Penn State Downs Minnesota 35-8 in Rec Hall White Out
UNIVERSITY PARK – The Penn State Nittany Lions (10-0, 6-0 B1G) dominated Minnesota (7-6, 2-3 B1G) in a nationally televised Big Ten dual meet Friday night. Head coach Cael Sanderson’s squad won eight of ten bouts to down the visiting Golden Gophers 35-8 in Rec Hall.
A sell-out crowd of 6,588 watched as the Lions controlled the action throughout. The dual featured three bouts between ranked wrestlers, with Penn State winning all three.
The dual began at 157 where junior Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 157, met No. 18 Jake Short. Nolf rolled to a 19-5 major, finishing just shy of a technical fall, with 2;47 in riding time. Sophomore Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 165, met No. 7 Nick Wanzek in another anticipated match-up and posted a 3-1 victory to put Penn State up 7-0 after two bouts.
Sophomore Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), ranked No. 2 at 174, controlled the action from start to finish in a 3-1 win over No. 7 Nick Wanzek. Junior Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 1 at 184, then sent the crowd to its feet by pinning Minnesota’s Dylan Anderson at the 5:31 mark. The fall was Nickal’s 12th of the year. Junior Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.), ranked No. 10 at 197, closed out the first half by pinning Brandon Krone in :55. Rasheed’s fall, his 11th this season, sent Penn State into intermission with a 22-0 lead.
Junior Nick Nevills (Clovis, Calif.), ranked No. 6 at 285, opened up the second half with a 2-0 win over Rylee Streifel. Nevills used a full third period rideout to clinch the victory. Red-shirt freshman Devin Schnupp (Lititz, Pa.) took on No. 6 Ethan Lizak at 125 and dropped a 15-0 tech fall, giving Minnesota its first points of the dual. With Penn State leading 25-5, sophomore Corey Keener (Schuylkill Haven, Pa.) met No. 12 Mitch McKee. Keener fell behind 11-0 early and then mounted a furious comeback before dropping a 15-8 decision to the ranked Gopher.
True freshman Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 7 at 141, took on No. 10 Tommy Thorn in one of the dual’s most anticipated match-ups. Lee dominated the Gopher, totaling three takedowns and nearly pinning Thorn late in the bout, rolling to a 13-3 major with 3:07 in riding time. Senior Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 149, received a forfeit victory to close out the dual. The forfeit made the final score 35-8 in Penn State’s favor and improved Retherford’s record to 19-0 on the year.
Penn State won the takedown battle 28-4. The Nittany Lions tallied 11 bonus points off two pins (Nickal, Rasheed), a forfeit (Retherford) and two majors (Lee, Nolf). The win moves Penn State’s dual meet win streak to 41 straight, dating back to the 2014-15 season. Retherford stays at 15 pins on the year and 51 for his career, just two shy of tying Penn State’s all-time record of 53. Retherford now has 114 career wins, 17th all-time at Penn State. Nolf also sticks at 15 and 44 for his career, fifth all-time. Nickal has 12 this season and 37 for his career, seventh all-time. Rasheed now has 11 on the year, 19 for his career. Penn State moves to 10-0, 6-0 in the Big Ten while Minnesota sits at 7-6, 2-3 in the Big Ten.
The Nittany Lions will hit the road for their final away dual, visiting Rutgers in two days on Sunday, Jan. 28, at 2 p.m. The dual will air live on the Big Ten Network to a national audience. Penn State’s next home event is slated for next Saturday when the Ohio State Buckeyes invade Rec Hall on Saturday, Feb. 3 for yet another BTN national telecast. The dual will begin at either 6 or 8 p.m.
#2 Penn State 35, #16 Minnesota 8
January 26, 2018 – Rec Hall – University Park, Pa.
157: #1 Jason Nolf PSU maj. dec. #18 Jake Short MINN, 19-5 4-0
165: #1 Vincenzo Joseph PSU dec. #7 Nick Wanzek MINN, 3-1 7-0
174: #2 Mark Hall PSU dec. Chris Pfarr MINN, 10-3 10-0
184: #1 Bo Nickal PSU pinned Dylan Anderson MINN, WBF (5:31) 16-0
197: #10 Shakur Rasheed PSU pinned Brandon Krone MINN, WBF (0:55) 22-0
285: #6 Nick Nevills PSU dec. Rylee Streifel MINN, 2-0 25-0
125: #6 Ethan Lizak MINN tech fall Devin Schnupp PSU, 15-0 (TF; 6:23) 25-5
133: #12 Mitch McKee MINN dec. Corey Keener PSU, 15-8 25-8
141: #7 Nick Lee PSU maj. dec. #10 Tommy Thorn MINN, 13-3 29-8
149: #1 Zain Retherford PSU win by forfeit 35-8
Attendance: 6,588 (39th straight Rec Hall sellout, 42nd of 44 including 3 of 5 in BJC)
Records: Penn State 10-0, 6-0 B1G; Minnesota 7-6, 2-3 B1G
Up Next for Penn State: at Rutgers, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2 p.m. (BTN)
