PSU in First After Session 3
Dylan Alton Eliminated in Consolations
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team continues to hold first place at the midway point of the 2014 NCAA Wrestling Championships. Head coach Cael Sanderson and company have already garnered four All-Americans as those Nittany Lions are through to the National Semifinals Friday night. Seniors David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) and Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) became Penn State’s seventh and eighth four-time All-Americans with their victories. Penn State leads the team race with 61.0 points, while Minnesota (59.0) and Oklahoma State (56.0) sit in second and third.
The Nittany Lions went 4-1 in the quarterfinals, with the lone loss a heart-pounding tie-breaker defeat. In addition to the strong quarterfinal showing, three Nittany Lions are still alive in consolation action, meaning seven of Penn State’s 10 grapplers will continue on tonight.
Junior Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), the No. 3 seed at 125, took on No. 6 Jarrod Patterson of Oklahoma in the quarterfinals and rolled to a 6-0 win. Megaludis collected a first period takedown and then rode Patterson out for the entire second period. He tacked on a late takedown and a riding time point to post the win. The victory makes Megaludis a three-time All-American, the 23rd in Penn State history.
True freshman Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), the No. 3 seed at 141, took on No. 11 Joey Lazor of Northern Iowa in the quarterfinals and used a furious first period flurry to post the strong 5-2 decision. Retherford took Lazor down midway through the period and turned him for two back points. Lazor managed a reversal but Retherford quickly escaped and the score bolted to 5-2 in a hurry. Lazor rode Retherford out for the entire second period and the Nittany Lion freshman controlled Lazor for the entire third period. The 5-2 win moves Retherford into tonight’s national semifinals and makes him Penn State’s first true freshman All-American since Megaludis in 2012.
Senior David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), the No. 1 seed at 165, took on No. 8 Michael Moreno of Iowa State in the quarterfinals and continued his streak of pins. Taylor rode a first period takedown to a 2-0 lead after three minutes of wrestling. Moreno chose down to start the second period and Taylor went to work. The Lion senior worked Moreno’s shoulders to the mat, adjusted once and then pushed the Cyclone flat for the pin at the 3:19 mark. The win, his third by fall of the tournament, moved him into the national semifinals and makes Taylor Penn State’s seventh four-time All-American in Penn State history. He also tied Penn State’s all-time career pins record with the fall. Taylor now has 53, tied atop the Lion list with former Penn Stater Josh Moore.
Senior Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), the No. 2 seed at 184, became the eighth four-time All-American in Penn State history with a dominating 10-2 major decision over No. 7 Kevin Steinhaus of Minnesota in the quarterfinals. Ruth used multiple takedowns in each period to roll to the win. He countered numerous Steinhaus shots, forcing short scrambles that he calmly turned into takedowns of his own, racking up 1:41 in riding time for the key point for the major decision. Ruth’s victory was the 19th NCAA Championship win of his career, setting a new school record for wins in at nationals.
Junior Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah), the No. 5 seed at 174, scored in just :10 to take an early 2-0 lead over No. 4 Mike Evans of Iowa. But the Hawkeye countered with a late first period takedown and the duo was tied 3-3 after one period. They traded escapes and went to sudden victory knotted at 4-4. Neither man scored in extra time and Brown was unable to escape during his tie-breaker session. Evans then escaped with :09 left in his and posted the 5-4 (tb) win. The loss moved Brown into Friday evening’s fourth round of consolation action.
Senior James English (York, Pa.), unseeded at 149, took down North Carolina’s Christian Barber in the consolation second round. After a scoreless first period, English chose down escaped quickly to lead 1-0 after the second stanza. Barber took on and English made him pay with a two-point near fall, which would prove to be the difference in a 3-1 decision. English then faced Wisconsin’s Ryan Lubeck in consolation round three and kept his All-America dreams alive with a rousing 4-3 win. English used a second period reversal to take a 4-2 lead and survived an illegal hold call in the third period as he rode Lubeck out to post the decision and move into Friday night’s All-America round, the Round of 12.
