IN THE NICK OF TIME
Suriano headlines a group of high-impact Nittany Lion newcomers
G
iven the vote of confidence that
came from head coach Cael Sander-
son, it's only fitting to lead this off
with a tale about true freshman 125-
pounder Nick Suriano.
Suriano was perfect in high school,
winning all 159 of his matches for Bergen
Catholic, including four New Jersey state
championships. He was the best light-
weight prospect in the country and
everything was awesome.
Then he arrived at Penn State. Enrolling
this past summer for six weeks of classes
and to begin training against not only his
varsity teammates but also the resident
athletes of the club team, Suriano learned
almost immediately that the skills that
had helped him complete high school un-
scathed would barely be enough to get
him through an off-season workout in
college.
"Guys were coming at me, trying to take
me down," he said. "They really didn't
care who I was. There were some changes.
It was a bit of an adjustment. Morning
lifts two, three times per week – I wasn't
used to that. But this is the life of a war-
W R E S T L I N G
|
READY FOR ACTION
Penn State's new
starter at 125, Suriano
has impressed the
coaching staff with his
work habits. Photo by
Mark Selders/ Penn
State Athletics
