Wrestlers riding high after superb weekend performances

The Penn State wrestling team's weekend wins over Minnesota and Clarion turned out to be a positive for all the Nittany Lions -- even Biff Walizer.

Against Minnesota, Walizer lost a 2-1 double-overtime heartbreaker to No. 5-ranked Troy Marr. The junior returned to the mat on Sunday, only to fall 8-2 to Clarion's No. 2-ranked Mark Angle -- Penn State's lone loss in the 33-point rout.

Despite the poor weekend track record, Walizer said his matches against the upper-echelon opponents did him nothing but good.

"Those were two of the top guys in the country," Walizer, ranked No. 19, said. "You just have to take those matches as a learning experience. You have to use all that stuff in your gameplan for next time."

Walizer said his loss to Marr was particularly hard to take.

With his team ahead 9-0 against the heavily favored Gophers, Walizer tried his hardest to extend Penn State's surprising lead.

Walizer took a 1-1 tie into overtime against Marr, who beat him in three of their four meetings last year. After a scoreless extra period, the match went to the 30-second rideout as a tiebreaker. Marr won the coin flip, chose bottom and escaped from Walizer in 13 seconds to seal the win.

"I was pretty down after the match on Friday," Walizer said. "But instead of getting down and dwelling on it, I've got to go from there. I've got to use it in a positive way in competition this weekend."

The return of 126-pounder Jason Betz to Penn State's lineup on Friday marked the first time this season the Lions were completely healthy for a dual meet.

Betz, a junior ranked No. 7, spent a month recuperating from weight problems and a run-in with the flu before returning against Minnesota. He beat the Golden Gophers' Bart Golyer 4-2.

Though he won his first match back, the Betz most fans know didn't return until the Clarion meet. Betz landed a dominating 17-6 major decision against the Golden Eagles' Dominic Surra.

"I still have some work to do, but my weight seems to be under control now," Betz said after the Clarion meet. "I feel like I've come a long way since (last wrestling). My first match at The Bryce Jordan Center I was a bit nervous, but I think I opened it up today."

Penn State seniors John Lange (158) and Rob Neidlinger (177) wrestled their final matches at Rec Hall Sunday against Clarion. Both were successful.

The No. 6-ranked Lange, who was upset 7-2 by Minnesota's No. 10-ranked Josh Holiday on Friday, returned with a vengeance in pinning the Eagles' Brad Harris in one minute, 46 seconds.

Neidlinger, ranked No. 13, outmuscled Clarion's Aaron Mitchell for one of the Lions' six major decisions, 22-10. By the time the match was in the third period, Mitchell was gasping for breath while Neidlinger was still thinking takedown.

Lange and Neidlinger won the Ridge Riley Award for Penn State's best individual performances.

When asked about the seniors' last dual meet at Rec Hall, Lange was less than sentimental.

"I didn't even realize it until after the match," Lange said. "My first match at Rec Hall I got pinned, so I guess it was kind of nice to go out the way I came in, but a little better this time."

Back Points:

Penn State's 36-3 win over Clarion on Sunday was the Lions' largest margin of victory since a 46-3 thumping of Hofstra on Dec. 15, 1996 . . . Penn State went a perfect 6-0 at home this season and has won 11 straight home dual meets . . . Lion 150-pounder and No. 3-ranked Clint Musser, who upended Minnesota's top-ranked Chad Kraft on Friday, has won 17 straight matches.