State College, Pa., April 20, 2005 - Penn State senior wrestler James Woodall (St. Dupont, Pa.) has been granted his request for a sixth season of eligibility by the NCAA. A two-year starter and 2004 NCAA qualifier for the Nittany Lions, Woodall will join All-American Eric Bradley in returning to the Penn State squad for a sixth season of eligibility in 2005-06. "It's great for the program to be able to have Eric and James return next season," Penn State Head Coach Troy Sunderland said. "I'm just really happy for them because of the things they have had to go through and they have another opportunity to achieve their dreams and goals of becoming national champions."Woodall had petitioned the NCAA for the sixth year "medical hardship season" due to knee and shoulder injuries that caused him to miss the majority of two seasons. Currently completing his fifth year at Penn State, Woodall had a strong start to his 2004-05 campaign ended by a torn ACL in his right knee suffered in the finals of the Midlands Championship in late December. He had posted a 10-2 record and was ranked No. 12 at 149 pounds and moving up the charts at the time of the injury. Woodall also missed all but a few matches in the 2002-03 season due to a shoulder injury that required surgery. Woodall, a team co-captain last year, will bring a 47-30 career-record (23-16 dual meet mark) into his final season. He finished sixth at the 2004 Big Ten championships and shared titles in both freestyle and Greco-Roman with his twin brother Jason, a former Penn State wrestler, at the 2001 FILA Junior World Team Trials.
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