State College grad Cole Urbas set to make collegiate dual debut for Penn wrestling against Penn State
For more than a decade, 2019 State College graduate Cole Urbas has been coming to Rec Hall, cheering on the Nittany Lion wrestling team from the stands with his family.
But on Sunday, he’ll get to experience a Rec Hall wrestling match from a different perspective — on the mat.
The former Little Lions wrestler will be making his collegiate dual meet debut at 197 pounds for the University of Pennsylvania in the 2 p.m. Sunday dual with Penn State.
“Growing up with season tickets for over 10 years, I always rooted for Penn State,” Urbas said, “so I envisioned myself on that side, so it will be different to be on the other team. I’m really excited to be part of it and the opportunity.”
Urbas is in his true freshman season with the Quakers, arriving on campus in July, immediately following his second-place finish at the U.S. Marine Corps/USA Wrestling Junior freestyle national championships in Fargo, N.D. So far this season, he’s competed in two tournaments and has a 5-3 record.
Penn State’s dual against Penn on Sunday will be the first of the season for the Quakers and for Urbas. He knew this was a moment he needed to be a part of since the home-and-home series between the two teams was announced Sept. 4.
“I definitely wanted to be in the lineup for this dual,” Urbas said, “because I don’t know when else I’ll get a chance (to wrestle) in front of this crowd in my hometown. It’s my first dual as a college wrestler, so it’s an opportunity I had to take.”
Penn coach Roger Reina also had an idea Urbas would be in the lineup, too. After all, his squad is very young with only two seniors set as probable starters in his lineup on Sunday.
“We felt he would definitely challenge for the spot,” said Reina, when asked if the staff saw Urbas in the lineup as a freshman. “We had a freshman in Greg Bensley, who had won the spot last year. Greg and Cole have been battling for that spot. Cole has won the early wrestle-offs, so we felt he’d be in the hunt for it.”
Despite their youth, Penn has had recent success on the recruiting trail, bringing in FloWrestling’s No. 14-ranked recruiting class in 2019, a class that included Urbas, 125-pound Keystone Classic champ Michael Colaiocco and 149-pounder Lucas Revano. Even Penn State coach Cael Sanderson has taken note of the program the Quakers are building.
“I’d say they’re definitely an up-and-coming program,” Sanderson said. “They’ve got a lot of support, a lot of good young kids, and a lot of passionate supporters that want to see them be successful. They have some great young recruits and one from State College, so they got some good kids. It should be a fun match.”
Sanderson went on to say that they were aware of Urbas’ talent in high school, but he mentioned that recruiting “is all about timing.” He said at the time, with only 9.9 scholarships, they couldn’t get “in the mix” with Urbas with Nittany Lion freshman Michael Beard already committed to the program at 197 pounds.
But it didn’t stop Sanderson from speaking highly of Urbas.
“We know him fairly well. He’s really good, and comes from a really great family,” Sanderson said. “He’s tough on top, so he’ll be a great competitor.”
The idea of Urbas returning to the area to compete in college has created quite the buzz in State College’s program. Urbas, however, isn’t too nervous, he’s just excited.
Based on conversations he’s had with friends, family members and former teammates, he estimates that roughly 20-25 people are coming to Sunday’s match to cheer him on. However, it’s safe to say he’ll probably have even more supporters than that.
Urbas’ parents, Ed and Jennifer Urbas, say they’re are nervous for their son’s dual meet debut at Penn State. But for former coach Ryan Cummings, who is coaching Urbas’ younger brother Lance, it’s “awesome.”
“Everybody is excited about it,” Cummings said. “The kids are pumped up, being their former teammate and getting to watch him. I’m sure the boosters are, especially with Ed being president, that helps. The coaches are excited about it, too, because it’s one of your kids who you put a lot of time into.”
Much like Urbas was a difference-maker for the Little Lions, he’s so far continued that trend for the Quakers.
In the Keystone Classic, Urbas went 4-1 and finished third. His lone loss was 4-3 in the semifinals to Virginia’s Jay Aiello, who is ranked seventh by InterMat. However, Urbas put up a good fight, scoring the first points of the match, and leading 3-2 after two periods of wrestling.
