Bubba Jenkins attributed his drenched undergarments as one of the reasons why he wrestled in a heavier weight class on Saturday at the Mat Town Open.
Jenkins said he prefers performing drills before weigh-ins and didn't get a chance to carry them out on Saturday. He said he didn't perform his normal ritual because of an early weigh-in and his preference of avoiding drills while the mats are filled with other wrestlers.
Heavier clothing and less exercise resulted with Jenkins weighing at 157.4 pounds and wrestling two classes over his normal 149-pound weight class.
Although assistant coach Troy Letters didn't attend the open, he said Jenkins' weigh-in was an accident.
"I wrestled to get some matches in," Jenkins said. "It was tougher competition being that I had to deal with the size and things like that."
Jenkins said he is a normal 149-pounder but has wrestled in the 157-pound weight class because he is redshirting this season and there is no incentive to cutting weight for open tournaments.
Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said if Jenkins was wrestling for Penn State this year, it would be at the 149-pound weight class.
"There is no excuse," Sanderson said. "He just missed weight. You should never miss weight, but he did."
Jenkins placed third at Mat Town, which was held at Lock Haven University, and finished with a 4-1 record. Jenkins said the pace was slower with wrestlers giving harder takedowns and waiting longer to perform moves.
Jenkins' third-place finish came a week after his win over Nittany Lion David Taylor for the 157-pound title at the East Stroudsburg University Open. Jenkins stated he enjoyed wrestling at a higher weight on Saturday because it provided a challenge. Even though he is normally disappointed after losses, at Lock Haven, he was content with the result.
Jenkins said his status for the Nittany Lion Open this upcoming Sunday is unclear because there is already a deep field at 157 pounds and he suffered a chest bruise recently.
Jenkins is clear on one thing: Although he enjoyed the 165-pound competition, 157 pounds is the class he'll grapple at unattached this season.
"I had to get used to the style -- a completely different animal from '49 to '65," Jenkins said. "You have to be prepared for them -- be fast, be strong."
