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By CDT staff reports
Centre Daily Times
IOWA CITY, Iowa Two of nine Nittany Lion Wrestling Club team members' shots at making the 2012 Olympic Games in London came to an end Saturday.
Penn State sophomore David Taylor and his redshirt freshman teammate Matt Brown were eliminated from the 74-kilogram bracket at the Olympic Team trials inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena after both lost consolation matches.
Taylor, the 2011-12 Hodge Trophy Winner and 165-pound NCAA champion, went 3-2 with wins over Moza Fay, Mike Poeta and Colton Sponseller. Taylor was knocked out of the championship bracket by Wisconsin's Andrew Howe. Howe who took an Olympic redshirt year to prepare for this tournament won two of the three matches, 1-0 and 5-0. After battling his way back with two wins in the consolation bracket, Taylor ran into trouble against the reigning 157-pound NCAA champion Kyle Dake of Cornell. Dake won the first bout 5-0 then pinned Taylor in 1:28 to eliminate the Nittany Lion sophomore.
Brown beat Ryan Morningstar to start his tournament but then lost to Tyler Caldwell and Sponseller in succession.
Two Nittany Lions will begin their Olympic hunts today as Penn State's Ed Ruth will face Phil Keddy and Quentin Wright will wrestle Bryce Hasserman in the 84-kilogram freestyle bracket.
Penn State strength coach Shawn Contos will face Obe Blanc at 55 kilograms while fellow NLWC member Les Sigman will meet Chad Hanke at 120 kilograms.
Teyon Ware, also a member of the NLWC, will have a bye and will face either Kevin LeValley or Phillips Simpson at 66 kilograms. Former Penn State wrestler Mark McKnight will match up against Danny Felix at 55 kilograms.
Also, Jake Varner, a former Iowa State standout who wrestles for the NLWC, will meet Tommy Rowlands in the 96-kilogram finals.
Tags: David Taylor, Ed Ruth, Les Sigman, Mark McKnight, Matt Brown, Quentin Wright
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