Wrestlers traveling to face Lehigh

John Fritz and Jamarr Billman love road trips like this.

Fritz, Penn State's wrestling coach, and Billman, the Nittany Lions' 142 pounder, return to their native Lehigh Valley tomorrow for a dual meet against Lehigh.

The 7 p.m. showdown between the No. 3 Lions (16-3) and No. 18 Mountain Hawks (11-7), which will be held at the larger Stabler Arena instead of the usual Grace Hall to accommodate the big turnout expected, marks the first of two weekend dual meets for both teams.

Penn State closes out its regular season at Lock Haven on Saturday, while Lehigh does the same at home against Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Fritz said he'll enjoy his team's brief stint in Bethlehem, but added the meet will probably involve more nervous hand-wringing than reminiscing.

"It's always nice to go back there," Fritz said. "My sister and brother-in-law still live in Bethlehem and I have other family there too, so it's definitely nice to walk around down there and see people.

"You don't like to put anything extra on the meet, though," Fritz stressed. "Lehigh is a real tough team. There are about six weights where they could beat us. I hope that doesn't happen, of course, but they're very balanced."

One of the weights in question is 142, where the Mountain Hawks send Ryan Bernholz against Billman -- Penn State's other hometown hero.

Billman, a freshman from neighboring Easton, won two state titles in high school and was one of the most highly touted wrestlers to emerge from the Lehigh Valley.

Like Fritz, Billman is excited for the homecoming. But he also said there's work to be done before soaking up the familiar atmosphere.

"It feels good to come back home," the No. 6-ranked Billman said, "but Lehigh's definitely a tough team. Against Penn State, everybody's going to get up. Teams like Lehigh and Lock Haven want to knock Penn State off."

Billman said he doesn't know much about Bernholz, a redshirt freshman ranked No. 18. And that's the way he wants it to be.

"I like not knowing anything about my opponent," Billman said. "That way I won't have to focus on what he does. I just want to focus on what I do. I'm going to go out there to prove myself, like I do every match."

One Lion out to prove himself against Lehigh is 150 pounder Clint Musser.

Musser, a redshirt junior, hasn't lost since the finals of the Mat Town Tournament on Nov. 29 -- when he fell 8-5 to the Mountain Hawks' Chris Ayres.

Since then, the No. 2-ranked Musser has won 19 consecutive matches -- including a 3-1 win over then-No. 1 Chad Kraft of Minnesota.

Ayres, ranked No. 7, said he wants and expects Musser to come out harder than ever when the two tangle tomorrow.

"Clint's having a great season. He's been wrestling real well the past couple of months, and I'm sure he's real hungry," Ayres said. "It's good, though, because I know he's going to come after me.

"That's a big problem I have," Ayres said. "I get these guys that just want to keep it close instead of trying to beat me. I haven't really had a good match recently, so it'll be a good indicator of where I'm at."

Ayres also said the dual meet would be a good indicator of how ready both teams are heading into the crucial postseason.

Lehigh and Penn State each have conference tournaments in early March, and after that it's on to the NCAA Championships on March 19-21 in Cleveland.

"We train all year, and we don't really taper at all. Everything is built up to nationals," Ayres said. "Penn State's a big match. It's a big rivalry and it could say something about how we do at nationals."