Sanderson, Lions drop debut to Hawks

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Guy Cipriano - gciprian@centredaily.com

BETHLEHEM — His studs earned victories. Some of his unknowns showed fight. His presence attracted a large crowd.

But in the end, Cael Sanderson’s first evening as Penn State wrestling coach ended with an unfamiliar result.

For the CDT/Matt Smith

Penn State’s David Erwin tries to break free from Lehigh’s Robert Hamlin during their 174-pound bout on Friday at Lehigh’s Stabler Arena. Hamlin defeated Erwin 17-8 as the Mountain Hawks rolled to a 23-14 victory.

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For one of the few times in his career, Sanderson left a gym pondering a loss as the Nittany Lions fell to Lehigh 23-14 Friday at Stabler Arena. The Mountain Hawks (2-0) captured the final four bouts to temper some of the excitement surrounding Sanderson’s arrival at Penn State.

Sanderson’s presence helped attract 5,254 fans to a mid-November dual meet staged on the first night of the high school football playoffs. The crowd marked the second largest wrestling turnout in Stabler Arena’s history.

Many of those eyes were focused on Sanderson, who went 159-0 as a competitor at Iowa State. As the Cyclones’ head coach, Sanderson lost 10 dual meets in three years.

“You don’t get many opportunities to wrestle a dual meet like this,” Sanderson said. “You have to go out there and take advantage of it. Some of the guys did. Some of them didn’t. It was definitely an opportunity we will learn from. I hate to lose. I hope they hate to lose. I hope they are feeling pretty terrible right now.”

Sanderson’s new team felt fine after the first six bouts. Dan Vallimont’s 5-2 victory over Mike Galante in a meeting of two ranked wrestlers at 165 gave Penn State (0-1) a 14-10 lead.

The match unraveled at 174, when Lehigh freshman Robert Hamlin scored nine first-period points en route to a 17-8 victory over fifth-year senior David Erwin. Hamlin allowed a takedown 45 seconds into the bout, but recovered to take Erwin down twice during the period. Hamlin added three points on a tilt that ignited the Lehigh’s rowdy fans.

“He’s a buzz saw,” Lehigh coach Pat Santoro said of Hamlin. “He keeps coming. That’s the way he trains. He’s trying to score 20 points every match.”

Hamlin’s victory tied the meet 14-14 and left Penn State in a precarious position.

“That was a huge match,” Sanderson said. “It’s not so much losing. It’s the way you lose. If you lose a match when it looks like you’re not fighting, that’s a lot worse than just going out there and getting crushed in a match. That’s rough.”

The victory gave the Mountain Hawks momentum.

Justin Ortega moved up from 174 and dropped a 3-1 decision to David Craig at 184. Clay Steadman then dropped a 4-2 decision to Joe Kennedy at 197. Craig and Kennedy went a combined 47-18 last season while Ortega redshirted and Steadman went 5-16. Zach Rey’s 5-2 victory over Cameron Wade at heavyweight secured the dual meet victory for the Mountain Hawks, who defeated Penn State in consecutive duals for the first time since winning four straight from 1978-81.

“I think at times both teams were tentative and at times guys were more tentative than they should have been,” Santoro said. “It was a great test early on. That’s why we schedule the schedule we have early on to get ready for March.”

Penn State’s four best wrestlers appear primed for postseason runs.

Brad Pataky opened the season by majoring John McDonald 14-4 at 125. Pataky took McDonald down six times. Lehigh’s Matt Fisk then majored Tyler Saltsman 14-1 at 133. The Mountain Hawks received another convincing victory as Seth Ciasulli turned Adam Lynch with a half-nelson to produce a first-period pin at 141.

Frank Molinaro, Cyler Sanderson and Vallimont helped Penn State build a lead with methodical victories. In his debut at 149, Molinaro, an All-American at 141 last season, took Brian Tanen down five times in a 12-3 major.

“I wrestled hard the whole match and I still had a lot of energy,” Molinaro said. “I wish the team would have done a lot better. That leaves a sour taste in my mouth.”

Cyler, who spent four years at Iowa State, defeated Sean Bilodeau 5-2 in his Nittany Lion debut at 157. Vallimont followed Cyler’s victory by taking down the 12th-ranked Galante down three times.

“It was bittersweet,” Vallimont said. “I got a win for myself, which is always good for confidence. But the team losing to our rival is always going to be sour. It’s something we have to put behind us. We can’t dwell on this.”

Neither Vallimont nor Molinaro said the crowd had much impact on their individual approaches toward Friday. But other wrestlers had to notice the thuds and noise.

Lines of traffic started trickling into the Stabler Arena parking lot when the gates opened at 6 p.m. Some fans even tailgated before entering the arena. Once inside, they were entertained not only by two top-20 teams, but a pep band featuring multiple electrical guitarists.

“The crowd was great,” said Sanderson, whose team faces Bloomsburg on Sunday at Rec Hall. “The people were great. They appreciate good wrestling and that’s what they came here to see. I think this dual meet will only get better as the years move along here.”