Freshman duo sparks grapplers

If college basketball commentator Dick Vitale were a wrestling broadcaster, who knows what kind of terms he would use to describe the action. One can not help to wonder how excited he would get if he had to refer to Penn State's Kerry McCoy and Glenn Pritzlaff, who are a combined 53-1.

However, one thing is certain. Vitale would not have to change his basketball vocabulary in describing Nittany Lions Jeremy Hunter and Shad Benton. Vitale created a phrase that perfectly depicts these athletes -- "dipper dandies."

This expression is used to highlight freshmen who have made major contributions to their respective teams, which is exactly what Hunter and Benton have done since arriving at Penn State.

"If you go out there and lace up your shoes and go hard," Lion coach John Fritz said, "it doesn't matter how old you are."

In the beginning of the season, each was helping the Lions in very different ways. Hunter cruised through the wrestle-offs in mid November and was named the Lions' starting 118-pounder.

That same night, Benton lost the 150-pound slot to John Lange. Benton could have been happy with his performance, taking the experienced junior to three bouts before giving up the spot, but he was not. In fact, he was extremely disappointed. After the match, though, he tried not to show his emotions and had only good things to say about his mentor.

"He's probably helped me as much as anyone," Benton said after the defeat. "Without him, I couldn't have done as well as I did."

At that point, the roles were reversed, and Benton was to help the starter in any way possible. But this helped Benton as much as it helped Lange, and when Lange injured his knee before national duals, Benton was given the opportunity to make an impact. He filled in nicely for Lange at the duals and on road trips to California and Michigan.

But just as he was getting comfortable with his starting role, that role looked to be threatened. Lange's knee had healed enough to allow him to return to action. Then another twist. Redshirt junior Brian Romesburg damaged cartilage in his knee, leaving the 158-pound class open.

Lange, who was having trouble making 150-pound cut with the injury, sealed up the 158-pound class and Benton kept his spot at 150.

"Everything just fell into place," Benton said.

Benton joined Hunter as the second freshman starter for the Lions. The separate paths led to the same destination.

For Hunter, that path was different even before he chose Penn State. He was a four-time Pennsylvania state champion for McGuffy High School. He won the 103-pound class his freshman and sophomore years, then moved to 112 and 119 his last two years of competition, respectively.

"After my freshman year, I wanted to win four championships," the soft-spoken lightweight said.

But after his freshman campaign he had to win three more state crowns -- he was expected to win. And he kept winning. Along with the state crowns, Hunter added the 1996 Espoir National Freestyle championship (114.5 pounds) and the 1995 Junior Greco-Roman championship to his résumé.

After those accomplishments, Hunter developed some expectations for himself.

"My goal was to come in and start," he said. "I wanted to wrestle my freshman year."

Benton, from East Freedom, was not as fortunate as Hunter in his career at Central High School. His main objection was to win a state title. He had come close his sophomore and junior year, finishing third and second, respectively, making him a solid contender in his senior campaign. But he fell short, finishing third once again.

"I thought I was good enough to win," he said. "It was a pretty big disappointment, especially after my senior year."

Benton bounced back for those disappointments at the high school state championships and was a two-time Pennsylvania state freestyle champion and a state Greco-Roman champion.

Even though the level has changed for both Hunter and Benton, the goals have not. Hunter wants to be a four-time All-American and win the individual national crown "at least twice."

Neither of those goals are out of reach, as he is 22-6 this season with six falls and two major decisions. He also grabbed the Penn State Open title in early December.

Benton also wishes to be honored four years as an All-American and said he hopes to win a national championship multiple times. Since he did not compete in the beginning of the season, he has not wrestled the amount of matches Hunter has. He has capitalized on his opportunities, posting a 13-6 mark with one match termination and two major decisions.

"I think as the year goes on they can keep getting better and better," Fritz said.

And as their careers go on they will get better and better. And opponents' records could get worse and worse.