Wrestlers excel in bus trip through the east

The Penn wrestling team spent the winter break on tour. The Quakers left Philly on a bus December 28, and spent the rest of break driving around the country wrestling everyone in their path before finally returning to school yesterday. Along the way Penn went 5-2 in dual meets raising their overall dual meet record to 6-2. The only losses came to Clarion and North Carolina, nationally ranked fifth and eighth, respectively. The highlight of the trip came Saturday when Penn defeated Atlantic Coast Conference powerhouses N.C. State and Maryland by scores of 18-13 and 25-13, respectively. "We've always had doubts when we competed against strong schools with scholarship programs," Quaker captain Gary Baker said. "In the past we've always come close to winning but then ended up losing. The big wins over N.C. State and Maryland show the direction the program is taking." The match against the Wolfpack could not have gotten any closer. The team score was tied 15-15 before the final match of the day between Penn heavyweight Joe Allen and the Wolfpack's Damien Covington. At the end of regulation the two were tied 5-5. During a two-minute sudden-death overtime neither wrestler was able to score. Finally during a 30-second tie-breaker Allen prevented Covington from escaping, or in wrestling terms rode him out, giving Penn an 18-15 victory. After the emotional battle Covington was unable to control his frustration as he cost his team two additional points by pulling a Bobby Knight and tossing a chair. "It was the most exciting dual meet since I've been here at Penn," eighth-year coach Roger Reina said. Penn established an early lead over N.C. State when Baker won at 118 pounds by pinning Vince Burke. The 1 minute, 27 second victory gave the Quakers a 6-0 lead. Other winners for Penn included a 12-7 victory by senior Shawn Heinrichs at 142 pounds, a narrow 6-5 win by junior Roger London at 158 pounds, and junior Brian Butler's 7-5 defeat of defending ACC champion Ron Madson at 190 pounds. The win should give the Quakers some national attention because the Wolfpack have received votes for the top 20 all year and are traditionally among the country's elite teams.. The win over Maryland, while not as exciting, may have been more gratifying for the Penn squad. Last year the Terrapins easily defeated the Quakers by a score of 27-7. On Saturday, Penn returned the favor winning 25-13, in what Baker called a "grudge match." Unfortunately for Baker, he was unable to defeat high school nemesis David Land, who is ranked second nationally. After a 2-2 tie at the end of regulation, Land scored a take down during the two-minute overtime to escape with a 4-2 victory. Maryland's other wrestlers were not as fortunate, as six Quakers earned victories. Standouts for the Penn squad included Steve Walker, who scored a major decision with an 11-3 win over Stan Flemming at 126 pounds. Junior Derek Pijut, who normally wrestles at 177 pounds, filled in for the injured Brandon Slay (broken jaw), and wrestled at 167 pounds. After trailing 2-1, Pijut scored a come-from-behind victory when he pinned Terrapin Jason Heurot after 3 minutes, 20 seconds. The victory broke a 10-10 tie and gave the Quakers a 16-10 lead. Allen capped off the Penn triumph when he pinned his heavyweight opponent in just 1 minute, 15 seconds. Other winners for Penn included Heinrichs, London, and Butler, at 142 pounds, 158 pounds, and 190 pounds, respectively. Although Saturday's matches featured wins over Maryland and N.C. State and a loss to North Carolina, Reina was pleased with his team's wrestling. "It was a very good day," Reina said. "If we continue to perform at this level we should receive legitimate consideration for the top 20. Our captains did an excellent job both on and off the mat. They provided a lot of leadership." The two big wins capped off an exhausting winter break for the wrestling team which included two practices a day when there were no competitions. The Quakers top-five wrestlers Gonz Medina, Butler, Baker, London, and Heinrichs competed in the Mid Levels Tournament in Chicago. The invite-only tournament featured the top wrestlers in each weight class from across the country. After the tournament, the wrestlers joined the rest of the team in Atlanta where the Quakers defeated Georgia State, Slippery Rock and Appalachian State, and lost to fifth-ranked Clarion. The results were deceiving because the five who competed in the Mid Level Tournament were not allowed to participate in the matches at Atlanta. The team then drove to Chapel Hill to face Maryland, N.C. State and UNC, before returning home. Baker felt the brake was a positive experience for the Penn squad. "We wrestled well," Baker said. "Even against teams like UNC that just had too many guns for us, we still learned something. They took advantage of situations and techniques which our coaches have explained to us. To see a team do the things they try to teach us gives the team a lot of faith in the coaches, and makes us want to work harder...I think this brake helped our confidence and proved to us that we are as good as we want to be."