school coach. "When they got really nasty with each other, they didn't throw punches. They just threw bigger moves. It was great."

Glenn boasts a 26-7 record and is ranked No. 10 nationally as Penn State's 158-pound wrestler. He will be heading to Bloomington, Ind., this weekend for the Big Ten Championships.

And it was Ode who first got Glenn interested in the sport.

"My brother has been a huge role model for me," Glenn said. "When he started wrestling, I used to go to his practices to workout with his team when I was in fourth or fifth grade."

And Ode, who wrestled at Duke, was a good wrestler to emulate. He won three district titles at Middletown South High School.

But Glenn did better. He was a three-time state champion and did not lose a match during any of those seasons.

"He's a much better wrestler than I ever was," Ode said.

During his final three years at Middletown South, Glenn was untouchable.

"He was a dominating force," Erbig said. "He really didn't have any close matches. I think he was probably the best package that New Jersey has ever put out."

And the marquee wrestling programs in the country -- Iowa, Iowa State, Minnesota, Oklahoma State and Penn State -- came calling.

The Lions won the recruiting contest, and Pritzlaff has not disappointed.

"He's done a great job," Penn State Coach John Fritz said. "Anytime you get a freshman in here that's going to win 20 matches, that's a tremendous accomplishment."

Pritzlaff won his first 10 collegiate matches and captured individual titles at 167 pounds at the East Stroudsburg Open on Nov. 19 and the Mat Town Tournament at Lock Haven a week later.

Then he ran into Iowa's Matt Nerem, who defeated him 8-2.

"In the beginning, it was tough," Pritzlaff said. "I didn't really know what to expect. I lacked a little confidence."

Pritzlaff started the season wrestling at 167 pounds. Since then, he has moved down one weight class to 158, where he said he feels more comfortable.

Pritzlaff also had to adapt to the tougher, collegiate world of wrestling. College and high school wrestling, he said, demand totally different styles. The biggest difference is the scoring, which is much more stringent because the wrestlers' defense is so much better, he added.

But Pritzlaff has adjusted. And if there was one stretch of the season that has been the most important, it was the weekend of Jan. 14-15 -- the matches against Big Ten foes Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State.

The three-match string did not start well for Pritzlaff, who dropped a 7-6 decision to Buckeye Eric Smith. He bounced back the next day with wins over No. 5 Jeff Catrabone of Michigan and No. 6 Dan Wirnsberger of Michigan State.

"I started getting my confidence back and wrestled better," Pritzlaff said. "I realized there were some mental things wrong with the way I was approaching my matches and wrestling in them."

And Pritzlaff said he has been "getting closer and closer" to wrestling to his potential -- just in time for Big Tens.

"I definitely think I can win Big Tens," he said. "And that is my goal."