Penn wins five divisions at Cyclone Open

The Quakers took advantage of the national spotlight with a dominating performance. When the Penn wrestlers arrived at the Cyclone Open in Ames, Iowa, on Sunday, not everyone knew who they were. In fact, the match announcer even introduced some of them as being from Penn State. But no one is in doubt about who the red-and-blue clad wrestlers are any more, as the No. 18 Quakers stormed into Iowa State and out-wrestled some of the best in the nation. "As a team, I think we performed outstanding," Penn captain Josh Bailor said. "We couldn't have had a better start. We went into a tough tournament and performed better than any other team. The highlight of the tournament had to be our team performance versus Iowa State." Indeed, the Quakers performed as well as, if not better than, the No. 4 Cyclones, placing every member of the squad in the top three. Penn captured five of the 10 weight classes, and two of the finals involved two Quakers. The 177-pound weight class ended with Penn captains Brandon Slay and Clinton Matter as co-champions. Josh Bailor reached the final of the 158-pound bracket against his younger brother and teammate Jeremy. In both cases, the wrestlers did not face each other and were declared co-champions to prevent possible injuries. Penn senior Joey Allen at heavyweight, senior Steve Walker at 126 pounds and sophomore Brett Matter at 142 pounds were all winners of their respective weight classes. Although the Quakers are excited about their success, they are not necessarily surprised. "I think our team performed as expected," Slay said. "We trained hard and it showed. Everyone knew where we stood, this just made the belief stronger." As a team, the Quakers had a strong showing, but individually, they also had some big wins. Clint Matter defeated Barry Weldon of Iowa State, the No. 2 wrestler at 167 pounds in his semi-final match. It was actually Slay who had hoped to face Weldon, since both were wrestling up in the 177-pound division. But Matter was able to dispose of Weldon before meeting Slay in the finals. Matter is currently ranked No. 9 in the nation at 177 pounds. "I think it was a huge win for Clint," Slay said. Even though it was an individual preseason tournament and no team scores were kept, Penn had the chance to face some of the best competition in the nation. They are also the first Eastern team ever to be invited to the tournament. As they look ahead to the rest of the season, the Quakers are hoping to repeat as Ivy League and Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association champions. "We're really looking forward to the rest of the season and proving to ourselves that we can accomplish what we set out to accomplish," Jeremy Bailer said. "We all realize we have a great deal of potential, and we were able to act on it this weekend," Clint Matter said. In a season of high expectations and lofty goals, the Quakers have already taken the first step in proving that they can wrestle with the best in the nation