Leading the way is a quartet of the nations finest, each of whom was ranked as one of the top high school wrestlers in the country at their respective weight classes. Alphabetically, high school standouts Jesse "Bubba" Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va.), Dave Rella (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio), Josh Rohler (Akron, Ohio) and Garrett Scott (Alexandria, Pa.) all signed national letters of intent to attend Penn State earlier this year and have helped establish this recruiting class as one to rival last year's class.
Jenkins, a native of Virginia Beach and a student at First Colonial High School, was the top-ranked 145-pound wrestler in the country according to Amateur Wrestling News and Intermat and projects at 149 for Penn State. A Virginia State high school champion, Jenkins was voted Outstanding Wrestler at the 2005 Beast of the East Championships. He won the 2006 NHSCA National Championship, dominating the tournament and winning the crown with a pin in the second period of the finals.
Rella, who projects at 165 for Penn State, entered this season as the defending Ohio State Champion at Walsh Jesuit High School in Cleveland, Ohio. The 2005 Junior National Freestyle runner-up, he was a Junior National All-American. Rella was also runner-up at the FILA Junior National Freestyle Championships and is a two-time Powerade Champion and an Ironman Champion. This past year, Rella claimed yet another Ohio state title and won the 2006 High School National Championship as well.
Rohler, who projects at 157 for Penn State, was the 2005 Ohio Division II third place finisher also placed third in the 2005 Beast of the East Championships. Rohler was the 2004 Ironman runner-up and an Ohio State runner-up in 2004. Rohler also is a two-time Cadet National All-American. Rohler finished second at the 2005 Ohio State Championships and was the Bronze Medal winner at the 2006 High School National Championships.
Scott, who projects at 141 for the Nittany Lions, was a three-time Pennsylvania AA State Champion at Juniata Valley High School. Scott was the 2005 FILA Junior National Freestyle eighth-place finisher and the 2004 Cadet National Greco runner-up. He won the Cadet Freestyle National title in 2002 and 2003 and was National Greco runner-up both those years as well.
Joining this quartet are, alphabetically, Nathan Andrews (Spring Mills, Pa.), Eric Burnett (Uniondale, N.Y.), Eric Caschera (South Williamsport, Pa.), Mike Eagan (Wharton, N.J.), Mike Farina (Denville, N.J.), Christian Harr (Hollidaysburg, Pa.), John Laboranti (Scranton, Pa.), Michael Lorenzo (Bellefonte, Pa.) and A.J. Papa (Allentown, Pa.).
"We feel these wrestlers bring a lot of untapped potential and a desire to be part of something great at Penn State," Sunderland said. "They will help to solidify our needs at different weight classes, this is something we wanted to address with this class."
Andrews projects as a heavyweight for Penn State. He was a Pennsylvania state qualifier for nearby Penns Valley High School. Burnett projects at 197 for the Nittany Lions and is coming off a second place finish at the 2006 New York state championships. He was sixth as a junior. Burnett wrestled for Uniondale High School. Caschera recently finished fourth at the 2006 PIAA championships, wrestling for South Williamsport High School. He projects at 125 for Penn State.
Eagan recently completed his senior year at Morris Knolls High School, where he finished seventh this past season and was a three-time state qualifier. Eagan projects at 141 for Penn State. Farina was a high school teammate of Eagan and is the younger brother of Nittany Lion heavyweight Joe Farina. Farina, who projects at 157, was also a state qualifier for Morris Knolls. Harr, who wrestled at nearby Hollidaysburg High School, projects at 149 for Sunderland and the Nittany Lions.
Laboranti is a heavyweight and a transfer from Virginia Tech. A sophomore, he went 8-8 for the Hokies last season. A Pittston High School grad, he placed third and eighth at states, finished second at FILA Junior Nationals last year, and was a four-time Junior Nationals All-American. Lorenzo, another local product from Bellefonte High School, projects at 157 for Penn State and was a PIAA regional qualifier. Papa, an Allentown native who is wrapping up his high school days at Parkland High School, projects at 165 for Penn State and was a PIAA state qualifier.
"Overall, we're very excited to bring this group of young men to campus," Sunderland said. "We're very pleased to have a recruiting class of this caliber coming off last year's class. I'm thankful for the time and efforts of my coaching staff for attracting and landing these wrestlers. Recruiting student-athletes of this caliber is very competitive and with the combined effort of the entire University community, we were able to attract this outstanding class. We are grateful to everyone across campus who helped us this year."
Penn State is coming off an outstanding 2005-06 season, notching a ninth place finish at the 2006 NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City, crowning three All-Americans with one national finalist. Sunderland's Nittany Lions went 13-4 in dual matches, including a 5-3 mark in Big Ten action. The Lions crowned one Big Ten Champion and placed fourth at the Big Ten Championships with eight national qualifiers.
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