Penn State has jumped out to victories in its first eight dual meets of the season and picked up its fourth Big Ten win over the weekend with a 26-11 outcome at Iowa. On the outside, it appears to be smooth sailing for the defending national champions once again.
But inside the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex, difficult decisions are still being contemplated as head coach Cael Sanderson continues working toward a final postseason roster.
Penn State sent shockwaves across the college wrestling world Friday with its latest lineup change. That's when the coaching staff removed the redshirt of true freshman Mark Hall in order for him to make his official debut in Carver-Hawkeye Arena in front of more than 14,000 fans.
With the decision coming just a couple days before the match, after Hall won a wrestle-off against previous 174-pound starter Geno Morelli, Sanderson said it was a tough call to make, but one that was ultimately decided by the wrestler himself.
"Mark is a team player," Sanderson said. "He thinks he can help the team. It was also a tough decision, a tough decision for him."
It was arguably tougher, however, for Hall to sit and watch.
The No. 1 high school recruit in the country one year ago, Hall is a six-time Minnesota state champion and an accomplished grappler on the international level. He was used to participating. After traveling with the team for matches earlier in the season, he soon decided that he was ready to give it a shot.
"For the most part as a freshman you're supposed to redshirt, so that's kind of what I was thinking" at the beginning of the season, Hall said. "I'm usually not as conventional as how things are run, so I got pretty excited pretty quick and I just wanted to get out there and do what I can instead of waiting."
In his first match, however, Hall fell to Iowa's Alex Meyer, 7-5. It didn't make the coaches second-guess the choice to put Hall into the lineup in January, with fewer than two months until the post-season, but it didn't make things any easier.
"What's not tough about it?," Sanderson said. "It's late in the year. He was planning on to redshirt, but I'm excited about it, that we have Mark Hall in our lineup now. I'm excited about the next month and half in nationals and seeing a big jump between now and then."
With Cortez out for the year, 133-pound starter to be determined
Jered Cortez (133) walked into the LWC Wednesday afternoon with his arm in a sling. Sanderson confirmed that he had surgery and any chance of a return this season for the sophom*ore has been greatly diminished.
What he did not confirm, however, was whether Cortez's injury factored into Hall breaking into the lineup in order to boost the Nittany Lions' scoring potential in the post-season tournaments.
"It didn't really play into it," Sanderson said, before later adding, "As a coach you're always thinking, what's your best team? Do we have enough points to win, or not win? So we've talked about it, but the kids have to be ready to reach their goals. It's a team sport, but these guys compete out there as individuals and they have to take care of their own business."
Without Cortez in the lineup, sophom*ore George Carpenter has taken over as the 133-pound starter. Although he's tallied only one win in replacement, he fought hard in all matches, including against Iowa's Cory Clark in order to avoid a fall. Going forward, Sanderson is now faced with the option of having Carpenter maintain his post or having a wrestle-off against redshirt freshman Triston Law, who has recently dropped to 133 from 141.
"(Carpenter) saved the team a point, he wrestled hard and is a great story," Sanderson said. "We also have Triston Law, who got his weight down and will be looking to compete as well. We'll play with that over the next couple weeks and let these guys figure out who our best guy is there."
Anthony Cassar nearing return
In his first season competing at 197, starter Matt McCutcheon has wrestled strong to a 10-2 record and is the current option for Penn State as it embarks upon the last portion of its season.
The junior has battled with grit for each of his 10 wins, including earning 1-point victories in his last two bouts. But could McCutcheon have to fend off a competitor on his own team in order to maintain his spot for the postseason? The possibility exists.
Anthony Cassar said he's nearing a return after battling a shoulder injury for multiple years. He said Wednesday that the "shoulder is feeling real good," but he's still waiting on clearance from the team doctor.
"I'm getting close to full-go in the room," Cassar said. "We just want to make sure it's the right time to jump in, not jump in too early with situation (being) high risk. I'm just taking it slow, taking it day by day, but everything is feeling good. No problems."
Cassar said his goal has been to get healthy enough to wrestle off against McCutcheon before the season grows too old. "If not," Cassar said, "we're also looking at other options to see what's in the best interest of the team and my health."
Applying for a medical hardship waiver for an additional year of eligibility is one of those options.
Cassar currently is considered a redshirt sophom*ore after withdrawing from school last year due to personal reasons as he recovered from injury, thus costing him his freshman season of eligibility.
He redshirted during the 2014-15 season and wrestled to a 12-6 record in open tournaments. Since then, he suffered two injuries to the same shoulder wrestling in freestyle competition, the first of which sidelined him for his redshirt freshman season. The latest setback occurred last May at the World Team Trials, which required another surgery.
Now he approaches a full recovery and he's re-enrolled, studying psychology at University Park. And that creates another tough lineup decision for Sanderson as the postseason draws near.
"He's really good," Sanderson said of Cassar. "He's been off the mat for a couple years, but he's a big strong kid, so that's another decision we're going to have to make, whether the doctors clear him to actually compete or not. He's going full for the most part with some caution. Full-speed with caution, so that's something that'll play out over the next couple weeks. I don't really have an answer for you right now either because he's a guy who could be eligible for a sixth year, so that's a decision that we'll have to make. As long as Matt's going out there and scoring points and doing what he's been doing then obviously Cassar can relax a little bit and as a staff and team we can relax a little bit."
