After months of preparation, the Penn State wrestling team will finally have an opportunity to test its skill against true competition.
The Nittany Lions' opening weekend features a few marquee matchups for some of the team's top wrestlers.
The Lions have a tough dual meet tonight at 7 when they travel to No. 19 Lehigh before returning home to Rec Hall for a noon contest Sunday with Bloomsburg.
After seeing a relatively relaxed coach Cael Sanderson look on during the team's Nov. 5 Intrasquad Duals, the Lions' fans get their first glance at Sanderson guiding his team against an opponent when he's thrust into the rivalry with the Mountain Hawks.
Lehigh coach Pat Santoro said the familiarity between wrestlers and coaches within Pennsylvania add to the friendly rivalry. The Lions come in holding the upper hand against Lehigh, holding a 61-33-3 all-time record in the series.
Though both teams are ranked entering the meet, Santoro said he's just looking for good execution from his grapplers.
"Right now, it's so early in the year, we have to go out and get our guys to compete hard for seven minutes," Santoro said. "It's just about wrestling hard, developing each week, trying to get better each week, correcting our mistakes and maximizing our strengths."
Two Lions won't have room for error in the team's opening weekend, as each will be pitted against one of the top wrestlers at his weight.
Cameron Wade, the nation's No. 20 heavyweight, will take on No. 6 Zach Rey tonight, while No. 5 157-pounder Cyler Sanderson will take on Bloomsburg's Matt Moley, No. 2 at that weight on Sunday.
Cyler Sanderson said both matches should be really fun, and the transfer from Iowa State said he can't wait to put on the blue and white and wrestle for the Lions.
The thought of facing one of his toughest opponents so early in the season doesn't worry Sanderson -- in fact, he prefers it.
"It's definitely helpful," Sanderson said. "The better guys you wrestle, the better you're going to get, so I'd rather have tough matches every time."
Wade has similar beliefs about taking on the nation's top wrestlers and said competing tonight against Rey will be a good test to see where he's at early in the year.
The heavyweight said it's tough to measure how good a wrestler is when they compete against the same opponents each day at practice. This is the payoff for all of the hard work the team put in during the past seven months of preparation.
Wade knows the importance of sticking to the skills they've been working on and wrestling the way they know how.
"It's a big rivalry with two intrastate schools," Wade said. "We're just gonna try to go out there and show them we're Penn State. We're gonna wrestle hard every second and hopefully come out on top."
