PSU Hammers Rider 30-3
UNIVERSITY PARK – Nittany Lions Luke Frey (Montoursville, Pa.), Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah) and Jimmy Lawson (Toms River, N.J.) each claimed victory in their final home appearances in Penn State’s Sunday afternoon 30-3 win over Rider in Rec Hall. Penn State won of nine of ten bouts over the visiting Broncos on Senior Day in this season dual finale for the Nittany Lions.
Frey, Brown and Lawson had to wait in the wings for their Rec Hall finales as the dual meet began at 125. Junior Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.), ranked No. 9, opened up the dual with an 8-4 win over Rider’s J.R. Wert. Sophomore Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), ranked No. 5 at 133, then put Penn State up 6-0 with a 4-1 win over Rider junior Robert Deutsch. Rider senior Chuck Zeisloft posted a 3-2 win over Lion red-shirt freshman Kade Moss (South Jordan, Utah) at 141 to cut Penn State’s lead to 6-3.
Sophomore Zack Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.), ranked No. 14 at 149, overcame a slow start with a four-point move in the last five seconds to grab a 6-3 win over Rider’s B.J. Clagon. Frey, a junior in terms of eligibility but graduating this May, made his final Happy Valley appearance at 157. The Montoursville native rolled to a 10-4 win over Rider’s Chad Walsh to give Penn State a 12-3 lead at intermission. Dylan Alton, the Central Mountain High School graduate, also was listed as a possibility at 157 at what would have been his final Rec Hall appearance, but Frey got the nod.
Red-shirt freshman Garett Hammond (Chambersburg, Pa.), ranked No. 18 at 165, turned a tight tie-breaker match with Conor Brennan into a 13-4 major with a final furious flurry. The dual’s first bonus point win put Penn State up 16-3. With just one bout left in his Rec Hall career, two-time All-American Brown, ranked No. 2 at 174, put on a takedown exhibition, rolling to a 14-3 major over Rider’s Ryan Wolfe (including 3:36 in riding time). Brown’s win was the 111th of his career, putting him alone in 17th place on Penn State’s all-time wins list. The victory put Penn State up 20-3 as well.
Red-shirt freshman Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), ranked No. 19 at 184, notched a hard-fought 6-4 win over Rider senior Clint Morrison and junior All-American Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 4 at 197, posted a 12-5 win over Bronc senior Donald McNeil. The victories put the Nittany Lions up 26-3. With one bout remaining in his Rec Hall career, seventh-ranked Lawson closed out the dual meet season with a 12-4 major over Rider’s Greg Velasco, giving Penn State the 30-3 win.
Penn State won the takedown ware 23-8 and picked up three majors in the win. The crowd of 6,509 was the 26th straight home sell-out for Penn State, including two sold out duals in the near 16K capacity Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State concludes its dual meet season with an 11-4 mark while Rider sits at 13-8.
Penn State now readies itself for the 2015 Big Ten Wrestling Championships on March 7-8. Head coach Cael Sanderson and the Nittany Lions will be riding a string of four straight Big Ten Championships into the two day event in Columbus, Ohio.
(6) Penn State 30, Rider 3
February 22, 2015 – Rec Hall – University Park, Pa.
125: #9 Jordan Conaway PSU dec. J.R. Wert RID, 8-4 3-0
133: #5 Jimmy Gulibon PSU dec. Robert Deutsch RID, 4-1 6-0
141: Chuck Zeisloft RID dec. Kade Moss PSU, 3-2 6-3
149: #14 Zack Beitz PSU dec. B.J. Clagon RID, 6-3 9-3
157: Luke Frey PSU dec. Chad Walsh RID, 10-4 12-3
165: #18 Garett Hammond PSU maj. dec. (TB1) Conor Brennan RID, 13-4 16-3
174: #2 Matt Brown PSU maj. dec. Ryan Wolfe RID, 14-3 20-3
184: #19 Matt McCutcheon PSU dec. Clint Morrison RID, 6-4 23-3
197: #4 Morgan McIntosh PSU dec. Donald McNeil RID, 12-5 26-3
285: #7 Jimmy Lawson PSU maj. dec. Greg Velasco RID, 12-4 30-3
Attendance: 6,509 (26th straight home sell-out)
Records: Penn State 11-4; Rider 13-8
Up Next for Penn State: at 2015 Big Ten Championships, March 7-8, Columbus, Ohio
