Wrestling's Slay drops to 167 pounts after loss

Quakers All-American senior Brandon Slay suffered a rare overtime loss last weekend in the finals of the Penn State Open. With the usual suspects turning in solid performances and the less experienced Quakers chipping in confidence-building results, the Quakers stand poised after Sunday's Penn State Invitational to make a splash on the national scene. The Penn wrestling team felt confident Sunday heading into the Penn State Open that it could use the tournament as a stepping stone for the Midlands Tournament -- Penn's major mid-season test next month in Chicago. All-American senior Brandon Slay (177) encountered more difficulty than usual, finishing a disappointing second to Mike Greenfield of Central Michigan. After dominating his competition in the early rounds with 9-2 and 15-0 victories, Slay advanced to the finals with a 4-2 victory over Navy's Greg Gingeleskie. In the finals, Greenfield wrestled defensively, keeping the aggressive Slay away. The match went to overtime tied 1-1, and Greenfield took the match on what Slay thought was a questionable call. "It didn't bother me that badly because the guy really didn't beat me. He didn't earn the points he got through any type of wrestling technique," said Slay, visibly annoyed by the referee's call. Slay, however, did not place all the blame for the loss on the referee's shoulders. "If I would have pushed myself harder and taken advantage of some opportunities during the regulation part of the match, then [the match] would have never come down to a decision like that," Slay said. With all the attention surrounding Penn's nationally top-ranked wrestler, Slay knows he has to adjust to more intense competition. "Guys are extremely cautious when they wrestle me -- they stall a lot, they back up, and they don't really try to score points," Slay said. "They try to keep the match close so it can go into overtime and possibly something like [last Sunday] can happen." Penn coach Roger Reina cited Slay's increased visibility as a bit of a handicap. "They know the kinds of things he does to generate offense and he's very scouted," Reina said. "He needs to continually modify and develop to stay a step ahead of the film he's being scouted on." In part due to Slay's performance against the much taller Greenfield and the size advantage many 177-pound wrestlers have over the 5'8'' Slay, Penn's standout wrestler decided Sunday to take off weight and move back down to his accustomed 167-pound weight class for the remainder of the season. Quakers' captain senior Mark Piotrowsky (134) also turned in a second-place performance, following up his victory at the Keystone Classic two weeks ago. Piotrowsky entered the finals by defeating Virginia's Jason Mutarelli to win the Keystone Classic. In the championship match, Piotrowsky lost 10-4 to former All-American and sixth-ranked Shawn Enright of Ohio. "I was happy with the way I performed, but you always want to win," Piotrowsky said. "I've got high expectations for Mark," Reina said. "It was good experience for him, wrestling people that have placed in the NCAA Championships, and its going to give him more confidence when he gets there." For the third time in as many tournaments, senior Steve Walker won at 126 pounds. Walker beat Virginia's Steve Garland 7-6 to take the tournament title, but felt unsatisfied after the day was done. He was looking forward to wrestling Penn State's 10th-ranked Jason Betz, who lost in the quarter finals due to an injury. "I didn't get to wrestle my main competitor, but it was fun," Walker said. Walker continued his reign over the 126-pound weight class. He has not lost a tournament so far this season. "Steve had a good gut-check match in the finals where he fell behind," Reina said. "He did one of the things that a champion has to do, which is come from behind." In addition to the veterans' finishes, several younger wrestlers added solid performances. Freshmen Justin Bravo (118) and Yoshi Nakamura (150) placed seventh and eighth, respectively, while sophomore Tim Ortman (150) -- fresh off the lightweight football season -- placed fourth. Freshman Rick Springman (158) also added a third-place finish in only his third collegiate tournament. A "freshman mistake," according to Reina, set Springman back, but he rebounded to win his third-place match 10-2. "Rick Springman's come on great," Slay said. "I think that he's learning really fast for a freshman." Overall, Reina was satisfied with his team's performance in its last tournament before the Midlands. "Our guys wrestled more aggressively," Reina said. "The things that we have been spending time on in practice -- both technically and in terms of intensity -- showed in the tournament." The Quakers continued to make steady improvements Sunday after beginning the year with second and first-place finishes at the Ivy Kickoff and the Keystone Classic. "Teamwise we are doing a great job of moving up the learning curve," Slay said. "I think we're doing a good job of taking the things we're learning and implementing them in practice." Penn needs the help of its improving youthful core to move up the national ladder at the Midlands, where the Quakers will encounter their toughest national competition to date.

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