Bald Eagles Downed by No. 2 Penn State
UNIVERSITY PARK – The Lock Haven University wrestling team fell to No. 2 Penn State, 50-0 tonight in front of a sell-out crowd of 6,356 at Rec Hall.
It marked the first dual of the season for both Lock Haven (0-1) and Penn State (1-0).
Despite the loss, redshirt-senior Dan Neff (Quarryville, Pa./Solanco) and junior Brad Emerick (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Coughlin) wrestled well for the Bald Eagles.
Neff was edged, 3-1 by No. 2 Jimmy Gulibon at 141 pounds and Jan Johnson slipped by Emerick, 3-2 at 285. Tonight marked Neff’s first dual back at 141 pounds after earning All-American honors last season at 149. Neff, ranked No. 12 looked poised to upend second-ranked Jimmy Gulibon at 141, but came up just short.
The two returning All-Americans were knotted at 0-0 after the first period, as neither guy could gain the upper hand. Starting the second in the down position, Gulibon earned an escape 20 seconds into the period and led 1-0 after five minutes.
Neff started the third period with a quick escape of this own and tied the bout at 1-1 seconds into the final period. With a minute to go in the match, Gulibon scored the only takedown of the bout and held on for the 3- 1 win.
Emerick did all he could to try and limit the shutout, but dropped a hard-fought 3-2 thriller at 285. Emerick trailed 3-1 after two periods and he earned a quick escape in the third, but couldn’t score a takedown down the stretch.
Penn State was ranked No. 2, behind only Oklahoma State in this week’s USA Today/National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Division I Coaches poll.
The Nittany Lions led 26-0 after the first five matches, thanks to bonus points in four of the five bouts, including three pins.
Lock Haven will be right back on the mats on Sunday, November 15 at the Northeast Duals, hosted by Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York. LHU will take on No. 10 Nebraska (9:20 a.m.), Hofstra (11:15 a.m.) and Buffalo (3:15 p.m.).
#2 Penn State 50 – Lock Haven 0
November 13, 2015 – Rec Hall – University Park, Pa.
125: #2 Nicol Megaludis (PSU) pinned Jake Field (LHU) 6:07; PSU leads 6-0
133: #8 Jordan Conaway (PSU) tech fall Bobby Rehm (LHU) 19-4 (7:00); PSU, leads 11-0 141: #2 Jimmy Gulibon (PSU) dec. #12 Dan Neff (LHU) 3-1; PSU leads 14-0
149: #2 Zain Retherford (PSU) pinned Kyle Hammond (LHU) 2:15; PSU leads 20-0
157: #6 Jason Nolf (PSU) pinned Aaron McKinney (LHU) 2:42; PSU leads 26-0
165: Shakur Rasheed (PSU) wins by injury default Dillon Gavlock (LHU) 0:35; PSU leads 32-0
174: #14 Bo Nickal (PSU) tech fall Tyler Wood (LHU) 21-6; PSU leads 37-0
184: #14 Matt McCutcheon (PSU) pinned Tristan Sponseller (LHU) 5:56; PSU leads 43-0
197: #1 Morgan McIntosh (PSU) major dec. Phil Sprenkle (LHU) 13-2; PSU leads 47-0
285: Jan Johnson (PSU) dec. Brad Emerick (LHU) 3-2; PSU wins 50-0
Records: Lock Haven (0-1) | #2 Penn State (1-0)
