Penn State put together an up-and-down day at Sunday's Nittany Lion Open, as Cael Sanderson's squad claimed three individual titles but had the opportunity for even more.
Frank Molinaro, Cyler Sanderson and David Erwin all finished on top of their respective weight classes, while Brad Pataky and David Taylor claimed second-place finishes and Dan Vallimont and Quentin Wright snagged third-place honors.
Overall, Penn State claimed place-winners in eight of 10 weight classes.
The younger Sanderson and Taylor combined for a thrilling final at 157 pounds. The duo exchanged takedowns throughout the bout until Sanderson led 8-7 late in the third period.
With Sanderson assured of a riding-time point, Taylor needed a takedown to take the match to sudden-victory. The ever-improving freshman was close to scoring the takedown he needed, but the official called a stalemate, prompting a restart with just seconds left.
"It was pretty close," Cyler said. "I don't think he had the takedown yet, but I don't think he should have called a stalemate either. That would have put it into overtime. It was a good shot, just lousy refs."
An exasperated Taylor tried to bring Sanderson down after the restart, but the senior held him off and the match ended with the score 9-7.
Taylor had already put on a show in his semifinal bout when he pinned No. 17 Patrick Wright of Missouri at the 3:27 mark.
"He's getting stronger," Cael Sanderson said. "He's just a sponge of a kid. He hates losing. I think that's the bottom line. That's enough of a motivator for him to try to get better. He wants to be a national champion next year and that's what he's on track for."
Erwin was another Lion to impress Sunday en route to the title at 184 pounds. The fifth-year senior recorded four decisions and a technical fall on the day, including a 5-2 win over No. 10 Josh Patterson of Binghamton in the semifinals.
The Ohio native capped his day with a comeback win over Christopher Honeycutt of Edinboro in the final. Trailing 8-7, Erwin earned a takedown just before the final buzzer and then benefited from the official's ruling that Honeycutt didn't escape before time expired.
Erwin is now 10-1 at 184 pounds after starting the season with a loss at 174 against Lehigh and a loss to Justin Ortega at 174 in the Intrasquad Dual.
"Things weren't really clicking for me at '74," he said. "I was doubting myself. I didn't know if I just had something wrong with my head or what was going on. The bump up to '84, so far, is looking good for me. I'm just focused on wrestling, not really worrying about my weight at all and just going out, having fun and competing."
Molinaro also steamrolled his way to a title with a 5-0 record that included a 6-0 decision win over Virginia Tech's Brian Stephens in the 149-pound weight class final.
Pataky looked like he would join Molinaro, Erwin and Sanderson as a first-place winner, but he was upset in the 125-pound final by No. 9 Jarrod Garnett of Virginia Tech.
Garnett jumped out to an early 10-3 lead, but Pataky steadily climbed back into the match and brought the score to 10-9 as the second period was winding down.
The junior could have taken the lead after tilting Garnett to his side and nearly gaining near fall points, but Garnett was able to slide around Pataky and pinned the Penn Stater at the 4:49 mark.
Notes: Colby Pisani had a strong effort at 141 pounds that included a 9-3 quarterfinal decision of No. 8 Tyler Nauman of Pitt ... Cameron Wade went 5-1 for fifth place at heavyweight. His only defeat was to No. 18 Ryan Tomei of Pitt, the eventual second-place finisher ... Ed Ruth finished fifth at 184 ... True freshman James Vollrath finished fifth at 157 ... Jake Kemerer bowed out of the competition with an injury default ... Clay Steadman took an injury forfeit to end his day.