Sophomore Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), the No. 3 seed at 197, rebounded from a second round upset with a dominating 15-7 major over No. 13 Daniel Mitchell of American. McIntosh notched multiple takedowns throughout the match, including two in the final :20 to secure, thanks to 2:17 riding time, the major and important team bonus points. The victory moved into the third round of consolation action where he met No. 6 Richard Perry of Bloomsburg. McIntosh notched a takedown in each of the first two periods and overcame a first period reversal by Perry to post a 6-4 decision and keep his All-America dreams alive. McIntosh’s win moved him into Friday night’s All-American Round of 12.
Junior All-American Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), the No. 13 seed at 157, picked up a key victory in consolation round two over Duke’s Immanuel Kerr-Brown. Alton used a four point move in the first period with a takedown and two near fall points to bolt out to a 5-0 lead. Kerr-Brown would answer with two escapes but it would not be enough and Alton moved into the third round of consolation action. He met No. 12 Luke Smith of Central Michigan in the next consolation round and dropped a heart-breaking 4-2 (sv) decision, ending his NCAA tournament run. Alton posted a 2-2 mark at NCAAs, picking up a first round win and a consolation victory as well.
Red-shirt freshman Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), unseeded at 133, dropped a tough 4-3 decision to No. 14 Zane Richards of Illinois in the consolation second round. Gulibon notched second period takedown to take the lead heading into the third but needed to hold Richards down for just one more second to start the final period. Richards escaped to a 3-3 tie with 1:00 of riding time and used that bonus point to grab the win. Gulibon went 1-2 with a major decision in his first run through the NCAA Championships, picking up key bonus points for Penn State.
Junior Jon Gingrich (Wingate, Pa.), the No. 14 seed at 285, gave up a first period pin to unseeded Oklahoma Sooner Ross Larson. Larson notched two early takedowns and then locked up Gingrich at the 2:03 mark for the fall. Gingrich went 1-2 at his first NCAA Championship, picking up a major for key team bonus points.
Taylor and Ruth are making their final runs through the NCAA Championships, looking to cap off historic collegiate careers with NCAA titles. Taylor is now 132-3 for his career. He has 53 pins (tying Penn State’s all-time record), 42 techs and 29 majors, meaning 124 of his 132 wins are for bonus. Taylor is 32-0 with 16 pins, eight techs and seven majors this year. He also has 16 career wins in the NCAA tournament and 11 career pins at nationals. Ruth is now 134-3 all-time at Penn State. He has 46 pins, 25 techs and 33 majors, giving him 104 bonus victories in his 134 wins. The Lion senior now has 19 career NCAA tourney wins, tops at Penn State and is 32-1 this year with 11 pins, nine techs and 10 majors.
Taylor and Ruth also became Penn State’s seventh and eighth four-time All-Americans with their victories, joining Lion four timers Quentin Wright, Frank Molinaro, Phil Davis, Sanshiro Abe, Jim Martin and Greg Elinsky. Megaludis became a three-time All-American with his win, the 23rd all-time at Penn State.
The Nittany Lions went 9-4 in session three and are now 24-9 overall. Penn State has collected 20.0 bonus points off five majors, two tech falls and four pins. Penn State is looking to win its fourth straight NCAA title after claiming the crown in 2011 in Philadelphia, 2012 in St. Louis and the 2013 title last year in Des Moines.
The event continues Friday night with the NCAA semifinals and consolation action at 8 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. Central) in Chesapeake Energy Arena. The semis will be televised live on ESPN. The three-day concludes Saturday night with the championship finals and the crowning of the team champion. All six sessions will air/have aired live on ESPNU and/or ESPN, with ESPN3 offering full tournament multi-mat coverage online. Radio coverage can be heard on AM 1230 WBPZ Lock Haven.
2014 NCAA Wrestling Championships – Team Standings After Session 3 — TOP FIVE
1: PENN STATE – 61.0
2: Minnesota – 59.0
3: Oklahoma State – 56.0
4: Iowa – 42.5
5: Cornell – 39.5
