Penn State Hammers Indiana 34-8
BLOOMINGTON, Ind – No. 1 Penn State (8-0, 3-0 B1G) dominated home standing Indiana on Sunday, closing out a Big Ten road weekend with another lopsided victory. Penn State rolled to a 34-8 win in Bloomington and remains perfect on the year. The Nittany Lions won eight of ten bouts, six of which brought bonus points.
The dual began at 157 where red-shirt freshman Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 3, dominated Jake Danishek. Nolf tallied nine takedowns on his way to a 21-8 major with over 3:00 in riding time. Red-shirt freshman Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.), fresh off pinning the Midlands Champion two days earlier, dominated Bryce Martin in an 11-2 major at 165 to put Penn State up 8-0 early.
Red-shirt freshman Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 1 at 174, suffered a 7-6 upset loss to No. 11 Nate Jackson in the dual’s most anticipated bout. Nickal got caught for back points on a counter throw by the Hoosier junior and then had a third period takedown waived off. Indiana was penalized one team point during the bout.
Red-shirt freshman Devon Van Cura (Washington, N.C.) got the call at 184 and picked up his first dual win as a Nittany Lion. Van Cura notched a late takedown to post the 5-3 win over Matt Irick and put Penn State up 8-2. Senior All-American Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 1 at 197, picked up his second first period pin of the weekend, turning Jake Masengale for a fall at the 2:50 mark. The fall, the 19th of McIntosh’s career, put Penn State up 17-3 at the midway point of the dual.
Indiana senior Garret Goldman pinned Lion true freshman Jan Johnson (Mohnton, Pa.) at heavyweight, getting the fall at the 5:35 mark. Senior All-American Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), ranked No. 4, rolled to a 6-2 win over Elijah Oliver and the Lions led 20-8 with three bouts remaining.
Senior All-American Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.), ranked No. 4 at 133, posted a 14-3 major over Alonzo Shepherd with 2:00 in riding time. Junior All-American Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), ranked No. 13 at 141, returned to action with an 11-3 major over Cole Weaver with 2:39 in riding time. Sophomore All-American Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 149, closed out the lop-sided win by pinning Luke Blanton at the 2:43 mark in the first period. Retherford’s fall, his seventh of the year, gave Penn State the 34-8 victory.
Penn State is now 8-0, 3-0 in the Big Ten while Indiana falls to 4-1, 1-1 in the conference. Penn State won the takedown battle 27-4 and rolled to ten bonus points off two pins and four majors.
The Nittany Lions host Nebraska on Friday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall in their next action.
#1 Penn State 34, Indiana 8
January 10, 2016 – Bloomington, Ind.
157: #3 Jason Nolf PSU maj. dec. Jake Danishek IU, 21-8 4-0
165: Shakur Rasheed PSU maj. dec. Bryce Martin IU, 11-2 8-0
174: #11 Nate Jackson IU dec. #1 Bo Nickal PSU, 7-6 8-2*
* Indiana penalized one team point for unsportsmanlike conduct
184: Devon Van Cura PSU dec. Matt Irick IU, 5-3 11-2
197: #1 Morgan McIntosh PSU pinned Jake Masengale IU, WBF (2:50) 17-2
285: Garret Goldman IU pinned Jan Johnson PSU, WBF (5:35) 17-8
125: #4 Nico Megaludis PSU dec. Elijah Oliver IU, 6-2 20-8
133: #4 Jordan Conaway PSU maj. dec. Alonzo Shepherd IU, 14-3 24-8
141: #13 Jimmy Gulibon PSU maj. dec. Cole Weaver IU, 11-3 28-8
149: #1 Zain Retherford PSU pinned Luke Blanton IU, WBF (2:43) 34-8
Attendance: 453
Records: Penn State 8-0, 3-0 B1G; Indiana 4-1, 1-1 B10
Up Next for Penn State: home vs. Nebraska, Friday, Jan. 15, 7 p.m. in Rec Hall
