Penn State Pins its Way to 42-3 Win at Michigan State; both Altons post wins

EAST LANSING – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team remained unbeaten on the year, pinning its way to a 42-3 win at Michigan State Friday night.  The Lion crew recorded four falls in the Big Ten road win.

The dual began at 157, where junior All-American Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), ranked No. 4 at 157, stayed unbeaten with a solid 8-3 win over Roger Wildmo.  All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), ranked No. 1 at 165, remained unbeaten as well with a first period pin of Bobby Nash.  Taylor got the fall at the 1:53 mark, his 11th of the season and the 48th of his career.

All-American Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah), ranked No. 3 at 174, dominated Spartan Nick Kaczanowski, rolling to an 18-3 technical fall at the 7:00 mark, including 4:48 in riding time.  All-American Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 2 at 184, matched Taylor with a first period pin of his own, getting a quick pin over John Rizqallah at the 0:38 mark. Sophomore Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 3 at 197, continued Penn State’s pin-parade, locking up a second period cradle to pin Nick McDiarmid at the 4:23 mark.  The win sent Penn State into intermission with a 26-0 lead.

Junior Nick Ruggear (Oxford, Pa.) got the nod at 285 and led into the third period over No. 7 Mike McClure.  But McClure rallied late for the 5-1 decision, putting the Spartans on the board.  At 125, Nittany Lion Jordan Conaway stepped in for second-ranked Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.).  Megaludis did not make the weekend trip after being sick all week. Conaway, a national qualifier last year at 133, dominated MSU’s Brenan Lyon, posting a 15-4 major decision.

Red-shirt freshman Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), ranked No. 16 at 133, followed with strong performance of his own in a 10-3 decision with over 2:00 in riding time.  Undefeated true freshman Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), ranked No. 2 at 141, stayed unbeaten, pinning Brian Gibbs at the 4:42 mark.  Junior Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) took to the mat at 149 and closed out a dominant Penn State performance with a 9-5 victory over Spartan Nick Trimble.

Penn State posted a lop-sided 23-2 edge in takedown and notched four pins, the most in a dual this year for the Nittany Lions.  Taylor improved to 22-0 with the win, including 11 pins, six tech falls and five majors.  His 48 pins are just five shy of Penn State’s all-time record of 53.  He is 122-3 all-time and is now eighth on Penn State’s all-time wins list.  Taylor also improved to 30-0 all-time in Big Ten duals and 51-0 all-time against Big Ten competition.

Ruth is 21-1 with eight pins, seven tech falls and six majors.  His 43 career pins is third all-time at Penn State.  Ruth is 123-3 all-time at Penn State and is tied for sixth on the Lions’ all-time wins list.  He, like Taylor, is unbeaten against Big Ten foes, sporting a 30-0 Big Ten dual meet mark and a 52-0 mark all-time against Big Ten competition.

Retherford remained unbeaten and moved to 22-0 with four pins, two tech falls and seven majors.  Dylan Alton improved to 14-0 on the year with three pins and a major.  Brown moved to 22-1 with six pins, three techs and seven majors and McIntosh improved to 21-2 with four pins and nine majors.  Andrew Alton moved to 8-0.

Penn State moves to 12-0 on the year, 6-0 in Big Ten action, while Michigan State falls to 5-9, 0-6 B1G. The Nittany Lions visit Michigan on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 2.  The Lions and Wolverines tangle at 3:30 p.m. live on the Big Ten Network in a match where the winner will clinch at least a share of the Big Ten regular season title.

 

(1) Penn State 42, Michigan State 3

January 31, 2014 – East Lansing, Mich.

 

157: #4 Dylan Alton PSU dec. Roger Wildmo MSU, 8-3                                         3-0

165: #1 David Taylor PSU pinned Bobby Nash MSU, WBF (1:53)                         9-0

174: #3 Matt Brown PSU tech fall Nick Kaczanowski MSU, 18-3 (TF; 7:00)          14-0

184: #2 Ed Ruth PSU pinned John Rizqallah MSU, WBF (0:38)                             20-0

197: #7 Morgan McIntosh PSU pinned Nick McDiarmid MSU, WBF (4:23)          26-0

285: #7 Mike McClure MSU dec. Nick Ruggear PSU, 5-1                                       26-3

125: Jordan Conaway PSU maj. dec. Brenan Lyon MSU, 15-4                                30-3

133: #16 Jimmy Gulibon PSU dec. Garth Yenter MSU, 10-3                                   33-3

141: #2 Zain Retherford PSU pinned Brian Gibbs MSU, WBF (4:42)                     39-3

149: Andrew Alton PSU dec. Nick Trimble MSU, 9-5                                             42-3

Attendance: 662

Records: Penn State 12-0, 6-0 B10; Michigan State 5-9, 0-6 B10

Up Next for Penn State: at Michigan, Sunday, Feb. 2, 3:30 p.m.