Troy Sunderland referred to junior Dan Vallimont's performances over the weekend as "good and not so good."
The Penn State wrestling coaches made the decision last week to have the junior weigh in at 165 pounds, a class above Vallimont's familiar 157-pound group.
Vallimont started his Penn State career wrestling at 149 pounds.
He split the weekend, losing his match on Friday against Indiana's Paul Young, 4-1 before winning Saturday against Purdue's Luke Manuel, 6-4.
"On Friday I think I was just a little nervous the first time out and I wrestled a little timidly," Vallimont said. "On Saturday I felt a lot better when I went out there.
"I felt much better after weigh-ins and I felt stronger wrestling."
Coaches decided to move Vallimont up a weight class because of problems he was having making weight at National Duals and earlier in the season.
The junior said he thought about moving to 165 pounds, and when his coaches suggested the idea to him he thought he'd try it.
The Nittany Lions will not know if Vallimont will take over the starting position in the 165-pound weight class until he and senior Mark Friend have a wrestle-off at some point during this week. However, Sunderland said Vallimont has the potential to score a lot of points come tournament time at the higher weight.
"Whatever happens, the coaches and I agreed we're going to do whatever's best for the team," Vallimont said. "I don't know, whatever happens we're just trying to get the best result in March."
With the Lions' roster thin because of injuries, Penn State called on freshman Colby Pisani to compete in place of Vallimont in the 157-pound weight class, a weight 15 pounds heavier than what he normally wrestles.
He lost by a technical fall Friday and by a major decision Saturday.
Despite the losses and weight disadvantage, Sunderland said the freshman wrestled hard and "did the best job he could do under the circumstances."
"He showed a lot of heart," junior Brad Pataky said of Pisani. "He was definitely giving up a lot of weight. He definitely showed a lot of heart and he fought every position as best he could."
Pataky said he was impressed with Vallimont's performances over the weekend, and said his teammates did a good job responding to the changes in the lineup.
He and Sunderland said Vallimont showed he could wrestle at a higher weight and think he could be a key contributor to the team in that class.
"He really made adjustments going into the second day," Sunderland said of the junior.
"He did a nice job in responding by beating a ranked opponent. "He has the potential to score lots of points at that weight."
