I was not recruited to wrestle at PSU unfortunately. My recruiting trips I did take were to Clarion, Lock Haven, Ohio University, and the University of Wyoming. Ended up at Ohio U but really wish I would’ve went to Lock Haven. This was in 1995-96 so when Kolat was there.
Who was a PSU Wannabe
- Thread starter johnstownsteel
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I had appointment to the Naval Academy but was nervous (maybe naive) about full time military and wasn’t sure about the post graduation commitment. I chose Naval ROTC at PSU because my education would be paid and I had the opportunity to hold off the commitment until after my sophomore year.
Moved to MD when I was in 11th grade so out of state tuition plus room and board was not an option. Went to JUCO for a year and then my Mom got a nursing degree and a job at George Washington University Hospital so FREE tuition, an offer I could not refuse.
Why aren't more people honest in admitting, I went there for the 23,000 women!🙂
Great stories in this thread. Thanks guys! Like I said I went the JUCO route but to be honest, I spent my summers at Troll Camp… pretty much the only education I really needed. 
This was the same at every campus. USU has a little pond called first dam with a sand volley ball and other amenities. Winter was long but come May we migrated down to first dam to see the annual shedding of the coed clothes. A little bbq action in the background as a reason to hang out and gawk....
I would say the M to F ratio was the determining factor for avoiding a military school in the 90's. The little brain was driving the bus.
Hell, even in your 60s the little head drives the bus. Just not with such an aggressive attitude.
I went to Gettysburg. My older brother went to Lehigh and wrestled behind Mike Caruso, so I decided to be a slightly large fish in a small pond. We won the Lambert Cup (Trophy?) one year, so our football was actually good. And our wrestling team placed in the top 20 in the University Division one year (don't ask, I had nothing to do with it.). Started following PSU when Andy Matter was there (my little brother wrestled him in HS). When I was coaching, I took my kids to John Fritz's camp a couple of years. My kids loved him and he loved them. it was great. I was well into PSU wrestling in the late 00's, but I guess I jumped on the Cael bandwagon like a lot of guys from the start.
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Well, he is the OG Lion Lover.
For most people that are in PA, Penn State gives a great affordable option that gives them lots of options post graduation. I graduated from a small liberal arts school that charged 35/40k per year in early 2000s, and while it got me my first gig, that was it. Never any benefit after that.
Reading between the lines here. Good luck to your son.
PSU was my dream school, but my SAT's and HS grades were such that even if I had been a 4X PIAA champ, I would not have been admitted. I started out at a community college and all is well that ends well. I do not have a PSU degree, but I do have three priority REC HALL season tickets, a good consolation prize!
This post right here deserves to be put in post of the year list. That’s funny right there folks!!
Wrestlers, let’s clear the mats.
I had no idea what career path to take after high school. Guidance counselor said "you're good at math and science, maybe you should be an engineer?" So, I applied after the deadline to a grand total of two schools, Penn State and Pitt. My acceptance to Penn State was contingent upon attending a branch campus first (I think it was Altoona). Moving around in the middle of college did not seem like something I wanted to do. So, I went to Pitt. I know this is a minority opinion on this board, but Pitt really ain't that bad.
My HS (State College) always has boatloads of kids going to UP right out of the gates. The 75% tuition break for kids of faculty/staff, the admission standard is lower, and there is no satellite campus requirement. But this article hit this week--the Commonwealth U has taken things a step further (and apparently, are quite desparate for enrollment):
Sorry if this is paywalled--it's not for me--but they announced:
Sorry if this is paywalled--it's not for me--but they announced:
It has its moments...I had no idea what career path to take after high school. Guidance counselor said "you're good at math and science, maybe you should be an engineer?" So, I applied after the deadline to a grand total of two schools, Penn State and Pitt. My acceptance to Penn State was contingent upon attending a branch campus first (I think it was Altoona). Moving around in the middle of college did not seem like something I wanted to do. So, I went to Pitt. I know this is a minority opinion on this board, but Pitt really ain't that bad.
I forgot the best part of my story. My freshman year we went to Penn State for a multi-team JV dual event. My roommate and I were switching off weights and he offered me the lower weight against Penn State. I didn't know the kids but he did. About 30 of my friends came to watch me get teched for the one and only time of my career. My roommate won handily. I didn't live that down for a long time.
Reminds me of a joke my friend told me:
What do Pitt and Penn State grads have in common?
They both applied to Penn State.
What do Pitt and Penn State grads have in common?
They both applied to Penn State.
I grew up in central pa and have always loved PSU. But I wasn’t done wrestling after high school and wasn’t near good enough to wear a Blue and White singlet.
I’ve since lived and worked in State College, studied at Univ Park, coached at a satellite campus and am now living vicariously through my children attending PSU.
I’m about as big a PSU wanna-be as there possibly could be.
I’ve since lived and worked in State College, studied at Univ Park, coached at a satellite campus and am now living vicariously through my children attending PSU.
I’m about as big a PSU wanna-be as there possibly could be.
Aaaahh... I am not sure that he has me pegged but cool of he does. I need some people to hang our with after matches this year since my kids won't go anymore.
I was recruited by Fritz, didn’t make it thru admissions. Went to Clarion was 5-4 as a starter as a freshman… all four loses were Penn State biggest win was Michigans Reichsteiner.
I started at a branch campus and transferred to University Park for my junior year. The bottom line is that my grades and SAT score were borderline and I would not have been accepted into main campus out of high school. I was 100% fine with it since I was not ready for such a big university experience directly out of high school. After three semesters at Altoona I was definitely ready to leave, though.
I went to Hazleton Campus because it was close and my father had a job in the nearby industrial park, so I had free transportation-as long as I got my butt up. Mt last term up there, we were wearing T-Shirts that had a mushroom cloud and "Nuke Hazleton".
Staying close to home wasn't an option for me. I desperately wanted to get away from home and live in the dorms. Altoona was 1.5 hours from home so that was good enough. I was definitely ready for that amount of freedom.
