December 2, 2001

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Virginia Tech wrestlers Sean Gray and Scott Justus each claimed individual titles at the Ninth-Annual Penn State University Open Sunday evening at the Recreation Hall Building on the campus of PSU. Gray, ranked third in the nation, was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament after winning his 141-pound weight class. Justus, ranked ninth in the nation, won his 184-pound weight class to move his record to 10-0 on the year.

Gray, a senior from Flemington, N.J., won six matches, including a fall of Penn State's Scott Moore in the finals, to move his record to 12-1. On the day, the two-time All-American had three decisions, two falls and one technical fall.

Justus won five matches to claim his second title of the year. The junior from Grundy, Va., won his weight class at the Navy Classic on Nov. 17. In the championship bout, he beat 15th-ranked Mark Becks of Penn State, 6-5.

Other Hokies to place were: Geoff Head (5th at 125 pounds), David Hoffman (5th at 133 pounds) and Canaan Prater (6th at 197 pounds).

Head, a sophomore from Virginia Beach, won his first match, defeating Mike Lupa of Maryland (3-0), before falling in the second round. He went on to win three matches in a row to reach the fifth-place bout. There, he defeated Tyrone Hodge of Lock Haven, 8-2, to take fifth.

Hoffman, a freshman from Spring City, Pa., won his first three matches of the day, recording a major decision, technical fall and a fall. In the third round, he was beaten by Rocco Mansueto of Cleveland State, 7-2. He rebounded to beat Dalton Head, who wrestled unattached and won two matches, 7-4, before beating Jason Cucolo of Sacred Heart, 2-1, to take fifth.

Prater, a sophomore from Grundy, Va., had his first official matches of the year as he has wrestled unattached for the first month. The plan was to redshirt him, but injuries have cancelled those plans. Prater won his first match before falling in the second round. In the consolation bracket, he was the beneficiary of two medical forfeits, then fell in the fifth-place match to take sixth.

Up next for the Hokies (1-1) is No. 1 and defending national champion Minnesota on Saturday, Dec. 8 at 1 p.m. The match will be held in Cassell Coliseum. The Golden Gophers downed No. 2 Oklahoma State, 21-12, on the road on Sunday.

Below are the records of Tech's wrestlers from Sunday.

125 pounds  David Friedman       0-1
            Geoff Head           5-1
133 pounds  Dalton Head *        2-2
            David Hoffman        6-1
            Jim Wolfe            0-1
141 pounds  Sean Gray            6-0
149 pounds  Reed Carpenter       3-2
            Ben Guerrina         1-1
157 pounds  Kris Edelberg        0-1
            Shaun Guttridge      0-1
            Justin Knapp         0-1
165 pounds	 Jerome Villanueva *  0-1
            Jake Wareing		       0-1
174 pounds  Tomas Ovalle         0-1
184 pounds  Scott Justus         5-0
197 pounds  Canaan Prater        4-2
285 pounds  Pete Pool            3-2
            Kris Wiedegreen      0-1
* - wrestled unattached; redshirting