Wrestling shows well at Nittany Lion Open

The Terrapin wrestling team's goals at yesterday's Nittany Lion Open were simple: have all of their starters place in the tournament.

That objective went unrealized, but the No. 25 Terps came close. At least one Terp wrestler placed in nine of the 10 weight-class brackets, while 10 overall made the podium in what coach Kerry McCoy called a "good day" for the team.

"The opportunity for us to wrestle this well in the competition was good, and to place in this event was really important," McCoy said. "We saw some good things, and we continued to improve."

"This is kind of a stepping stone for bigger things," 165-pound Josh Asper said. "When everyone wins, confidence gets boosted up, and it prepares us for later on in the season when it counts a little more. Hopefully, we can use this to build and keep improving."

Asper and 174-pound Mike Letts were again the stars for the Terps yesterday, as both finished first in their respective brackets with dominating performances. Asper recorded two pins en route to his first-place finish, while Letts defeated No. 14 Ed Ruth, one of host No. 5 Penn State's top wrestlers, to clinch his bracket.

Asper's victory marked the continuation of a flawless season. The sophomore's victory was his second at an open tournament this season, and he has not lost a match in team competition this year.

"Asper did a great job," McCoy said. He completely dominated."

"So far everything is going according to plan," Asper said. "I just got to keep up the good work, keep working hard and hopefully keep winning."

The Terps also received solid performances from some of their less-heralded wrestlers, as well, with eight others placing in the tournament. Shane Gentry at 125 pounds and Kyle John at 157 pounds placed third, and 125-pound Jenkins Monzey, 133-pound Lou Ruland, 141-pound Mark Hartenstine, 184-pound Corey Peltier, 197-pound Christian Boley and heavyweight Spencer Myers also placed in the top eight in their respective weight classes.

"It's great for us to know that we can compete with some of the best guys in the country," McCoy said. "From top to bottom, every guy that we put out there that had an opportunity to wrestle went out, and they fought hard and got it done. To get all those guys placed means a lot."

The Terps will continue their season next weekend when they travel to Hofstra to face the No. 23 Pride. After a stretch of open tournaments measuring the performances of the Terps' individual talent, Saturday's duals match should better test the Terps' depth from top to bottom.

"We have to keep getting better, focus on the areas we've been working on and realize we've got time to make improvements," McCoy said. "Have urgency but don't panic, and just continue to work on a regular basis on the things we need to do better."

vitale@umdbk.com