Injuries, academic woes plague beleaguered wrestlers

By CHRIS ANTONACCI
Collegian Staff Writer

How the mighty have fallen.

Jamarr Billman will not represent the Penn State wrestling team this weekend when they head to Iowa City, Iowa, for the National Team Duals. The sophomore 149-pound wrestler, who earned All-American accolades last season, has suffered from academic woes this year.

His status for the remainder of the season still remains unclear and will not be known for a few weeks, first-year Nittany Lion coach Troy Sunderland said, but nonetheless, Billman is ineligible for the duals this weekend.

To fill the void left by Billman, a wrestle-off was held at practice yesterday between sophomore 149-pounders Jean Celestin and Brandon Frantz. Celestin was victorious and will be Penn State's 149-pound starter against the stellar competition in Iowa.

Celestin had filled in for Billman earlier this season against inter-state foes Clarion and Edinboro. Clarion's Stan Spoor major decisioned him 17-6 on Dec. 11. The following day, Celestin suffered a defeat against Edinboro's Ryan Shapert, who was then-ranked No. 9 in the nation at 149 pounds.

Although Celestin is sympathetic about taking over the starting slot from Billman, he knows his role.

"It's my chance and I have to step it up," Celestin said. "I have to do what I have to do. It's going to be a lot tougher than the matches against Edinboro and Clarion. I am just going to go out there and give 100 percent of myself. I am not going out there to lose -- I am going out there to win."

For Penn State's sake, he better.

Not only will the Lions be without Billman, but 165-pounder Alex Leykikh also will be sidelined. Leykikh suffered a hyper-extended elbow while grappling against Pittsburgh's Brian Pardini in the first match of the dual meet double-header last Tuesday.

Although Leykikh said he had a "slight chance" of competing in Iowa, his optimism apparently went for naught due to the severity of his injury. To fill his shoes, redshirt sophomore Kevin Vile defeated true freshman Anthony Lavatto in a wrestle-off at yesterday's practice.

Vile has not wrestled in a dual-meet this season.

That leaves Penn State in a precarious situation. Two of their 10 starters lack the experience enjoyed by their predecessors.

But captain Clint Musser is not worried.

"We still have a deep dual meet team," he said. "Everyone is just going to have to step it up a bit and everyone is just going to have to work a little harder."

One of those individuals who has been working harder in the wrestling room, Musser said, is Matt Calabretta. He will be filling in at the starting heavyweight slot for Mark Janus, who is out for four to six weeks with an ankle injury.

Calabretta, who won the Penn State Open in the heavyweight division, has been striving to return to the top of his game as he has sat out the previous two seasons with injuries. He will start alongside his twin brother, Brett, in these grueling battles.

Brett retained his role as a starter yesterday when narrowly defeated redshirt freshman Jeff Knupp 3-2, allowing him to gain valuable experience for the duration of the season.

Said Brett: "It will be a good test not only for him, but for me as well."