Penn State Wrestlers Crown Eight Champs at Keystone Classic
PHILADELPHIA – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (2-0, 0-0 B1G) sent 19 wrestlers to the University of Pennsylvania for the 2016 Keystone Classic and came away with eight champions. Sanderson’s team rolled to the team title by more than 100 points.
Penn State advanced 10 wrestlers to Sunday’s finals at nine weights as two faced off against each other at 174. The Nittany Lions went 8-2 in the finals and rolled to the team title with 245.0 points. Second place Pittsburgh had 121.5 and Eastern Michigan took third with 110.5.
True freshman Nick Suriano (Paramus, N.J.), ranked No. 6 at 125, rolled to the 125-pound title, posting a 4-0 record with a pin and two majors to take first. Junior Kade Moss (South Jordan, Utah) sparked Penn State at 141, advancing to the finals before suffering his first loss. His 4-1 run to second included two pins and a major. Junior Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 149, was unstoppable. Retherford went 5-0 with five pins to claim the title. Retherford, who was named Outstanding Wrestler, moved to 17th on Penn State’s all-time pins list with 25.
Sophomore Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 157, stormed through the field to win the title. Nolf went 5-0 with three pins and two tech falls. Red-shirt freshman Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 12 at 165, had a stellar day in winning the title at 165. Joseph downed No. 5 Chad Walsh of Rider 12-5 in a dominating semifinal performance. He ended the tournament with a 9-5 decision over No. 13 Te’Shan Campbell. Joseph went 4-0 with two tech falls.
Senior Geno Morelli (DuBois, Pa.), ranked No. 13 at 174, faced sophomore teammate Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.) in the finals at 174. In a thrilling and even match that went well beyond extra time, Rasheed used an escape with :04 left in his second tie-breaker to grab a 2-1 (TB2) victory and claim the 174-pound title. Rasheed ended the tournament with a 5-0 mark, a pin and a tech fall while Morelli was equally impressive, going 4-1 with three pins.
Sophomore Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No.3 at 184, pinned his way to the title at 184 just like Retherford. Nickal went 4-0 with four falls and is now 6-0 with six pins on the year. Junior Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), ranked No. 14 at 197, won the 197-pound crown with an outstanding 3-1 win over No. 16 Frank Mattiace of Penn in the finals. McCutcheon went 4-0 with a fall. Sophomore Nick Nevills (Clovis, Calif.), ranked No. 9 at 285, dominated Denzel Dejournette of Appalachian State in the title bout to win his crown. Nevills went 4-0 with two pins.
Sophomore Jered Cortez (Carol Stream, Ill.), ranked No. 9 at 133, rebounded from a semifinal upset to nab two falls and place third. Cortez went 4-1 with three pins. Red-shirt freshman Gary Dinmore (Skillman, N.J.) was strong at 149, posting a 3-2 mark to place fourth at 149..
Red-shirt freshman Dominic Giannangeli (Murrysville, Pa.) went 4-2 with a major to place fifth at 141. Red-shirt freshman Kellan Stout (Pittsburgh, Pa.) was solid at 197, posting a 3-2 mark to finish fifth. Senior Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), ranked No. 11 at 141, went 4-2 with a major and a tech fall but did not place.
Red-shirt freshman Patrick Higgins (Monroeville, N.J.) went 2-2 at 125, senior Caleb Livingston (Drexel Hill, Pa.) went 1-2 at 165, sophomore Devon Van Cura (Washington, N.C.) went 0-2 at 184 and sophomore George Carpenter (Chapel Hill, N.C.) went 0-2 at 133.
The Nittany Lions opened up the day lighting the Palestra up with fireworks. Through the quarterfinals, Penn State rolled to a 37-5 record with a stunning 20 pins. Sanderson’s squad added on four technical falls and four majors to close out the morning half of the event with 28 bonus point wins in its 37 victories. The sizzling morning set the stage for Penn State’s outstanding overall record and performance. Penn State ended the day with a 64-19 overall record, including 27 pins, six tech falls and five majors. Penn State had 14 of its 19 entrants place (eight champs, two runners-up, one third, one fourth, two fifth).
Penn State will host No. 10 Lehigh in the Bryce Jordan Center on Dec. 4 in its next outing. The dual, which will air live to a national audience on the Big Ten Network, starts at 12 p.m.
2016 Keystone Classic – Final Team Standings (top three):
November 20, 2016 – The Palestra – Philadelphia, Pa.
1: PENN STATE – 245.0
2: Pittsburgh – 121.5
3: Eastern Michigan – 110.5
