PSU wrestlers blank Binghamton, 46-0

 

UNIVERSITY PARK – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (4-0, 0-0 B10) shut-out visiting Binghamton (1-2, 1-1 EIWA), 46-0 at Rec Hall Sunday afternoon. The victory was the fourth straight dual meet win to start the year, this one in front of the 31st straight Rec Hall sellout for the Nittany Lions.

Penn State roared to the win thanks to three pins and a dual meet debut victory from Nittany Lion sophomore George Carpenter (Chapel Hill, N.C.) at 133. Penn State won all ten bouts, nine with bonus points.

The dual began at 125 where true freshman Nick Suriano (Paramus, N.J.), ranked No. 4 nationally, stayed unbeaten with a 12-2 major decision over Binghamton’s Steve Bulzomi. With sophomore Jered Cortez (Carol Stream, Ill.), ranked No. 15 nationally, banged up, classmate Carpenter made his dual meet debut for Penn State. Carpenter took advantage of the opportunity with a 17-2 technical fall (getting the 17th point off 2:04 in riding time). Carpenter’s dual debut victory put Penn State up 9-0 early.

Senior Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), ranked No. 13 at 141, dominated Binghamton’s Dylan Caruana, posting a 12-3 major with 3:29 in riding time. Junior Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 149, improved to 9-0 on the year with his eighth straight pin. Retherford posted the first period fall over BU’s Parker Kropman at the 2:39 mark. Sophomore Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 157, sent Penn State into the halftime break with a 25-0 lead by pinning BU’s Tristan Rifanburg at the 3:48 mark. The fall was Nolf’s sixth of the year.

Red-shirt freshman Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 9 at 165, opened up the second half with a 10-5 decision over Binghamton’s Vincent DePrez. Senior Geno Morelli (DuBois, Pa.) got the call at 174 and dominated Binghamton’s Anthony Lombardo, posting a 22-9 major decision with 2:07 in riding time to put the Nittany Lions up 32-0. Sophomore Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 2 at 184, controlled the action from start to finish in an 18-7 major over No. 13 Steve Schneider.

Junior Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), ranked No. 13 at 197, dominated Mark Tracy, rolling to a 9-1 major decision with 3:01 in riding time. Sophomore Nick Nevills (Clovis, Calif.), ranked No. 8 at 285, closed out the dual with a fall over Connor Calkins. Nevills bolted out to an 11-1 lead before turning the Bearcat for the pin at the 3:57 mark. The win gave Penn State the 46-0 shut-out, its second shut-out of the year (45-0 at Army on 11/11/16).

Penn State dominated the match, posting a 45-3 takedown edge. Sanderson’s squad picked up 15 bonus points off three pins (Retherford, Nolf, Nevills), a tech fall (Carpenter) and five majors (Suriano, Gulibon, Morelli, Nickal, McCutcheon). Retherford, 9-0 on the year and riding a streak of eight straight falls, is 16th on Penn State’s all-time pins list with 27. Nolf, also 9-0 on the season, has six pins this year and 21 for his career. Nevills has three pins on the year.

The Nittany Lions are now 4-0 on the year and have won 21 straight duals dating back to the end of the 2014-15 campaign. Binghamton falls to 1-2.

Penn State will head to Reno, Nev., next weekend for the 2016 Reno Tournament of Champions. The event begins on Sunday, Dec. 18, at 12 p.m. Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific (local). Penn State’s next home dual is set for Friday, Jan. 13, when Rutgers invades Rec Hall for a 7 p.m. Big Ten dual.

#3 Penn State 46, Binghamton 0
December 11, 2016 – Rec Hall – University Park, Pa.

125: #4 Nick Suriano PSU maj. dec. Steve Bulzomi BU, 12-2 4-0
133: George Carpenter PSU tech fall Ian Lupole BU, 17-2 (TF; 7:00) 9-0
141: #13 Jimmy Gulibon PSU maj. dec. Dylan Caruana BU, 12-3 13-0
149: #1 Zain Retherford PSU pinned Parker Kropman BU, WBF (2:39) 19-0
157: #1 Jason Nolf PSU pinned Tristan Rifanburg BU, WBF (3:48) 25-0
165: #9 Vincenzo Joseph PSU dec. Vincent DePrez BU, 10-5 28-0
174: Geno Morelli PSU maj. dec. Anthony Lombardo BU, 22-9 32-0
184: #2 Bo Nickal PSU maj. dec. #13 Steve Schneider BU, 18-7 36-0
197: #13 Matt McCutcheon PSU maj. dec. Mark Tracy BU, 9-1 40-0
285: #8 Nick Nevills PSU pinned Connor Calkins BU, WBF (3:57) 46-0
Attendance: 6,319 Records: Penn State (4-0, 0-0 B10); Binghamton (1-2, 1-1 EIWA)
Up Next for Penn State: at Reno Tournament of Champions, Sunday, Dec. 18, 12 p.m. Eastern