UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State Nittany Lion assistant coach Frank Molinaro, a member of the 2016 United States Olympic Wrestling Team, grabbed international gold this past weekend, grabbing an individual title at the 2016 Freestyle World Cup in Los Angeles.
(Photo courtesy of Penn State Athletics)
Molinaro blazed through the field at 65kg to lead the United States to a fourth-place team finish.
Molinaro downed India’s Rajnesh Rajneesh 5-0 in his first match on Saturday. His win helped the United States to a 7-1 victory over India. Molinaro beat Magomed Muslimov of Azerbaijan as the United States posted an 8-0 team win.
The former four-time Nittany Lion All-American then took down 2015 World Bronze Medalist Sayed Mohammadi of Iran 4-3. Mohammadi entered the tournament ranked seventh in the world at 65kg. The United States split its matches with Iran in the dual but lost on criteria. Molinaro concluded his tournament with a big win over the world’s No. 9 wrestler, posting a 4-4 crit. win over Georgia’s Zurab Iakobishvilli.
Molinaro and the rest of the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team will continue to prepare for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, later this summer.
The Nittany Lions recently completed a 2015-16 season that saw head coach Cael Sanderson’s squad win its fifth NCAA National Championship in the last six years, its fifth Big Ten title in the last six years, a share of the 2016 Big Ten Regular Season (dual meet) Championship, the NWCA National Dual Meet Series title, and its sixth straight Southern Scuffle crown. The team went 16-0, 9-0 in Big Ten duals.
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