Wrestling
Wrestling: Penn State sits in first after session one of NCAA championship
After session one of the 2013 NCAA championship on Thursday afternoon, No. 1 Penn State sits atop the standings in Des Moines with 14.5 points, just 1.5 points ahead of No. 2 Oklahoma State.
The Nittany Lions relied heavily on the first round performances of their upper five weight classes, which the team has done the entire year. Penn State accumulated 7.5 bonus points by way of two pins, one technical fall and two major decisions.
David Taylor at 165 pounds, 174-pounder Matt Brown, 184-pounder Ed Ruth and 197-pounder Quentin Wright all advanced to the next round.
No. 2 seed Taylor and No. 1 seed Ruth earned maximum points for the Lions with a pin each.
No. 2 Brown earned a major decision, 10-1, over Missouri’s Todd Porter while fellow No. 2 seed Wright won by decision, 7-3, against Donald McNeil of Rider.
The only Lion in the upper five weights to lose was unseeded heavyweight Jimmy Lawson. Lawson lost to Ohio’s Jeremy Johnson, who also eliminated him from the 2013 Southern Scuffle.
Nico Megaludis at 125 pounds and 157-pounder Dylan Alton were the only Lions in the lower five weight classes to advance to the next round.
No. 4 seed Megaludis earned a tech fall for bonus points for the Lions while No. 8 seed Dylan Alton advanced with a decision over Pitt’s Donnie Tasser after earning a major decision over Columbia's Jake O'Hara.
Jordan Conaway lost by sudden victory to Vincent Dellafave of Rutgers at 133 pounds, who Conaway defeated earlier in a dual meet with the Scarlet Knights on Feb. 24.
Bryan Pearsall at 141 pounds and 149-pounded Andrew Alton were both placed in the wrestlebacks after first round losses.
The four Lions sent to wrestlebacks can still place as high as third in their respective weight classes if they win out the rest of the tournament.
Session two will begin at 7:30 EST tonight.