Hall takes down Valencia In Nittany Lions 41-3 Win over Arizona State
UNIVERSITY PARK – No. 1 Penn State (4-0, 0-0 B1G) dominated No. 9 Arizona State (1-3) in the Sun Devils’ first-ever appearance in Rec Hall Friday night. Penn State won nine of ten bouts, including two top five clashes, to roll to a 41-3 victory over the Sun Devils in front of yet another Rec Hall sellout crowd.
The dual was highlighted by top-five match-ups at 165 and 174, opening up the second half after the Lions bolted out to a 17-3 lead at intermission. Junior Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.) and Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.) thrilled one of the largest crowds in Rec Hall history with big wins in the two marquee bouts.
The dual began at 125, where Nittany Lion sophomore Devin Schnupp (Lititz, Pa.) dropped a 13-7 decision to Brandon Courtney, using a late reversal to keep from giving up a major. True freshman Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), an Arizona-native, then took on Arizona State’s Ryan Millhof, ranked No. 7 at 125, as ASU opted to bump the senior up to face the Lion freshman. Bravo-Young dominated the bout, rolling to a 14-1 major decision with 3:16 in riding time to give Penn State a 4-3 lead. Sophomore Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 4 at 141, put Penn State up 10-3 by pinning Cory Crooks at the 2:18 mark.
Red-shirt freshman Brady Berge (Mantorville, Minn.), ranked No. 12 at 149, took on No. 11 Josh Maruca in his Rec Hall dual debut, the first of four match-ups featuring ranked opponents. Berge notched the only two takedowns of the bout to post a hard-fought 5-4 win. Senior Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 157, then dominated No. 16 Christian Pagdilao, posting an 18-5 major decision to give the Nittany Lions a 17-3 lead at intermission.
Joseph, ranked No. 1 at 165, opened up the second half against No. 5 Josh Shields in another ranked battle. Joseph continued his dominating season, roaring to an 11-2 major decision over the ranked Sun Devil, including 1:38 in riding time. Hall, ranked No. 2 at 174, took to the mat against No. 1 Zahid Valencia in a rematch of last year’s NCAA title bout (won by Valencia) and a 2017 NCAA National Semifinal (won by Hall on his way to an NCAA championship). The last two NCAA Champions battled in front of a frantic Rec Hall crowd and Hall thrilled the hometown faithful by posting a 4-0 win over Valencia, including 2:41 in riding time. Hall’s win snapped Valencia’s 43-match win streak that dated back to the 2017 NCAA semifinals.
Senior Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.), ranked No. 4 at 184, kept Penn State’s roll going with an outstanding 15-0 technical fall over Kordell Norfleet, getting the 15-0 tech at the 7:00 mark off 4:58 in riding time. Senior Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 1 at 197, then stepped to the mat and notched one of his textbook fast falls. Nickal moved in quickly on Austyn Harris, locked the Sun Devil’s shoulders up and turned him quickly to his back for a fall in just 0:35 to put Penn State up 35-3. In the dual’s final bout, senior Anthony Cassar (Rocky Hill, N.J.), ranked No. 5 at 285, capped off Penn State’s dominating team performance with the Lions third fall of the evening. Cassar pinned ASU’s Brady Daniel at the 5:18 mark for the Lions’ ninth win in the dual. Cassar’s fall finished off Penn State’s 41-3 victory over the Sun Devils.
The Nittany Lions posted a lopsided 27-6 takedown advantage and did not give up a takedown in nine of the ten bouts. The Lions picked up 14 bonus points off three pins (Lee, Nickal, Cassar), a tech fall (Rasheed) and three majors (Lee, Nolf, Joseph).
Penn State is now 4-0 overall while Arizona State falls to 1-3. Penn State will now head to Chattanooga, Tenn., for the 2019 Southern Scuffle. The Nittany Lions will be looking for their eighth Scuffle title in their last eight trips to the event. The Scuffle, hosted by UT-Chattanooga, is set for Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 1-2.
#1 Penn State 41, #9 Arizona State 3
December 14, 2018 – Rec Hall – University Park, Pa.
125: Brandon Courtney ASU dec. Devin Schnupp PSU, 13-7 0-3
133: Roman Bravo-Young PSU maj. dec. #7/125 Ryan Millhof ASU, 14-1 4-3
141: #4 Nick Lee PSU pinned Cory Crooks (ASU), WBF (2:18) 10-3
149: #12 Brady Berge PSU dec. #11 Josh Maruca ASU, 5-4 13-3
157: #1 Jason Nolf PSU maj. dec. #16 Christian Pagdilao ASU, 18-5 17-3
165: #1 Vincenzo Joseph PSU maj. dec. #5 Josh Shields ASU, 11-2 21-3
174: #2 Mark Hall PSU dec. #1 Zahid Valencia ASU, 4-0 24-3
184: #4 Shakur Rasheed PSU tech fall Kordell Norfleet ASU, 15-0 (TF; 7:00) 29-3
197: #1 Bo Nickal PSU pinned Austyn Harris ASU, WBF (0:35) 35-3
285: #5 Anthony Cassar PSU pinned Brady Daniel ASU, WBF (5:18) 41-3
Records: Penn State (4-0); Arizona State (1-3)
Up Next for Penn State: at 2019 Southern Scuffle, Jan. 1-2, 2019, Chattanooga, Tenn.
