Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/78639
W R E S T L I N G OF HIS LIFE THE RIDE Frank Molinaro has a talent for staying on top. With one last NCAA tournament approaching, he's looking to finish there B 12 L O R I S H O N T Z | B L U E W H I T E C O N T R I B U T O R ack in the day, when Frank Molinaro was a little kid, every- one called him Meatball, be- cause he was short. Or Ter- mite. Because, Molinaro said, "They said I used to go out there and pick everyone apart." These days – now that he's pound- for-pound Penn State's strongest wrestler, winner of a couple of off-sea- son powerlifting competitions for which he barely trained, someone who consistently racks up three or more minutes of riding time in a match – Molinaro answers to a differ- ent nickname. Gorilla Hulk. Coolest nickname on the team? "It depends on whether he gave it to himself," coach Cael Sanderson said. "If you give yourself a nickname, it's not good." Assured that the moniker came from Flowrestling's Cliff Fretwell, who M A R C H 2 3 , 2 0 1 2 bestowed it after watching Molinaro lift his opponent into the air five times in one match during the 2010 Southern Scuffle, Sanderson said it fits. "I can see that," he said. "That's a pretty good combination of strength and power." Which are, indeed, the attributes Molinaro has used en route to a No. 1 ranking and a 25-0 record at 149 pounds entering the postseason. Even though opponents know it's coming, no one has stopped Molinaro's signa- ture takedown, a high crotch to a dou- ble-leg, and once an opponent is trapped on the mat, there's very little chance he's getting out from under the Gorilla Hulk. "It's kind of a part of my character now," Molinaro said. "Just strong. Just a big, muscular guy. I'm trying to wres- tle like my nickname, I guess." More important, Molinaro is trying to capture the one honor that has W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M