Nittany Lions Welcome ‘Huskers on Friday
UNIVERSITY PARK – No. 1 Penn State (8-0, 3-0 B1G) returns to Happy Valley for the first time in a month when it hosts No. 11 Nebraska (9-1, 1-1 B1G) on Friday at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions then trek to No. 25 Northwestern (1-6, 0-2 B1G) for a Big Ten road dual on Sunday, Jan. 17, at 2 p.m. Eastern/1 p.m. Central, in Evanston, Ill.
Penn State is coming off a dominating road trip through Indiana last weekend, downing Purdue 42-3 and Indiana 34-8 last Friday and Sunday. The wins kept Penn State unblemished on the year at 8-0 and has head coach Cael Sanderson’s squad 3-0 in Big Ten duals.
Featuring one of the nation’s most potent line-ups, Penn State has nine ranked grapplers, including three number ones. Sophomore Zain Retherford is No. 1 at 149 with a 17-0 record, red-shirt freshman Bo Nickal is No. 1 at 174 with an 18-1 mark and senior Morgan McIntosh is No. 1 at 197 with a 16-0 ledger. Red-shirt freshman Jason Nolf is 18-0 at 157 and ranked No. 3, senior Nico Megaludis is No. 4 at 125 with a 17-1 record and senior Jordan Conaway is No. 5 at 133 with a 16-2 mark, giving Penn State six wrestlers ranked in the top five of their respective weights.
Junior Jimmy Gulibon is 7-4 at 141 and ranked No. 13, sophomore Matt McCutcheon is 10-1 at 184 and ranked No. 13 and red-shirt freshman Shakur Rasheed is 12-5 at 165 and ranked No. 16. Sophomore Kade Moss is 15-5 and has seen time at 141 while junior Geno Morelli is 16-4 at 165 and has been ranked nationally at that weight as well. Nittany Lion true freshman Jan Johnson gets the nod at 285.
Nebraska enters Friday’s dual with one of the nation’s most balanced line-ups. The Cornhuskers have a wrestler ranked nationally at each weight, setting up an exciting dual meet in Rec Hall that could feature 19 ranked opponents. Tim Lambert is No. 9 at 125, Eric Montoya is No. 12 at 133, Anthony Abidin is No. 20 at 141, Jake Sueflohn is No. 5 at 149, Tyler Berger is No. 17 at 157, Austin Wilson is No. 14 at 165, Micah Barnes is No. 14 at 174, TJ Dudley is No. 5 at 184, Aaron Studebaker is No. 16 at 197 and Collin Jensen is No. 17 at 285. The Huskers are ranked No. 11 nationally, 9-1 overall and 3-1 in Big Ten action.
No. 25 Northwestern enters Sunday’s match-up with a 1-6 overall record, 0-2 in conference action. The Wildcats sport a line-up featuring four freshmen and a sophomore. Junior Jason Tsirtsis leads the pack for Northwestern with No. 5 ranking at 149. Tsirtsis is a two-time All-American, winning the NCAA title at 149 two years ago and placing third last year.
Penn State trails in the all-time series with Nebraska 6-8-1 but won the last meeting 33-9 at Nebraska on Jan. 27, 2013. The Nittany Lions lost the last meeting in Rec Hall, a 21-13 defeat on Jan. 20, 2000. Penn State leads the all-time series with Northwestern 13-1, including the last 11 straight. Penn State won 39-8 on Jan. 19, 2014, in Rec Hall in the last meeting between the two teams. The Lions won the last encounter in Evanston, 38-8, on Jan. 13, 2012.
Penn State continues its ‘road January’ with a dual at No. 8 Illinois on Saturday, Jan. 23, at 4 p.m. The dual will air live on the Big Ten Network. Penn State’s next home dual meet is on Sunday, Jan. 31, when it hosts Michigan at 2 p.m. in Rec Hall.
#1 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (8-0, 2-0 B1G)
WT NAME EL HT/HS REC
125 #4 Nico Megaludis Sr. Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional 17-1
133 #5 Jordan Conaway Sr. Abbottstown, Pa./New Oxford 16-2
141 #13 Jimmy Gulibon Jr. Latrobe, Pa./Derry 7-4
Kade Moss So. South Jordan, Utah/Bingham 15-5
149 #1 Zain Retherford So. Benton, Pa./Benton 17-0
157 #3 Jason Nolf Fr. Yatesboro, Pa./Kittanning 18-0
165 #16 Shakur Rasheed Fr. Coram, N.Y./Longwood 12-5
Geno Morelli Jr. DuBois, Pa./DuBois 16-4
174 #1 Bo Nickal Fr. Allen, Texas/Allen 18-1
184 #13 Matt McCutcheon So. Apollo, Pa./Kiski Area 10-1
197 #1 Morgan McIntosh Sr. Santa Ana, Calif./Calvary Chapel 16-0
285 Jan Johnson Fr. Mohnton, Pa./Governor Mifflin 1-5
#11 NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS (9-1, 3-1 B1G)
WT NAME EL HT REC
125 #9 Tim Lambert Jr. Forest Hills, Mich. 18-2
133 #12 Eric Montoya Jr. Albuquerque, N.M. 17-3
141 #20 Anthony Abidin Sr. Dix Hills, N.Y. 13-7
149 #5 Jake Sueflohn Sr. Watertown, Wis. 20-2
157 #17 Tyler Berger Fr. Prineville, Ore. 17-4
165 #14 Austin Wilson Sr. Hastings, Neb. 15-4
174 #14 Micah Barnes Jr. Inver Grove Heights, Minn. 15-2
OR Dustin Williams Fr. Gardner, Kan. 10-4
184 #5 TJ Dudley Jr. Irmo, S.C. 12-3
197 #16 Aaron Studebaker Jr. Raymond, Neb. 14-4
OR Derek White Fr. Edmond, Okla. 8-3
285 #17 Collin Jensen Jr. Mobridge, S.D. 15-8
#25 NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS (1-6, 0-2 B1G)
WT NAME EL HT REC
125 Garrison White Sr. Concord, N.C. 9-6
133 Dominick Malone Sr. Granby, Conn. 15-5
141 Jameson Oster Sr. Homer Glen, Ill. 8-2
149 #4 Jason Tsirtsis Jr. Crown Point, Ind. 5-3
157 Bryce Brill Fr. Mt. Carmel, Ill. 3-0
165 Luke Norland Fr. Okoboji, Iowa 3-7
174 Mitch Sliga So. Fishers, Ind. 11-5
184 Regis Durbin Fr. Lake Forest, Ill. 4-9
197 Jacob Berkowitz Jr. Scarsdale, N.Y. 3-5
285 Conan Jennings Fr. Centerville, Ohio 4-11
Team ranking is Intermat Tournament Power Index (TPI) as of 1/12/16
All Individual Rankings are Intermat as of 1/12/16
THIS WEEK
No. 1 Penn State (8-0, 3-0 B1G) returns to Happy Valley for the first time in a month when it hosts No. 11 Nebraska (9-1, 1-1 B1G) on Friday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions then trek to No. 25 Northwestern (1-6, 0-2 B1G) for a Big Ten road dual on Sunday, Jan. 17, at 2 p.m. Eastern/1 p.m. Central, in Evanston, Ill.
