Penn State Wrestling Announces COVID-19 Pause, Postpones Opening Match

Penn State was scheduled to begin its 2021 wrestling season Saturday at Rutgers.

The Penn State wrestling team announced Wednesday that it has paused team activities because of positive COVID-19 tests within the program. As a result, the team's scheduled opener Saturday at Rutgers has been postponed.

"The health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches, staff and the broader community are of the utmost importance," the athletic department said in a statement. "Therefore, as part of the protocols established by the Big Ten Conference and Penn State Athletics medical staff and in consultation with University, local and national officials and guidelines, individuals with a positive test have been put into isolation. In addition to isolation, contact tracing procedures have been implemented, which includes quarantine and testing for those individuals who might have been exposed, even if asymptomatic."

The wrestling program is Penn State's second to pause team activities this month because of COVID-19 positive test results. The men's basketball team announced its pause Jan. 6 and is scheduled to resume the season Sunday at Purdue.

Penn State ranked third nationally according to InterMat Wrestling, was eager to debut a lineup that could feature several promising freshmen, coach Cael Sanderson said this week. Wrestlers are being tested six times per week, Sanderson said, and "just kind of rolling with the punches and learning as we go."

"I’m excited about this group," Sanderson said. "I think it’s a close group. There's obviously a lot of talent. We've got some new faces, and what we're trying to put together is that next wave that can kind of roll through and come together. And I think we have the leaders and talent needed, in addition to that mindset to have a team that's going to go out there and be entertaining to watch and has the ability to score a lot of points. But we're not going to know that before we step on the mat."

Penn State is wrestling a compressed schedule, with nine matches before the Big Ten championships. The team's next scheduled match is Jan. 24 against Michigan State.

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