Nittany Lions Shine at Southern Scuffle and Edinboro Open
UNIVERSITY PARK– The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (6-0, 0-0 B1G) sent various attached and unattached wrestlers to two tournaments this weekend as Penn State prepares for the start of the Big Ten dual season on Friday. Nine Penn Staters competed at the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Jan. 4-5 while two travelled to the Edinboro Open on Jan. 4. All rankings listed are InterMat/InterMat Tournament Power Index (TPI).
In all, four Penn Staters came away with individual titles (three at the Scuffle, one at Edinboro) while seven of the 11 earned placings at their respective events.
True freshman Zack Ryder won the title at 184. Ryder went 5-0 overall with a pin and a technical fall, downing No. 22 DJ Parker of Oklahoma 9-2 in the quarters and pinning No. 20 TJ Stewart of Virginia Tech in the semifinals (4:06). He met Al Heeg of Northern Colorado in the finals and used a five-point move in extra time to win the championship, 6-1 (sv).
True freshman Connor Mirasola won the championship at 197. Mirasola went unbeaten in his first four bouts and advanced to the finals to take on No. 30 Patrick Brophy of The Citadel. He then rolled to a 7-3 win over the ranked Brophy to win the title at 197. Mirasola went 5-0 overall with a pin, two techs and a major.
True freshman Cole Mirasola won the title at 285, Penn State’s third. Mirasola went unbeaten through three matches, including a 21-6 tech fall over No. 29 Connor Barkett of Duke in the quarters, to advance to the finals where he met No. 24 Lucas Stoddard of Army. Mirasola dominated the ranked Knight, rolling to a 9-0 major decision to win the crown. Mirasola went 4-0 with two techs and a major.
Sophomore Connor Pierce took second at 149. Pierce advanced to the finals with a 4-3 win over No. 13 Willie McDougald of Oklahoma in the semis and met No. 16 Jordan Williams of Little Rock in the finals, where he dropped a tough 10-5 decision. Pierce went 4-1 with a pin and a major to take second place.
Penn State’s fifth place winner at the Scuffle was senior+ Kurt McHenry at 125. McHenry posted a 6-2 overall record and placed fifth. McHenry picked up two tech falls and a major on his way to the podium for Penn State.
Four other Nittany Lions competed at the event, each grabbing multiple wins. Gary Steen went 2-2 with two tech falls at 133. Tim Levine went 2-2 with a pin at 141. Aurelius Dunbar went 3-2 with two majors at 165. Jack Kelly went 2-2 with a pin at 174.
Two Penn Staters competed at the Edinboro Open on Saturday with both advancing to the finals. True freshman Cael Nasdeo went 3-0 at 141 (plus one win against a non-collegiate foe) to win the crown at his weight. He had a tech fall and a major on his way to winning the title. True freshman Sam Beckett went 2-1 at 174 and advanced to the finals before losing and earning second place.
The Nittany Lions are 6-0 overall, 0-0 in Big Ten action. Penn State returns to action this weekend, hosting Michigan State to open up Big Ten action on Friday, Jan. 10. The dual meet, a B1G Network national telecast, is set for 8 p.m. in Rec Hall.
Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via X/twitter at @pennstateWREST, on Penn State Wrestling’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here.
