Wrestling | Penn's Peterkin helps pin PSU

Penn junior 125-pound wrestler Rollie Peterkin likes trying new positions.

Indeed, it was the reigning EIWA wrestler of the week's versatility on the mat that coach Rob Eiter credits in No. 11 Peterkin's 12-4 thrashing of Penn State's No. 13 Brad Pataky Friday.

"There was just scoring from some positions that he hadn't been scoring in," Eiter said. "He's starting to score some extra points riding on top."

The No. 25 Quakers (12-7, 6-3 EIWA) utilized Peterkin's dominant mat wrestling and a match-clinching major decision win from heavyweight Trey McLean to earn a 20-13 victory over Stefan Tighe and the No. 24 Nittany Lions (8-12-2, 1-5-2 Big Ten) in State College, Pa.

One good turn did not seem to deserve another, however, and the Red and Blue could not overcome No. 8 Lehigh (23-1, 9-0 EIWA), losing, 24-12, when they made their Sunday pilgrimage to Bethlehem, Pa.

Outside of Peterkin and McLean, there were not too many flashy wins for the Quakers against Penn State.

But whatever they lacked in style, the Penn wrestlers more than made up for in resilience, as they were able to overcome a 13-10 deficit with only three matches left.

"It was pretty much a back-and-forth match," Eiter said. "The team really showed a lot of poise and composure."

That composure came in the form of workmanlike wins by Rick Rappo, Colin Hitschler and Thomas Shovlin at 141, 184 and 197 pounds, respectively.

Eleventh-ranked 149-pounder Cesar Grajales was even constructive in a losing effort, taking No. 2 Bubba Jenkins to overtime before losing, 3-1, to the All-American.

Still, Peterkin left the greatest mark, proving to his coach that he knows the importance of proper preparation.

"[Peterkin] really wrestled well this weekend," Eiter said. "He's really worked hard in practice the last few weeks."

It's a good thing that Peterkin and the Quakers are used to hard work - that is exactly what they were in for when they set out against Lehigh.

The Mountain Hawks entered the match with only one loss on the season - to then-No. 12 Central Michigan - and currently boast seven ranked wrestlers.

Paper proved a good predictor as six of the Lehigh's ranked grapplers beat their Penn opponents. Overall, the Quakers won just three of the 10 bouts.

Two of the rare bright spots in the dual match, however, came from Peterkin, who beat unranked John McDonald by an embarrassing 17-0 tally, and Scott Giffin, who upset No. 17 Alex Caruso, winning by a score of 7-5.

Giffin's unexpected win gave the Quakers some hope, tying the match at 12 before the Mountain Hawks rattled off three straight victories to win by 12.

Grajales, still smarting from his overtime loss to Penn State's Jenkins, fell again, this time to No. 15 Trevor Chinn, by an identical 3-1 margin.

But Eiter is not worried about his star senior's pint-sized losing streak, especially considering both loses were to ranked wrestlers.

"It's going to be even more of a motivation to train even harder," the first-year coach said.

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