Back to defend his title after winning the NCAA Championship last year, senior Matt Valenti is ranked No. 1 in the country at 133 pounds. And the perks are already rolling in.
Valenti, along with teammate Matt Herrington, has been invited to the 41st annual All-Star Classic, a prestigious tournament pitting the top two wrestlers from each weightclass against one another.
While it was expected that defending champion Valenti would get the top ranking and, with it, the invite, the No. 14 Quakers were handed a pleasant surprise. Herrington, an All-American who finished fifth in Oklahoma City last season, comes in this November as the nation's No. 2 at 174 pounds.
Since the top-ranked wrestler at that weightclass - Ben Askren out of Missouri - declined his invitation to the event, Herrington will be taking the mat with a familiar foe. Penn State's No. 3 James Yonushonis, whom Herrington pinned at last year's nationals en route to his career finish, will fill in for Askren.
Meanwhile, Valenti will not be facing the second-ranked wrestler at 133. Because of injury, Minnesota's Mack Reiter was forced to withdraw. No. 3 Tyler McCormick, out of Missouri, will presumably take his place, although no announcement has been made.
Penn is one of only three schools to be sending two wrestlers.
