Nittany Lions to the Land of the Hoosiers
UNIVERSITY PARK – No. 1 Penn State (6-0, 1-0 B10) will continue a stretch of road activity with a two-dual swing through the state of Indiana. Penn State visits Purdue (5-1, 0-0 B1G) on Friday, Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. and then treks to Indiana (4-0, 1-0, B1G) on Sunday, Jan. 10, for a 1 p.m. dual.
Penn State is coming off a winning performance in Chattanooga on Jan. 1-2, winning its sixth straight Southern Scuffle title, out-distancing second place Oklahoma State by over 20 points. Head coach Cael Sanderson’s crew had five champions, six finalists and a total of ten placers. Nico Megaludis won at 125, Zain Retherford at 149, Jason Nolf at 157, Bo Nickal at 174 and Morgan McIntosh at 197. Jordan Conaway was a finalist at 133, Zack Beitz took fifth at 157, Geno Morelli fifth at 165, Garett Hammond seventh at 165 and Kade Moss eighth at 141.
The Nittany Lions have nine ranked grapplers. Retherford is first at 149, Nickal first at 174, McIntosh first at 197, Nolf third at 157, Megaludis fourth at 125, Conaway fourth at 133, Gulibon 13th at 141, McCutcheon 13th at 184 and Morelli 19th at 165. The Nittany Lions are 6-0 overall, 1-0 in the Big Ten after December’s win over Wisconsin in the BJC and ranked No. 1 nationally by Intermat.
Purdue enters the weekend with a 5-1 overall record and Friday’s dual will be the Boilermakers’ Big Ten opener. The Boilermakers own dual wins over Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Bloomsburg, Shippensburg and Lock Haven and dropped an 18-16 match with Central Michigan. Chad Welch is ranked No. 5 at 165 with a 19-2 record to lead Purdue.
Indiana enters the dual on Sunday 4-0 overall and 1-0 in Big Ten action. The Hoosiers own victories over SIU-Edwardsville, Eastern Michigan and Manchester as well as a 19-18 Big Ten road win at Minnesota on 12/11/15. The Hoosiers are being led by Nate Jackson, who is 21-2 overall. Elijah Oliver owns a 21-4 record at 125.
Penn State leads the all-time series with Purdue 13-1-1. The Nittany Lions won 26-9 in Rec Hall last year on Jan. 18, 2015, and won the last meeting in West Lafayette, 35-3, on Jan. 20, 2013. Penn State leads the all-time series with Indiana 17-0-1. The Lions won 42-3 last year in Rec Hall on Jan. 9, 2015, and won the last meeting in Bloomington, 36-6, on Jan. 17, 2014.
#1 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (6-0, 1-0 B10)
WT NAME EL HT/HS REC
125 #4 Nico Megaludis Sr. Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional 15-1
133 #4 Jordan Conaway Sr. Abbottstown, Pa./New Oxford 13-2
141 #13 Jimmy Gulibon Jr. Latrobe, Pa./Derry 6-4
Kade Moss So. South Jordan, Utah/Bingham 14-5
149 #1 Zain Retherford So. Benton, Pa./Benton 15-0
157 #3 Jason Nolf Fr. Yatesboro, Pa./Kittanning 16-0
165 #19 Geno Morelli Jr. DuBois, Pa./DuBois 16-4
Shakur Rasheed Fr. Coram, N.Y./Longwood 10-5
Garett Hammond So. Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg 15-3
174 #1 Bo Nickal Fr. Allen, Texas/Allen 17-0
184 #13 Matt McCutcheon So. Apollo, Pa./Kiski Area 10-1
197 #1 Morgan McIntosh Sr. Santa Ana, Calif./Calvary Chapel 14-0
285 Jan Johnson Fr. Mohnton, Pa./Governor Mifflin 1-3
PURDUE BOILERMAKERS (5-1, 0-0 B1G)
WT NAME EL HT/HS REC
125 Ben Thornton Fr. Stoddard, Wis./La Crosse Central 14-6
133 Luke Welch So. Newburgh, Ind./Castle 10-7
Cody Pae Jr. Fulton, Mo./Fulton 11-6
141 Danny Sabatello Sr. Long Grove, Ill./Stevenson 11-7
Kyle Ayersman Jr. Dyler, Ind./Lake Central 13-8
149 Alex Griffin Jr. Lafayette, Ind/McCutcheon 8-3
157 Doug Welch Sr. Newburgh, Ind./Castle 8-5
165 #5 Chad Welch Sr. Newburgh, Ind./Castle 19-2
Peter Andreotti Fr. Chicago, Ill./Marist 6-4
174 Jacob Morrissey So. Oconto Falls, Wis./Oconto Falls 9-7
184 Tanner Lynde Jr. Delphi, Ind./Delphi 5-6
197 Drake Stein Sr. Francisco, Ind./Princeton Community 9-11
285 Tyler Kral Jr. Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point 6-7
Jacob Aven Fr. Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville 8-7
INDIANA HOOSIERS (4-0, 1-0 B1G)
WT NAME EL HT/HS REC
125 Elijah Oliver Fr. Alabaster, Ala./Chirstian Brother 21-4
133 Alonzo Shepard Sr. Jeffersonville, Ind./Jeffersonville 11-9
141 Cole Weaver Fr. Hudson, Mich./Hudson 16-9
149 Luke Blanton So. Alexandria, Ind./Alexandria Monroe 14-6
157 Jake Danishek Fr. Lebanon, Ohio/Dayton Christian 11-3
165 Bryce Martin Fr. Bakersfield, Calif./Bakersfield 15-10
174 #11 Nate Jackson Jr. Crete, Ill./Marian Catholic 21-2
184 Matt Irick Jr. Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern 12-8
197 Jake Masengale So. Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian 6-11
285 Garret Goldman Sr. Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington North 10-10
Team ranking is Intermat Tournament Power Index (TPI) as of 1/5/16
All Individual Rankings are Intermat as of 1/5/16
THIS WEEK
#1 Penn State (6-0, 1-0 B1G) will continue a rugged stretch of road activity with a two-dual swing through the state of Indiana. Penn State visits Purdue (5-1, 0-0 B1G) on Friday, Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. and then treks to Indiana (4-0, 1-0 B1G) on Sunday, Jan. 10, for a 1 p.m. dual.
The Nittany Lions will have tough split weekend next week. Penn State returns home for the first time in a month when it hosts Nebraska in Rec Hall on Friday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m. The Lions then visit Northwestern on Sunday, Jan. 17, for a 2 p.m. dual meet.
