Going into the Big Ten tournament this weekend, the No. 11 Penn State wrestling team will have eight representatives competing in the tournament.

Not a surprising number of wrestlers for a team that has consistently competed among the conference's elite.

But what may be surprising to some is that out of those eight representatives, three are freshman.

True freshmen Bubba Jenkins and Dave Rella will be wrestling for the Nittany Lions (14-5, 5-3 Big Ten) in the Big Ten Championships along with redshirt freshman Dan Vallimont.

Among them, the three underclassmen managed two No. 6 seeds: Jenkins at 157 pounds and Vallimont at 149 pounds, and a No. 7 seed, Rella at 165 pounds.

"It feels good," Jenkins said. "You know, anytime you do an accomplishment at a young age, it's always a big thing, but I'm sure people have done this before, so I don't want to look at it as achieving my final goal 'cause I definitely want to get out there and not only be the sixth seed, but maybe upset a couple people."

It has been an interesting season for Jenkins who initially started out the season as a 149-pounder.

But competition with Vallimont in the 149-pound weight class, coupled with the transfer of the Lions' former 157-pounder, Nathan Galloway, to Rider, led Jenkins to the starting spot at 157.

"I felt like I was the best at 149 and then when I just couldn't get it done cutting weight, and Vallimont wrestled really well it kinda frustrated me to go up to 157," the Virginia Beach, Va., native said.

After a short adjustment period as he moved to 157 pounds in January, Jenkins managed to find his groove in the weight class, wrestling his way to a 4-4 Big Ten record and the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament.

Like Jenkins, Rella didn't find his way into the lineup until January. But he posted a 3-5 record in Big Ten competition to find himself as the conference's No. 7 seed at 165 pounds.

It's a great feeling to make it into the postseason, but coming home without having accomplished anything would make it pointless, Rella said.

While the underclassmen may
be entering the tournament for
the first time, they are among very experienced company. The veterans on the team have been supplying their younger teammates with advice and tips all week long.

"I told them all they're as good as they want to be," junior co-captain Phil Davis said. "If they want to take their career to the national tournament this year, they can do that. If they want to take themselves to the national finals this year, I think they're all capable of doing it."