Update: 3 suspended Penn wrestlers arrested for October assault

November 26, 6:17 PMCollege Wrestling ExaminerMark Palmer

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Three Penn wrestlers were arrested last week for an alleged assault which took place in October

Logo/University of Pennsylvania

Last Sunday, we reported that three University of Pennsylvania wrestlers -- Matt Dragon, Cesar Grajales and Rollie Peterkin -- had been suspended "for violation of departmental policy," according to the wrestling program's website.

Now, an update: The Daily Pennsylvanian -- the student newspaper at Penn -- reported that the three had been arrested November 16 for in connection with an aggravated assault allegedly committed October 3.

Each of the three were each charged with four counts, including aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and other related offenses.

Although the incident took place in October, Dragon, Grajales and Peterkin were not arrested until last week because the District Attorney’s Office was still investigating the case, according to Division of Public Safety spokeswoman Stef Cella.

No other details of the alleged incident were published. The paper said a preliminary hearing had been scheduled for yesterday (Wednesday, November 25).

The Athletic Department had announced the suspension of all three wrestlers Saturday on the eve of the Keystone Classic, the Quakers’ second event of the season. None of them competed in Penn’s first event, the Binghamton Open, November 15.

All three wrestlers could be considered to be among Penn's best matmen. All had been ranked within the top 20 in their respective weight classes by various wrestling media outlets. The three have eight combined NCAA Division I championship appearances in their careers.

• Roger "Rollie" Peterkin, a senior, wrestled at 125 pounds. Originally from Wellesley, Massachusetts, Peterkin wrestled at Blair Academy in New Jersey, one of the top prep wrestling programs in the nation.
• Cesar Grajales, a 149-pound senior from Brandon, Florida, another top high school program.
• Matt Dragon, a senior wrestling at 157, originally from Dallas, Pennsylvania.

NOTE: The University of Pennsylvania, also known as Penn, is a private, Ivy League institution in Philadelphia... and is not to be confused with Pennsylvania State University, more widely known as Penn State, a public university located in the town of State College in north-central Pennsylvania. Both schools have wrestling programs. Penn wrestlers are the Quakers,with head coach Rob Eiter... while Penn State wrestlers are called the Nittany Lions, coached by Cael Sanderson, and compete in the Big Ten conference.
 

Resources

College Wrestling Examiner, Sunday, November 22: 3 Penn wrestlers suspended

University of Pennsylvania official bios: Rollie Peterkin, Cesar Grajales, and Matt Dragon

TheMat.com's college wrestling scores for the week of November 23

Follow College Wrestling Examiner Mark Palmer on Twitter