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[ Tuesday, Jan. 26, 1999 ]
PHOTO: K. Fordney
Penn State 165 pounder Kevin Vile clutches an opponent earlier this season.
Very bad things
Wrestlers, coach weathering tough luck in first half of season
By CHRIS ANTONACCI
AND RYAN HOCKENSMITH
Collegian Staff Writer
Time's up. Halfway through the season, the No. 11 Penn State wrestling team is 7-3 after starting the season with a flawless 5-0 start. That record, however, is not indicative of the team's performance. For the past month, first-year Nittany Lion coach Troy Sunderland and his squad have been victims of Murphy's Law -- anything that can go wrong has. Still, in a season that has been full of turbulence, several Lions are in serious contention for individual national championships, in spite of the team's dwindling chances to win the title in March when it comes to The Bryce Jordan Center. Lightweights -- Grade: B+ Jeremy Hunter, the No. 3 wrestler in the nation at 125 pounds, remains undefeated at 19-0, including 10-0 in dual meets. He leads the team with 41 dual-meet points earned and racked up tournament titles at the East Stroudsburg Open, Lock Haven's Mat-Town USA and the Penn State Open. "He's paying the price everyday," Sunderland said. "He's doing everything he needs to do." At 133 pounds, Nate Parker's effort epitomizes the up-and-down performance of the team. He started strong, winning a title at Mat-Town in his first collegiate action. Also, similar to the team's injury woes, Parker has been battling a shoulder injury that has limited his practice time and kept him out of varsity wrestle-offs Nov. 5. In spite of Parker's sporadic record, he appears to be making strides of late, knocking off two ranked foes this month, earning him the No. 18 slot in the nation at 133 pounds. As a freshman, Parker is budding with potential and fitting in nicely for the spot vacated by the departure of Eddie Jayne from the squad. "(Parker) can be very explosive at times," Ohio State coach Russ Hellickson said. "He can be very dominant." After a mediocre 20-20 junior season, No. 18 141 pounder Biff Walizer has solidified a weight class viewed as shaky in the preseason. In his final year of eligibility, Walizer has stormed to a 22-7 record, tops on the team in wins. Middleweights -- Grade: B+
PHOTO: Gordon Marshall
Penn State 157 pounder Clint Musser picks up an opponent earlier this season.
The loss of 149-pound, returning All-American Jamarr Billman has severely hurt the Lions in all aspects. The sophomore had been 21-0 and a respected team leader when academic ineligibility sidelined him for the season.
Billman notched individual titles at the East Stroudsburg Open, Mat-Town, the Penn State Open and the Wilkes Open. Also, he earned a victory in the Nebraska dual meet -- the only dual he competed in this season.
His replacement, sophomore Jean Celestin, has struggled to fill Billman's spot. Celestin's record fell to 5-11 last weekend after two losses against Iowa and Ohio State.
"Experience-wise, it hurts a lot," Hunter said. "But he's gone. There's nothing we can do about it now."
No. 3 157 pounder Clint Musser, the heart of the Lions, has been the stalwart of the Penn State lineup for the past three years. A dual-meet dominator, Musser has run up a 28-1 record the past two seasons in duals, including a perfect 10-0 this season.
Musser pulled off an emotional victory this weekend against the No. 3 Hawkeyes with a decision of No. 14 Jamie Heidt and should be a viable contender for the national championship.
Possibly the biggest unknown heading into the season was the 165-pound weight class. But Virginia transfer Alex Leykikh steadied the ship, racking up an 18-6 mark before a hyper-extended elbow injury sidetracked his season. Leykikh is expected to return this weekend when the team hosts No. 16 Purdue at 11 a.m. Sunday at Rec Hall.
His replacement, Kevin Vile, fell to 1-8 on the season after losses in both duals last weekend.
In one of the longest healthy streaks of his illustrious career, No. 2 174 pounder Glenn Pritzlaff has notched a 15-1 record, losing only a semifinal bout at the Penn State Open. The team co-captain has also racked up a 10-0 record in dual meets and trails only Hunter in team points earned with 36.
"Right now, I am not in the best shape," Pritzlaff said. "But I still think I am wrestling really well."
Heavyweights -- Grade: B
At 184 pounds, Ross Thatcher had been a clutch performer for the Lions all season. However, he too caught the injury bug. He suffered a high ankle sprain in the Ohio State match and will miss about three weeks. The next day, Andrew Butville, a Levittown native, stepped in and fell at the hands of Iowa's Paul Jenn.
At 197 pounds, Brett Calabretta has been another constant in the lineup. He is 12-8 thus far, and won a huge battle against Nebraska's Scott Munson, the then-No. 11 wrestler in the nation at 197 pounds, to lead Penn State to victory.
The Lion heavyweight wrestlers have suffered from tremendous injury woes. Mark Janus, who is expected to return this weekend, claimed the spot at wrestle-offs but has also succumbed to a high ankle sprain. In his place, Matt Calabretta, who has been recovering from three knee surgeries through the past two seasons, stepped in and has lost all five dual meets in which he has seen action. To his credit, he was one of five Lion representatives to notch a victory at the Penn State Open.
However, a high ankle injury sidelined Matt Calabretta. Redshirt sophomore Rick Bolinsky, a reserve on the Penn State football team who had been practicing with the team since the semester began, stepped in with a huge victory against Ohio State Saturday, but was pinned Sunday by No. 3 heavyweight Wes Hand.
"Whoever comes out of (Janus, Matt Calabretta and Bolinsky) at the end of the year, will be ready (for NCAAs)," said Kerry McCoy, a Penn State coaching assistant and former NCAA heavyweight champion.
Coach -- Grade: B+
In his first season, Sunderland has had to come to terms with wrestlers leaving the team, numerous injuries and Billman's academic ineligibility.
In addition, he is balancing his personal life in which he has moved from Annapolis, Md., where he was an assistant coach at Navy for the last two seasons. Also, Sunderland is now a proud father of his first-born child, Colton Lee.
Sunderland runs his practice with an iron fist, but still seems to keep a light-hearted atmosphere at times.
The top-notch coaches find ways to win in spite of the obstacles, but Sunderland is doing well with the hand he has been dealt in his attempts to fill the immense shoes of John Fritz, who vacated the position in June.
"I've been up and down," Sunderland said. "It's a roller-coaster season, and that's what coaching is all about."
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