While Penn State's official wrestling team is competing in the Sprawl & Brawl Duals today in Binghamton, NY. , yesterday saw a number of PSU's 'Shadow Team' take to the mats at the East Stroudsburg Open. I'm not sure what to call our wrestlers that are either redshirting, temporarily ineligible or not yet out of high school, so 'Shadow Team' it will be - at least until someone comes up with a better label. These are the guys we'll see competing next year (or in the case of the Alton twins, possibly 2 years - as they're still in high school, and may be redshirted next year as freshmen).

Let's look at a few weight classes to see what's in our future, shall we? (Links take you to bios or ranking pages).

141:  High school senior and uber-recruit Andrew Alton (ranked #1 in the country at 145) had a decent day. If, of course, by 'decent' you mean going 4-0 and winning the whole thing. This isn't some pansy tourney for team leftovers, either: with over 400 wrestlers entered, there are plenty of top-flight collegians here, with excellent teams sending their starting line-ups.  Andrew Alton worries not about that. Nice future for him, to say the least.

149: High school senior and uber-recruit (is there an echo in here?) Dylan Alton (ranked #1 at 152) merely went 5-1 to finish 3rd. These two kids are tough, motivated and mean. So mean, in fact, that Dylan ruined a great day by freshman James English, who went 6-2. Both his losses were to Alton.

157: Redshirt senior Bubba Jenkins led a nasty PSU group here, going 4-0 and taking the gold. Jenkins - a 2008 NCAA runner-up before injuries got him last year - edged last year's #1 national recruit and RS FR David Taylor in the finals. Taylor finished the day 4-1. To top it off, freshman Jim Vollrath ended his excellent day 5-1. This group should be fun in the practice room.

165: RS FR  Jake Kemerer took the bronze after finishing 4-1. VERY tough kid - read the bio for his bona fides. Impressive.

184: Here's where things get crazy, as PSU swept all three places. Quentin Wright took the gold by beating last year's #3 ranked recruit and RS FR Ed Ruth in the finals. As a bonus, soph transfer (from Pitt - hehehe) David Crowell finished the day 5-1 to take the bronze and complete the sweep. Crowell won't be eligible until January due to his transfer status. He's one guy that appears to be thriving under Sanderson's tutelage. (Did I just type that word? 'Tutelage'? Sheesh - what a dork I am).

197: Lastly, RS FR Luke Macchiaroli had a solid day, going 3-2 against guys 3-4 years older. It's very difficult for freshmen to compete at these upper weights. Just don't bother telling Luke.

Remember - these are the guys that we most probably WON'T see in an official PSU singlet this year, because it's OBVIOUS they need more seasoning and maturity.

Yes, the future is bright.

BTW - Happy Valley Half Nelson has some videos up of our wonderboys in action. Go take a peek.