Penn State Dominates Nebraska 24-10
UNIVERSITY PARK – No. 1 Penn State (9-0, 4-0 B1G) dominated No. 11 Nebraska in its first home dual in over a month. The Nittany Lions won seven of ten bouts, including two wins over Nebraska’s top ranked wrestlers, to roll to a 24-10 win. A sell-out standing room only crowd of 6,537 packed Rec Hall.
The dual meet featured 17 ranked wrestlers as Nebraska’s line-up featured 10, yet Penn State still controlled the action, forcing Nebraska into ten stall warnings. The match was Penn State’s first at home since Dec. 13 and first in Rec Hall since the season opener on Nov. 13.
The dual began at 125 where No. 4 Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.) notched two takedowns and posted 1:36 in riding time to down No. 9 Tim Lambert. Senior Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.), ranked No. 5 at 133, then opened up an early lead and posted a 5-3 decision over No. 12 Eric Montoya to give Penn State an early 6-0 lead.. Nebraska got on the board when No. 20 Anthony Abidin downed sophomore Kade Moss (South Jordan, Utah) 4-1 at 141.
Sophomore Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 149, continued his strong season with a 12-3 major over No. 5 Jake Sueflohn. Retherford notched five takedowns and rolled up 3:17 in riding time to put Penn State up 10-3. Red-shirt freshman Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 3 at 157, closed out the dual’s first half with a furious 19-3 technical fall over No. 17 Tyler Berger. The win gave Penn State a 15-3 lead at intermission.
Junior Geno Morelli (DuBois, Pa.) got the nod at 165 and nearly upset No. 14 Austin Wilson. Wilson used a late escape and 1:16 in riding time to post a 3-2 win and cut the Lion lead to 15-6. Red-shirt freshman Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 1 at 174, turned two takedowns and multiple stall points into a 10-3 win over No. 14 Micah Barnes. Sophomore Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), ranked No. 13 at 184, returned to action for the first time since early in the Southern Scuffle. The Lion roared back from a late deficit to beat No. 5 TJ Dudley 8-7. McCutcheon used two late third period takedowns, including one with just one second left, to grab the victory.
Senior Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 1 at 197, collected a 2-1 (TB) win over No. 16 Aaron Studebaker to put Penn State up 24-6 and inch closer to the 100 win mark with 99 for his career to date. Wes Phipps (Grove City, Pa.), wrestling for the first time after missing all last year and the first half of this season with an injury, moved up to 285 for the first time in his career and dropped a 9-1 major to No. 17 Collin Jensen to close out the dual.
Penn State is now 9-0, 4-0 in the Big Ten, while Nebraska falls to 9-2, 3-2 in the conference. The Nittany Lions got bonus points from Retherford with a major over No. 5 Sueflohn and 197 and Nolf with his tech fall over No. 17 Berger at 157. Penn State left the dual with an 18-5 takedown margin.
The Nittany Lions leave tomorrow morning and will visit No. 25 Northwestern on Sunday for a 2 p.m. (Eastern)/1 p.m. (Central) dual in Evanston, Ill. Penn State’s next home meet will be February 5th’s 6 p.m. BJC Dual against Ohio State.
#1 Penn State 24, #11 Nebraska 10
January 15, 2016 – Rec Hall – University Park, Pa.
125: #4 Nico Megaludis PSU dec. #9 Tim Lambert NEB, 8-5 3-0
133: #5 Jordan Conaway PSU dec. #12 Eric Montoya NEB, 5-3 6-0
141: # 20 Anthony Abidin NEB dec. Kade Moss PSU, 4-1 6-3
149: #1 Zain Retherford PSU maj. dec. #5 Jake Sueflohn NEB, 12-3 10-3
157: #3 Jason Nolf PSU tech fall #17 Tyler Berger NEB, 19-3 (TF; 7:00) 15-3
165: #14 Austin Wilson NEB dec. Geno Morelli PSU, 3-2 15-6
174: #1 Bo Nickal PSU dec. #14 Micah Barnes NEB, 10-3 18-6
184: #13 Matt McCutcheon PSU dec. #5 TJ Dudley NEB, 8-7 21-6
197: #1 Morgan McIntosh PSU 2-1 dec. #16 Aaron Studebaker NEB, 2-1 (TB) 24-6
285: #17 Collin Jensen NEB maj. dec. Wes Phipps PSU, 9-1 24-10
Attendance: 6,537
Records: Penn State 9-0, 4-0 B1G; Nebraska 9-2, 3-2 B1G
Up Next for Penn State: at #25 Northwestern, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2 p.m. (Eastern)/1 p.m. Central
