Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/78639
HULK SMASH Molinaro has over- powered opponents in the 149-pound weight class, com- piling a 25-0 record this season, includ- ing a 14-0 mark in Big Ten dual meets. His nickname – Gorilla Hulk – is a reflection of his wrestling style. He has "a pretty good combination of strength and pow- er," Sanderson said. Tim Owen NCAA tournament. He breezed into the final at 149, where he met Cornell's Kyle Dake, who rode him for 6 min- utes, 17 seconds of a 7-minute match. Or so he's been told. Molinaro said he remembers nothing from the loss. He's never watched it, and he said he never will. He bounced back by doing what comes naturally to him – competing. He was working out at Tess Fitness in South Jersey when someone saw him dead lifting 535 pounds and suggest- ed that with a little work, he could break the state record. Molinaro went home and looked it up. "And I was like, 'Oh, wow, I can.' May as well." He competed in the New Jersey State Bench Press and Power- lifting Championships and Pennsylva- nia's Keystone Games, and he won both competitions. He also bulked up. By the time he 14 M A R C H 2 3 , 2 0 1 2 FRANK MOLINARO BY THE NUMBERS OVERALL YR 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 TOTAL RECORD 23-19 33-7 32-3 25-0 113-29 RECORD 9-12 17-3 15-0 14-0 DUAL 55-15 BIG TEN RECORD 3-5 6-2 8-0 8-0 25-7 certified for this season, he had lost 2 percent of his body fat and gained five or six pounds from last season. "Which probably wasn't the smartest idea," Molinaro said, "looking back on it now." Molinaro struggled to maintain 141 naro's weight – and performance – has been consistent since. Now, with the extra muscle, Molinaro REC. (B10, NCAA) TOURNAMENT FALLS TECH. MAJOR FALLS DEC. 58-14 (6-5, 12-6) 14-7 (1-3, 4-3) 40 5 16-4 (2-2, 4-2) 11 12 17-3 (3-0, 4-1) 33 10 11-0 (0-0, 0-0) 35 9 11 9 can't indulge in "cheat meals" during the week anymore. He still treats himself every Sunday to his favorite meal at Texas Roadhouse – 8-ounce steak, baked potato, Caesar salad, a couple of boneless chicken wings. The rest of the week, however, it's yo- 36 pounds as a redshirt freshman. (When Sanderson arrived, he couldn't figure out at first how someone with 19 loss- es was an All-American, until he real- ized that Molinaro wasn't cutting weight correctly.) But Sanderson moved him to 149 pounds, and Moli- gurt and peanut-butter-and-jelly. (He joked that when he invited friends over to watch Davis' UFC match, he served ice chips.) "It's gonna pay off in the end, though," Molinaro said. "Especially when it comes to that finals day. I'm gonna weigh in seven hours before, and I'm gonna feel my size at the tour- nament. I'm gonna feel bigger and stronger." And, he hopes, feel the weight of an NCAA gold medal around his neck. W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M