Wrestlers face Indiana, Lock Haven

By RYAN HOCKENSMITH
Collegian Staff Writer

Luckily for him, Viktor Sveda's first year at Walsh Jesuit High School came one year after Clint Musser graduated.

Sveda, 24-3 and ranked No. 11 in the 184-pound weight class for his No. 23 Indiana wrestling team, will reunite with Walsh Jesuit cronies Musser and Jeff Knupp, now members of the No. 11 Penn State wrestling team, tomorrow night at Rec Hall. Penn State (8-3, 2-1 Big Ten) wrestles Indiana (7-3-1, 1-3) at 6:30 p.m. in the first match of a double dual meet, then squares off against Lock Haven (6-7) at 8:30 p.m. in the second match.

Sveda graduated the same year as Knupp, but transferred into Walsh Jesuit as a sophomore and missed the older Musser by one year. Nonetheless, the legend of Musser remained at the school.

"From what I've heard, my friend (Iowa State and former Walsh Jesuit wrestler) Joe Heskitt . . . he kinda got stripped down naked and taped up in the middle of the wrestling room by Musser and some of the older guys," Sveda said of Musser's alleged initiation tactics.

"I heard they did a lot of that kind of thing to the younger guys," Sveda added. "I missed out on that stuff, luckily."

Earlier this week, No. 3 Musser said some initiation practices did occur, admitting to christening Knupp, just a freshman at the time, onto the high school team. The senior laughed heartily, but refused to give any details.

"I remember doing some stuff to Jeff," the All-American said. "But I'm not gonna give any specifics . . . too embarrassing for him and too bad for in the paper."

Knupp and Sveda, who as seniors won back-to-back state titles at 189 pounds and 215 pounds, respectively, have remained in touch after graduation. And Sveda has become friends with Musser from working out together during breaks in the school year. So he's excited to see the two Nittany Lions this weekend.

"It'll be great seeing them two guys," he said. "We hang out a lot over breaks -- we're all pretty good friends."

Knupp was equally optimistic about the Walsh Jesuit reunion.

"It's always nice to see (Sveda)," Knupp said. "He's a laid-back kind of guy, but he'll be real physical out on the mat."

Despite some friendly ties between the two teams, Sveda hopes his Hoosiers can cause a red scare against the Lions.

"They're gonna be tough . . . Penn State's a great team," the redshirt freshman said. "But we'll be pretty fired up and hopefully we'll give them a run."

Knupp agreed that the trio's friendship would not be affected by the results of tomorrow's dual meet. When asked who he'll be pulling for when Sveda wrestles probable Lion starter Tim Vorhies at 184 pounds, Knupp hesitated before answering.

"I love to cheer on my friends," he said. "But I got to go with my team here. I always like to see my teammates win."

Following the dual meet with Indiana, the Lions will barely have time to catch their breath before the clash with Lock Haven.

Lock Haven's big gun, 133 pounder Terry Showalter, will be seeking revenge on Lion freshman Nate Parker. At Lock Haven's Mat-Town USA Tournament on Nov. 28, Parker, in his first collegiate bouts, stormed past then-No. 6 Showalter and three other opponents en route to the 133-pound title.

Lion head coach Troy Sunderland thinks Showalter will be ready for the rematch.

"He's a senior, he's a competitor," the first-year head coach said. "He probably didn't expect a freshman to beat him like Nate did."

Overall, Sunderland feels shaving the Bald Eagles, just 6-7 on the season, won't be an easy task.

"I'm sure they'll be up for us," he said. "This is always a big meet for them."