St. Louis, Mo., March 19, 2004 ¨C The Penn State wrestling team hadn¡¯t had an NCAA finalist since the championships were held in St. Louis in 2000. Friday night in the ¡°Gateway City,¡± Penn State broke the drought as senior All-Americans Josh Moore and Pat Cummins each advanced to Saturday¡¯s final round at the 2004 NCAA Wrestling Championships in St. Louis, Mo.

Jeremy Hunter was the last Nittany Lion to reach the NCAA finals and the last to bring home a crown as he won the 125-pound title in St. Louis in 2000. Moore and Cummins will try to become Penn State¡¯s 18th and 19th individual national champions when the finals get going at 6:30 p.m. (Eastern) Saturday in the Savvis Center. For the first time ever ESPN2 will air those contests live. Penn State stood 12th in the team standings with 39.5 points. Moore and Cummins are the only Nittany Lions left competing in the tournament. Oklahoma State continued to lead the team race with 97.5 points followed by Iowa (70) and Nebraska (66.5).

Moore, who earlier in the day electrified the arena with his 8-7 upset of two-time defending champion Johnny Thompson of Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals, was in control all the way in his semifinal match-up with No. 7 seed Darrel Vasquez of Cal Poly. Moore, the No. 6 seed, got a first period takedown and rode out the period to take a 2-0 lead into the second. Vasquez, wanting no piece of the Nittany Lion on the mat, then allowed Moore an uncontested escape from the down position in the second to take a 3-0 lead. Vasquez notched a takedown of his own in the second, but Moore quickly escaped and led 4-2 going into the third. Vasquez chose neutral and Moore held off his attempts at a tying takedown, incurring two stalling calls along the way, and used his riding time advantage to take the 5-4 win. Moore improved to 44-7 on the year, the third-best single-season win total in Penn State history. He will take on No. 5 seed Zach Roberson of Iowa State in the final. Roberson knocked off No. 1 seed and 2003 125-pound champion Travis Lee in his semifinal. Moore and Roberson met earlier on the year in the Midlands tournament. Roberson came out on top in a scrambling affair pinning Moore at 5:22.

Moore, who finished third last year, is Penn State¡¯s first-ever finalist at 133 pounds.

Cummins, who earlier in the day defeated No. 10 seed Will Gruenwald of Oklahoma State in overtime (6-4) of their quarterfinal match, took on No. 3 seed Matt Feast of Penn in his semifinal. It was the fifth meeting on the year for the two wrestlers from the state of Pennsylvania. Cummins held a 3-1 lead in those meetings going into Friday night, but Feast won the last meeting, 6-5, in Rec Hall. Cummins avenged that loss on Friday night taking a 3-2 decision from the Quaker. The Nittany Lion appeared calm and in control from the outset despite the close score. The pair battled through a scoreless first period with little action on either side. Cummins had the choice in the second period and escaped quickly for a 1-0 advantage that he took into the third. Feast took down to start that period and also escaped easily. The pair battled for control through the first minute until Feast dropped down on a deep single. Cummins attempted to get to the edge of the circle but Feast pulled him back toward the center. As they went, Cummins leaned forward and put his weight on the Quaker. Feast¡¯s knee buckled and Cummins dropped down for a takedown of the off balance Quaker to take a 3-2 lead with 52 seconds left. He then rode him for nearly the remainder of the match, twice picking him up and throwing him to the mat. Feast escaped with seconds remaining but it was too late.

The win improved Cummins season record to 38-4, equaling his win total of last season that ranks tied for 12th all-time at Penn State. He will take on No. 1 seed and 2002 NCAA Champion Tommy Rowlands in the final. The pair have met eight times previously with Rowlands owning a 6-2 record. Rowlands owns a 3-1 lead over Cummins on the season, but Cummins is the only wrestler to have beaten the Buckeye, taking a 3-2 win in the dual meet in Columbus. Rowlands won an epic 5-4, decision in the Big Ten final two weeks ago.

Cummins, who finished fourth last year, is Penn State¡¯s first heavyweight finalist since Kerry McCoy won the second of his two NCAA titles in 1997.

In consolation action Friday evening, freshman Matt Storniolo came up one match short of earning All-America honors in his first NCAA appearance. The No. 8 seeded Nittany Lion, who had won two earlier consolation matches on the day in impressive fashion, came up on the losing end of a tough 6-5 decision to No. 7 seed Jeremy Spates of Missouri.

Spates took the early lead with a first period takedown and took a 2-1 lead into the second. Spates took down and reversed Storniolo in the second but was called for an interlocking hands penalty and took a 4-2 lead into the third. Storniolo took down in the third and reversed Spates to tie the score, but was then reversed himself. Storniolo escaped to close the gap to 6-5, but was unable to get the go ahead takedown and that was the final.

Storniolo ends a strong freshman season with a 34-10 mark after going 3-2 in the NCAA Tournament.

Penn State¡¯s 2004 NCAA Tournament Scores
First Round ¨C 4-2
Second Round ¨C 2-2
Quarterfinals ¨C 2-0
Semifinals ¨C 1-0
Consolations ¨C 4-4

Tournament: 13-8

 125 ¨C Adam Smith ¨C Out of Tournament First Round L, 3-2 to (10) Vic Moreno, Cal Poly Consolations L, 5-3 to (8) Joe Dubuque, Indiana NCAA: 0-2 Season: 27-15 133 ¨C (6) Josh Moore ¨C Finalist - All-American First Round W, F;1:02 over Don Fisch, Rider Second Round W, 1-0 over (11) Ed Gutnik, Wisconsin Quarterfinal W, 8-7 over (3) Johnny Thompson, Oklahoma State Semifinal W, 5-4 over (7) Darrel Vasquez, Cal Poly Finals Vs. (5) Zach Roberson, Iowa State NCAA: 4-0 Season: 44-7 149 ¨C (8) Matt Storniolo ¨C Out of Tournament First Round W, F;2:28 over Sam Alvarengo, VMI Second Round L, 8-3 to David Dies, Brown Consolations W, TF15-0;6:47 over Ben Young, Slippery Rock W, 5-0 over Patrick Williams, Arizona State L, 6-5 (7) Jeremy Spates, Missouri NCAA: 3-2 Season: 34-10 157 ¨C (7) James Woodall ¨C Out of Tournament First Round L, 10-2 to (4) Jake Percival, Ohio Consolations W, 10-4 over Brad Cieleski, Slippery Rock L, 10-1 to (10) Travis Paulson, Iowa State NCAA: 1-2 Season: 23-15 184 ¨C (4) Eric Bradley ¨C Out of Tournament First Round W, 6-2 over Nick Halsey, Cal Poly Second Round L, 2-2;2ndtb to Ben Wissel, Purdue Consolation W, 8-6 over Luke Calvert, Army L, 7-3 to Blake Kaplan, Ohio State NCAA: 2-2 Season: 36-5 Hwt. ¨C (2) Pat Cummins ¨C Finalist - All-American First Round W, 12-4 over Payan Zarrinpour, Sacred Heart Second Round W, 11-1 over Jareck Horton, Wisconsin Quarterfinal W, 6-4;sv over (10) Will Gruenwald, Oklahoma State Semifinal W, 3-2 over (3) Matt Feast, Penn Final Vs. (1) Tommy Rowlands, Ohio State NCAA: 4-0 Season: 38-4