With the loss of All-Americans Josh Moore and Pat Cummins, the Penn State wrestling team is being doubted, as evidenced by the No. 17 preseason ranking, and the Nittany Lions do not like it.

"I don't put a whole lot of emphasis on rankings, but that's something that the kids can look at," Penn State coach Troy Sunderland said. "It kind of irritates me a little bit because they don't give us the credit that we will have as we go through the season."

At 10 a.m. Sunday at Rec Hall, the Lions will get a chance to prove the detractors wrong against a field of eight teams at the Pennsylvania State Dual Championships. The participants include No. 2 Lehigh, Clarion, Slippery Rock, Lock Haven, Pittsburgh-Johnstown, Mercyhurst, and York College. The second round is scheduled to start at noon and the finals at 2 p.m.

"We should be the No. 1 school in Pennsylvania, and we should be able to face Lehigh in the finals," Sunderland said. "It was nice to come away with the big win against Lehigh last year, and we'd like to get two more wins this year."

The Lions lost three of their top four wrestlers from last year, as far as wins are concerned. Moore and Cummins, the only All-Americans from last year's squad, were first and second in wins, with 44 and 38, respectively, and sophomore Matt Storniolo was fourth, with 34. Storniolo asked for release from the university, which was granted, prior to the start of the fall semester. With those holes to fill and the disappointing end to last season, Penn State is anxious to start the season.

"I think people look and see we don't have any returning All-Americans, but at the same time we only really lost two guys," senior captain Josh Walker said. "We're getting back our lineup full of experience and a group of guys that have been together several years, so that chemistry is there. We're going to take a lot of people by surprise this year."

The Lions starting lineup is composed of several experienced veterans and talented newcomers. Two-time NCAA qualifier and senior captain Adam Smith returns at 125, while freshmen Tim Haas, Bryan Heller and Jake Strayer will battle to replace Moore at 133. Junior DeWitt Driscoll and senior James Woodall return at 141 and 149, while Nate Galloway, Mark Friend and Jarrad Turner are competing for 157. Sophomores Jeremy Hart and James Yonushonis are looking to start at 165 and 174, respectively, and defending Big Ten champion Eric Bradley is returning at 184. Joel Edwards and Phillip Davis are both competing at 197, a battle that Sunderland expects to go back and forth all season. Walker will look to fill the shoes of Cummins at heavyweight.

"We have a lot of guys ready to step in and really wrestle very well," Smith said. "I think at pretty much every weight class we have guys that should be All-Americans."

The Lions started out strong last year but fizzled as the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments drew near. This year, they are focusing more on preparing their bodies and gearing their training toward March. Unlike last season, Penn State will look to rest more before tournaments to make sure it peaks for the Big Ten and nationals, and prove Penn State wrestling is among the elite programs, despite lower expectations.

"It doesn't really doesn't matter what other people expect," Smith said. "We're the ones that have been there working hard to reach our goals of winning the Big Ten and a national title. You definitely see it and know you're not ranked where you think you should be. It fuels the fire for sure."