Penn State Pastes Purdue

Brill Makes Successful Debut

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – No. 1 Penn State (7-0, 2-0 B10) dominated home-standing Purdue on Friday, winning nine of ten bouts to roll to a 42-3 Big Ten road victory. Seven of Penn State’s nine wins were for bonus points as the Lions remain unbeaten on the year. The match saw the Penn State debut of former Central Mountain wrestling star Brian Brill, a Nittany Lion transfer from Lehigh.

Red-shirt freshman Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.) continued to come up big against big-time foes, picking up his fourth win of the year over a ranked wrestler by pinning No. 5 Chad Welch at 165 in the dual’s most anticipated match-up.

The dual began at 125 where senior All-American Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), ranked No. 4, rolled over Ben Thornton en route to a 21-6 technical fall at the 3:53 mark. Senior All-American Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.), ranked No. 4 at 133, followed that up with a 8-3 decision over Luke Welch.  Sophomore Kade Moss (South Jordan, Utah) got the nod at 141 and dominated Purdue senior Danny Sabatello in the third period to post an 11-3 major and put Penn State up 12-0.

Sophomore All-American Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 149, continued Penn State’s bonus point show with the team’s second technical fall.  Retherford took care of Alex Griffin with a 17-1 tech fall at the 6:09 mark.  Red-shirt freshman Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 3 at 157, closed out the first half with a third tech fall, using six takedown and two four-point turns to notch the 21-5 tech fall over Doug Welch at the 6:10 mark.  Nolf’s win put Penn State up 22-0 at intermission.

Rasheed stepped up at 165, taking on No. 5 Welch in one of the dual’s most anticipated match-ups. Silencing a capacity crowd expecting a Boilermaker win, Rasheed set the early tempo and took a quick 2-0 lead.  The Lion freshman then deftly worked his way into a cradle, locking up the Purdue senior and turning him for a first period pin at the 1:56 mark.  Red-shirt freshman Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 1 at 174, continued Penn State’s dominance with a 16-1 tech fall over Jacob Morrissey at the 4:58 mark, putting Penn State up 33-0 with three bouts remaining.

Brill (Lock Haven, Pa.) then made his Penn State dual meet debut, stepping in at 184, and kept Penn State’s perfect dual alive with an 11-7 decision over Purdue’s Tanner Lynde (see bout details below).  Senior All-American Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 1 at 197, made short work of senior Drake Stein, getting a first period fall at the 1:33 mark to put Penn State up 42-0.  At heavyweight, true freshman Jan Johnson (Mohnton, Pa.) lost a 7-4 decision Purdue junior Tyler Kral, and the Lions walked away with a 42-3 win.

Penn State moves to 7-0 on the year, 2-0 in Big Ten action, while Purdue falls to 5-2, 0-1 in the conference.  The Nittany Lions had seven bonus points, totaling 15 points off two pins, four techs and a major.

The Nittany Lions continue their road weekend at Indiana on Sunday, Jan. 10, at 1 p.m. in Bloomington. Penn State’s next home meet will be on January 15 when the Nittany Lions host Nebraska at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall.

#1 Penn State 42, Purdue 3

January 8, 2016 – West Lafayette ,Ind.

125: #4 Nico Megaludis PSU tech fall Ben Thornton PUR, 21-6 (TF; 7:00) 5-0

133: #4 Jordan Conaway PSU dec. Luke Welch PUR, 8-3                                    8-0

141: Kade Moss PSU maj. dec. Danny Sabatello PUR, 11-3                                12-0

149: #1 Zain Retherford PSU tech fall Alex Griffin PUR, 17-1 (6:09)                      17-0

157: #3 Jason Nolf PSU tech fall Doug Welch PUR, 21-5 (6:10)                           22-0

165: Shakur Rasheed PSU pinned #5 Chad Welch PUR, WBF (1:56)                    28-0

174: #1 Bo Nickal PSU tech fall Tanner Lynde PUR, 16-1 (TF; 4:58)                      33-0

184: Brian Brill PSU dec. Tanner Lynde PUR, 11-7                                               36-0

197: #1 Morgan McIntosh PSU pinned Drake Stein PUR, WBF (1:33)                   42-0

285: Tyler Kral PUR dec. Jan Johnson PSU, 7-4                                                  42-3

Attendance: 1,850

Records: Penn State 7-0, 2-0 B10; Purdue 5-2, 0-1 B1G

Up Next for Penn State: at Indiana, Sunday, Jan. 10, 1 p.m.

BRILL BOUT:

184: Junior Brian Brill (Lock Haven, Pa.) made his dual meet debut at 184 and met junior Tanner Lynde. Brill shot first, forced a scramble that had both men nearly score, and then finished off the move for himself to open up a 2-0 lead at the 2:43 mark.  Brill controlled the action from the top position, building up a riding time edge and then turning the Boilermaker for two back points and a 4-0 lead.  Lynde reversed the Lion with just :20 on the clock and Brill led 4-2 after one period.  He chose down to start the second stanza and steadily worked his way to an escape and a 5-2 lead with 2:09 in riding time. Lynde cut the lead to 5-4 with a takedown on the edge of the mat with :35 left in the middle period.  Brill answered with his own reversal and then rode Lynde out to lead 7-4 lead with 2:15 in riding time.  Lynde chose down to start the third period.  Lynde escaped and then quickly took Brill down to tie the match a 7-7 but Brill had the time edge.  Lynde cut Brill loose and Brill made him pay, working his way around for a takedown to up his lead to 10-7 with :50 on the clock. With the riding time point clinched, Brill dominated action from the top and, with the riding time point, posted the 11-7 win to keep Penn State’s shut-out intact.