The freshman went on to wrestle his way back through the consolations for that third-place finish. In that third-place match, Urbas was nearly pinned in the first period, but escaped and trailed 6-3. He battled his way back and pinned his opponent with two seconds remaining in the match.
“It was a really gutsy come-from-behind performance, which was the match that won us the tournament,” Reina said. “The team really rallied behind him and the crowd rallied behind. It was a big moment for our program and for Cole.”
Just as he is excelling on the mat, Urbas is excelling in the classroom too. He was accepted into the Wharton School of Business, which is considered one of the top business schools in the country.
So far, Urbas said academics have been the toughest part of the transition to college. However, taking classes this summer helped ease that transition, he said.
“The adjustment with my academics was definitely harder than the adjustment to wrestling,” Urbas said. “It is a very different system for the studying, homework and tests. I’ve got used to, but starting over the summer helped for sure. Now that I’m in the groove and in season, I have a system.”
No. 3 Penn State (1-1) at No. 13 Lehigh (1-2)
When: 7 p.m., Friday
Where: Stabler Arena, Bethlehem
Radio: WRSC 93.3 FM
Online: BTN+ (paid subscription)
| Nittany Lions | vs. | Mountain Hawks |
| 125: Brody Teske (5-2) OR Devin Schnupp (1-2) | vs. | No. 11 Brandon Paetzell (4-2) |
| 133: No. 4 Roman Bravo-Young (5-0) | vs. | No. 17 Nick Farro (4-3) OR Jaret Lane (5-1) |
| 141: No. 3 Nick Lee (6-0) | vs. | Ryan Pomrinca (6-3) |
| 149: Luke Gardner (3-1) OR Jarod Verkleeren (4-1) | vs. | Jimmy Hoffman (6-3) |
| 157: No. 6 Brady Berge (0-0) OR Bo Pipher (4-3) | vs. | No. 13 Josh Humphreys (5-3) |
| 165: No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph (2-0) | vs. | Brian Meyer (2-7) |
| 174: No. 1 Mark Hall (5-0) | vs. | No. 2 Jordan Kutler (7-0) |
| 184: No. 2 Shakur Rasheed (0-0) OR Creighton Edsell (3-2) | vs. | Chris Weiler (6-4) |
| 197: No. 20 Kyle Conel (2-2) | vs. | No. 15 Jake Jakobsen (4-4) |
| 285: No. 1 Anthony Cassar (2-0) | vs. | No. 10 Jordan Wood (5-2) |
Penn (0-0) at No. 3 Penn State (1-1)
When: 2 p.m., Sunday
Where: Rec Hall
Radio: WRSC 93.3 FM
Online: BTN+ (paid subscription), Flowrestling.com (paid subscription)
| Nittany Lions | vs. | Quakers |
| 125: Brody Teske (5-2) OR Devin Schnupp (1-2) | vs. | No. 10 Michael Colaiocco (7-2) |
| 133: No. 4 Roman Bravo-Young (5-0) | vs. | Carmen Ferrante (3-3) |
| 141: No. 3 Nick Lee (6-0) | vs. | Doug Zapf (6-2) OR AJ Vindici (3-3) |
| 149: Luke Gardner (3-1) OR Jarod Verkleeren (4-1) | vs. | Grant Aronoff (5-4) OR Lucas Revano (2-4) |
| 157: No. 6 Brady Berge (0-0) OR Bo Pipher (4-3) | vs. | No. 10 Anthony Artalona (9-2) |
| 165: No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph (2-0) | vs. | Jake Lizak (5-4) |
| 174: No. 1 Mark Hall (5-0) | vs. | Neil Antrassian (4-5) |
| 184: No. 2 Shakur Rasheed (0-0) OR Creighton Edsell (3-2) | vs. | Jesse Quatse(5-3) |
| 197: No. 20 Kyle Conel (2-2) | vs. | Cole Urbas (5-3) |
| 285: No. 1 Anthony Cassar (2-0) | vs. | Joey Slackman (2-3) OR Ben Goldin (6-4) |
This story was originally published December 5, 2019 at 9:07 PM.
