Wrestling | Show me All-American

In a sport predicated on individual accomplishments, 11th-ranked 149-pounder Cesar Grajales and the No. 24 Penn wrestling team (12-7, 6-3 EIWA) understand the importance of unity.

Grajales sees ardent support from fellow Penn grapplers as a major factor to being successful at this weekend's NCAA Tournament, which runs today through Saturday at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

"It definitely feels good to have your teammates behind you," he said. "We've had a pretty good bond this year."

And when's a better time to bond than at the toughest competition a collegiate wrestler can hope to face?

The Red and Blue wrestled through a beefed-up schedule this season - they faced nine currently-ranked teams - but little can prepare them for the kind of squads that generally make the NCAAs their stomping grounds.

Teams like Iowa, Oklahoma State and Minnesota routinely carve up the competition at the NCAAs, proving that there is still a vast divide between best and second best.

Still, the Red and Blue feel like their matches against a revamped EIWA, which features its own powerhouse in No. 2 Cornell, has readied them for the tests that are in their near future.

The EIWA is "arguably the second- or third-toughest conference in the NCAA," senior 141-pound wrestler Rick Rappo said. "Wrestling that type of competition really prepares you."

Despite only having one seeded grappler - No. 9 Rollie Peterkin is seeded eighth at 125 pounds - Penn is bringing some swagger to the Show Me state to go along with its undeniable camaraderie.

For Rappo and the two other Penn wrestlers for whom this will be the last dance, it's the swagger of men with nothing to lose.

None of those three seniors - Rappo, 157-pounder Matt Dragon and heavyweight Trey McLean - has placed in the top eight at nationals.

And nothing would be sweeter than doing just that in their last chance.

This is especially true for Rappo and McLean, who are both playing with house money after earning at-large bids.

If they earn All-American status, great. If not, well, Rappo's not too worried about that.

"I think I got just as good a shot as anyone else," he said.

He may well have an equal chance in his weightclass, but among the Quakers, the most likely place-finisher is Peterkin, who was a win away from All-American status last year.

The native of Wellesley, Mass., has maintained a high ranking throughout the year and has performed well against top-quality opponents.

This includes his two narrow losses to No. 2 Troy Nickerson of Cornell, as well as wins over opponents from Kent State and Hofstra who are either currently or formerly ranked.

The Red and Blue can't expect any different when they head to St. Louis.

And they don't.

"We're all prepared to wrestle a tough match each round," Grajales said. "There's no easy matches here."

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