Blue White Illustrated

And so far it���s working for him. For his last go-round, Wright bumped up to 197 pounds and has been performing at a more consistent level during the regular season than he has since arriving at Penn State. His pin against Pittsburgh���s Matt Wilps on Feb. 8 was the 35th of his career, putting him in second place on Penn State���s all-time list. Wilps, who at the time was ranked No. 2 in the country, had pinned Wright during an exhibition bout in November. This time, Wright returned the favor with a fall of his own in 2 minutes, 34 seconds. ���It���s time to go out big, you could say,��� Wright said. ���There���s no other opportunity or chances. This is the last moment to make the most of opportunity. When you���re done, leave nothing behind.��� Wright is scheduled to wrestle his final dual meet in Rec Hall against Rider on Feb. 17. That is the secondto-last regular-season dual meet of the year. Then the postseason begins, which is Wright���s favorite. Historically, that���s when Wright competes at his best. In all three postseasons that he���s competed in, he���s garnered All-America honors, becoming the 20th three-time All-American in program history. He has only ever lost two bouts at the Big Ten tournament, and heading into the 2013 postseason, he ranks 15th all-time in NCAA tournament victories with 13. He���s looking to add to that number this March, and cap it with a second national title. He���s talked about the sense of urgency, the pressure that he���s put on himself to finish his career at the top of the podium. But he���s also quick to point out that he wants to enjoy the ride, too. ���I think he���s mature enough now where he���s going to put pressure on himself, but he won���t put undue pressure on himself,��� Pighetti said. ���He knows what he has to do. It seems like his life is coming together ��� just getting married and everything else. He is ready to move and get that national title again and do what he has to do.��� PSU pushes through toughest part of regular-season schedule The most difficult portion of topranked Penn State���s regular-season schedule has been completed. In addition to its dual meet at No. 2 Iowa, which drew more than 15,000 fans to Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Penn State wrestled No. 13 Nebraska, No. 10 Illinois, No. 15 Pittsburgh and No. 6 Ohio State within a three-week span. While the Nittany Lions earned valuable match experience for the postseason, which begins with the Big Ten Championships on March 9, they didn���t escape the gauntlet unscathed. D. ALTON Penn State picked up an easy 33-9 victory against Nebraska on Jan. 27 before falling to the Hawkeyes, 22-16, in Iowa City on Feb. 1. The Lions rebounded with a 37-0 shutout victory against Illinois the following Sunday and topped Pitt, 31-7, on Feb. 8. The Buckeyes proved to be quite the test in Columbus on Feb. 10. Ohio State jumped out to a 15-4 lead after the first four bouts, before Penn State stormed back for the 29-18 victory, winning five of the last six bouts. ���We knew coming in that it was going to be hard,��� associate head coach Cody Sanderson told Penn State announcer Jeff Byers after the meet. ���We knew coming in that they had some of the best guys in the country.��� After a one-month suspension stemming from a Dec. 22 alterca- tion near their hometown of Mill Hall, Pa., brothers Andrew and Dylan Alton returned to their starting posts at 149 and 157 pounds, respectively, for the dual meet against the Cornhuskers. Dylan���s return to the mat was a success, as he picked up a 3-1 decision over then-No. 4 James Green before earning victories in each of the next four meets. But Andrew has struggled to regain his stride. He was pinned by Nebraska���s No. 11 Jake Sueflohn in 5 minutes, 33 seconds in his return to action. He picked up a major decision during Penn State���s loss to Iowa and a decision at Illinois, but he didn���t appear to be at his best during either performance. The following week at Ohio State, Alton, who was ranked No. 8 going into the bout, fell to Ohio State���s 19thranked Cam Tessari, 3-1. ���Andrew is going to get better each match,��� Cael Sanderson said. ���He didn���t have a very good match [against Nebraska.] He bounced back from a tough loss. Not even the loss, it was a tough performance. He���s a guy who is super talented. It���s just a matter of getting things straightened out for him, and that���s going to happen a little bit each week.��� The Nittany Lions wrap up their dual meet season at home against Rider on Feb. 17 before traveling to Rutgers to the cap season on Feb. 24. Frank Molinaro, a former Nittany Lions national champion and four-time All-American, is an assistant coach with the Scarlet Knights. - TIM OWEN

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