Gulibon and Brown Lead PSU

UNIVERSITY PARK – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestlers, ranked No. 5 in Intermat’s Tournament Power Index, opened up the 2014-15 season Sunday afternoon with a 24-10 win over No. 17 Lehigh.  Wrestled in front of a sold out Rec Hall crowd of 6,237, sophomore Jimmy Gulibon and senior Matt Brown led the way as Penn State won seven of ten bouts.
 
The dual began at 125, where No. 12 Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.) downed Scott Parker 4-3 to put Penn State up 3-0 early on.  No. 8 Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.) then thrilled the SRO crowd with an 8-3 win over No. 2 Mason Beckman at 133.  Gulibon used a swift four-point move at the end of the first period and a late second period takedown to roll to victory.  Red-shirt freshman Kade Moss (South Jordan, Utah) made his Penn State dual debut at 141 but dropped a 8-2 decision to Lehigh’s Randy Cruz.
 
Sophomore Zack Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.), ranked No. 16 at 149, put Penn State up 9-3 with an 8-2 win over Lehigh’s Drew Longo.  Red-shirt freshman Cody Law (Windber, Pa.) made his Lion dual debut at 157 against LU’s Dylan Milonas.  Milonas used a 1:33 riding time edge to post a 2-1 win and cut Penn State’s lead to 9-6 at intermission.
 
Red-shirt freshman Garett Hammond (Chambersburg, Pa.) also made his dual debut at 165 and posted an 8-3 win over Lehigh’s Santiago Martinez to put Penn State up 12-6. Two-time All-American Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah), ranked No. 3 at 174, doubled Penn State’s lead with a second period pin (4:01) of LU’s Marshall Peppleman.  The fall put Penn State up 18-6.  Red-shirt freshman Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.) made his Penn State debut at 184, taking on No. 3 Nate Brown. Brown was strong, posting a 10-2 major over the Lion freshman and cutting Penn State’s lead to 18-10. 
 
All-American Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 4 at 197, posted a 4-3 win over No. 18 Elliott Riddick at 197 to put Penn State up 21-10.  Senior Jon Gingrich (Wingate, Pa.), ranked No. 7 at 285, closed out the dual with a 3-1 win over Doug Vollaro, to finalize the dual meet at 24-10 Penn State.
 
Penn State had four wrestlers making their dual meet debuts, all red-shirt freshmen.  The Nittany Lions won the takedown battle by a 12-8 margin.  Each team had one bonus point decision, Brown’s pin at 174 for Penn State and Brown’s major at 184 for Lehigh.  Penn State is now 1-0, while Lehigh falls to 1-1.

Penn State continues dual meet action in two weeks, visiting Pittsburgh on Friday, Nov. 21, for a 7 p.m. dual wrestled at Pitt’s Peterson Events Center.  Penn State then treks to Clarion on Saturday, Nov. 22, for a 7 p.m. dual.
 
Penn State 24, Lehigh 10
November 9, 2014 – Rec Hall – University Park, Pa.
 
125: #12 Jordan Conaway PSU dec. Scott Parker LEH, 4-3                                     3-0
133: #8 Jimmy Gulibon PSU dec. #2 Mason Beckman LEH, 8-3                             6-0
141: Randy Cruz LEH dec. Kade Moss PSU, 8-2                                                     6-3
149: #16 Zack Beitz PSU dec. Drew Longo LEH, 8-2                                              9-3
157: Dylan Milonas LEH dec. Cody Law PSU, 2-1                                                  9-6
165: Garett Hammond PSU dec. Santiago Martinez LEH, 8-3                                 12-6
174: #3 Matt Brown PSU pinned Marshall Peppleman LEH, WBF (4:01)               18-6
184: #3 Nate Brown LEH maj. dec. Matt McCutcheon PSU, 10-2                           18-10
197: #4 Morgan McIntosh PSU dec. #18 Elliott Riddick LEH, 4-3                          21-10
285: #7 Jon Gingrich PSU dec. Doug Vollaro LEH, 3-1                                           24-10

Attendance: 6,237 (20th straight home sell out)
Records: Penn State 1-0, 0-0 B1G; Lehigh 1-1
Up Next for Penn State: at #18 Pittsburgh, Friday, Nov. 21, Peterson Events Center, 7 p.m.