PSU Perfect in Round One of NCAA Championships
ST. LOUIS – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team opened up the 2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships with a perfect first round on Thursday. Penn State, winners of four straight NCAA titles, qualified seven wrestlers for this year’s national championship and all seven came away with first round wins, advancing into tonight’s round of 16 starting at 7 p.m. EDT.
In addition to the unblemished start, Penn State picked up key bonus points with three majors and a tech fall. Two Penn Staters grabbed victories in their NCAA Championship debuts.
Junior Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.), the No. 11 seed at 125, began Penn State’s day with a solid 12-7 win over Joaquin Martinez of the Citadel. The Lion junior used two reversals and a late four-point move in the second period to break away for the win.
Sophomore Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), the No. 7 seed at 133, dominated Rutgers’ Scott Delvecchio, using a last second takedown to secure Penn State’s first bonus points and rolling to an 11-3 major decision with nearly 2:00 of riding time.
Sophomore Zack Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.), the No. 12 seed at 149, was equally dominant in his NCAA Championship debut, rolling to a 10-1 major over Shawn Greevy of Chattanooga. Beitz used multiple takedowns and a three point near fall in the second and added 3:35 riding time.
Senior Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah), the No. 2 seed at 174, made it three straight majors for Penn State with a strong 12-4 major over Pete Renda of North Carolina State. Brown secured the bonus point with a late takedown and 2:55 riding time.
Freshman Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), the No. 14 seed at 184, made it yet another bonus point win with a furious 20-5 technical fall over Cal Poly’s Nick Fiegener. McCutcheon, in his NCAA Championship debut, tallied numerous takedowns and turns and picked up the tech fall off 1:41 in riding time at the 7:00 mark.
Junior Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), the No. 2 seed at 197, built up nearly 4:00 of riding time and used a second period reversal to roll to a first round win over Virginia’s Zach Nye. McIntosh amassed 3:55 in time on his way to a 3-0 victory to move into the second round.
Senior Jimmy Lawson (Toms River, N.J.), the No. 8 seed at 285, controlled Cornell’s Jacob Aiken-Phillips from start to finish in his 9-3 first round win. Lawson rolled up three takedowns, a reversal and 3:43 in riding time to move into round two and cap off the perfect Penn State morning.
Penn State went 7-0 in the opening round and picked up 4.5 bonus points off three majors (Gulibon, Beitz and Brown) and a tech fall (McCutcheon). Conaway, McIntosh and Lawson posted regular decisions. The Nittany Lions find themselves in second place in the team race with 11.5 points. Ohio State is just ahead with 13.5 with two teams (Missouri and Cornell) at 11.0 tied for third.
Penn State continues its 2015 NCAA Championship run tonight during session 2, starting at 7 p.m. (Eastern)/6 p.m. (Central). Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at www.twitter.com/pennstateWREST and on Penn State Wrestling’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling. The 2014-15 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships – Team Score – Top Five
Thursday, March 19, 2015 – Scottrade Center – St. Louis, Mo.
1: Ohio State – 13.5
2: PENN STATE – 11.5
3: Missouri – 11.0
3: Cornell – 11.0
5: Iowa – 10.0
5: Michigan – 10.0
5: Nebraska – 10.0
Attendance: 18,383
The following is a weight-by-weight breakdown/agate of Penn State’s tournament to date (rankings listed are SEEDS):
125: #11 Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.), Jr. — (24-6 overall)
1st Rd: Joaquin Martinez, The Citadel – W, 12-7 dec.
2nd Rd: #6 Thomas Gilman, Iowa – tonight
133: #7 Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), So. — (23-7 overall)
1st Rd: Scott Delvecchio, Rutgers – W, 11-3 maj. dec.
2nd Rd: Jade Rauser, Utah Valley — tonight
149: #12 Zack Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.), So. — (19-9 overall)
1st Rd: Shawn Greevy, Chattanooga – W, 10-1 maj. dec.
2nd Rd: #5 Chris Villalonga, Cornell — tonight
174: #2 Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah) Sr. — (25-3 overall)
1st Rd: Pete Renda, North Carolina State – W, 12-4 maj. dec.
2nd Rd: #15 Santiago Martinez, Lehigh – tonight
184: #14 Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), Fr. — (25-12 overall)
1st Rd: Nick Fiegener, Cal Poly – W, 20-5 (TF; 7:00)
2nd Rd: #3 Blake Stauffer, Arizona State – tonight
197: #2 Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), Jr. — (27-2 overall)
1st Rd: Zach Nye, Virginia – W, 3-0 dec.
2nd Rd: #15 Adam Studebaker, Nebraska – tonight
285: #8 Jimmy Lawson (Toms River, N.J.), Sr. — (16-3 overall)
1st Rd: Jacob Aiken-Phillips, Cornell – W, 9-3 dec.
2nd Rd: #9 Michael Kroells, Minnesota – tonight
