Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/752868
LAST WORD T I M O W E N | O W E N . T I M . B W I @ G M A I L . C O M he Lorenzo Wrestling Complex is under construction. The entrance that normally leads to the wrestling room, a sloped hallway with a wall hon- oring Penn State's All-Americans, is now barricaded. Visitors are rerouted to a side door of Rec Hall. It's all part of a facilities upgrade. Yes, Penn State wrestling has joined the race. It's not as excessive as the con- struction projects that are increasingly common in college football. With a new "recovery room," complete with hot and cold tubs, serving as the centerpiece, Penn State is simply looking to keep pace with its recruiting foes. When it's complete, the wrestlers won't have to trek across campus in the winter to use the football team's room. Although the LWC has a slightly different look this preseason, it's going to be a good thing soon. It's not a completely different theme from the one shrouding the Nittany Lions' wrestling roster itself. On the other side of those closed doors are many new faces. Gone are three of the core members of the past five Penn State teams: national champion Nico Megaludis and All-Americans Jordan Conaway and Morgan McIntosh. Taking their spots at 125, 133 and 197 pounds are two first-year starters – a true freshman and a sophomore trans- fer – along with junior Matt Mc- Cutcheon, who is moving from 184 to 197. Added to the mix is a redshirt freshman at 165. With more than half of his team's starting lineup seeing a shakeup from last season, head coach Cael Sanderson acknowledged how the new-look lineup presents a different set of chal- lenges for him and his coaches. The turnover "keeps you on your toes," he said. What helps, though, is that the Lions have a couple of upperclassmen who can help lead the way. Any good project manager, you know, has a strong foreman. Sanderson has that in returning 149- pound NCAA champion Zain Rether- ford, a junior. In fact, that's what Retherford was recruited for. "I haven't had a leader who has done what he's done for a program," Sander- son said. "That's part of the reason why we redshirted him [in 2014-15], to give him a chance to lead this next wave, and that's what he's doing." Not to be overlooked in Sanderson's media day comments, however, were those about Jimmy Gulibon (141) and the desire for him to step into a larger role. While Retherford's presence is im- possible to ignore, an invigoration of Gulibon's career in his final year of eli- gibility could be what fuels this team most. Having claimed All-America honors at 133 as a sophomore, Gulibon was beat out before the medal rounds last year in New York, competing at 141. He returns for his last year of eligibility as possibly the only senior who will be in Penn State's starting lineup. But his age and experience aren't the only reasons why his post on this year's team is of great significance. A resurgent Gulibon could help set a tone for a youthful starting lineup that is largely devoid of experience. Renewed confidence could become infectious; at least that's what the coaches are proba- bly hoping for. "He is a fifth-year senior who has had some huge wins in his career and who has the capability of making a huge difference for us as a team, just with his attitude alone," Sanderson said. "We know what we are going to get out of most of the guys on our team, but Jimmy is a guy who really has an opportunity to show what he can do." It's not as if these newcomers need any more motivation. Nick Suriano (125) might be one of the more driven freshmen you'll meet; Jered Cortez (133) and Vincenzo Joseph (165) didn't lose a match during their redshirt sea- son. But that's not to say that a tri- umphant final stand from a four-time Pennsylvania high school champion such as Gulibon couldn't be a rallying cry for those who still have the better parts of their career left to wrestle in a Penn State singlet. The fans would def- initely love it. Gulibon doesn't plan to put any added pressure on himself. He's not trying to think about the fact that this will be his last season or that he might be the only senior in the starting lineup. He consid- ers himself more of a lead-by-example type of person, so this year he's looking to do just that. "I'm a lot more relaxed than I was a year ago," Gulibon said. "I mean, last year I had a little bit of difficulty with a few things. This year I'm just not trying to think about stuff like that. ... I feel a lot better. I think I adjusted to the weight pretty well this past off-season. I feel good." Gulibon feeling good, Zain being Zain – those are good things for a Penn State wrestling team that has only a few other seniors on the roster. The Nittany Lions' lineup is undergoing some renovations, so it needs its mainstays to be at their best. ■ Building boom T