PSU Wrestlers Maintain Top InterMat Rankings

UNIVERSITY PARK – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (12-0, 7-0 B1G) remains the top-ranked team in the country in the Feb. 2 release of InterMat Wrestling’s Tournament Power Index (TPI).  Head coach Cael Sanderson’s squad also tops InterMat’s Dual Meet Rankings.  This marks the 15th straight week that Penn State, with nine ranked individuals, holds the No. 1 spot in the TPI.

Four of Penn State’s nine ranked wrestlers continue to be ranked No. 1 at their respective weights.  As a team, Penn State holds the top spot on InterMat’s TPI with 122.5 points while Oklahoma State is second with 103.5. Ohio State is third at 88.0 and Iowa fourth at 83.5.  Virginia Tech rounds out the top five with 79.0 points.

The four Nittany Lions who hold top spots at their weight classes are senior Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), 20-0 at 197; sophomore Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), 21-0 at 149; red-shirt freshman Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), 22-1 at 174; and red-shirt freshman Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), 22-0 at 157.

Senior Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.) is ranked No. 4 at 125 with a 21-1 record.  Senior All-American Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.) is ranked No. 5 at 133 with an 18-3 record, giving Penn State six individuals ranked in the top five at their respective weights.

Sophomore Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.) is No. 9 at 184 with a 12-2 record while junior Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.) is No. 14 at 141 with a 10-4 mark. Red-shirt freshman Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.) is No. 17 at 165 with a 14-6 record. Penn State is now 12-0 on the year, 7-0 in Big Ten action.  The Nittany Lions are coming off a 35-7 win over Michigan in sold out Rec Hall last Sunday.

Penn State returns to action this Friday night when the team hosts No. 3 Ohio State in an already sold out Bryce Jordan Center.  Nearly 16,000 fans are expected to pack the building for the dual, which begins at 6 p.m. and will air live on the Big Ten Network.