PSU Grapplers Ready to Scuffle

RecordStaffDecember 28, 2018

2 minutes read

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UNIVERSITY PARK — No. 1 Penn State (4-0, 0-0 B1G) will head to Chattanooga, Tenn., once again to ring in the new year at the Southern Scuffle. The Lions have won the event in each of their last seven trips. The 2019 Southern Scuffle is set for Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 1-2, at UT-Chattanooga’s McKenzie Arena.

The Nittany Lions will take a deep and talented line-up to the Scuffle (as of press time on Dec. 28): Sophomore Devin Schnupp sports a 4-4 mark at 125 for the Nittany Lions. True freshman Roman Bravo-Young is 7-0 at 133 and ranked No. 15 by InterMat. Sophomore Nick Lee is 9-0 at 141 and ranked No. 4 while red-shirt freshman Brady Berge is 6-0 and No. 10 at 149. Senior Jason Nolf is 8-0 and ranked No. 1 at 157 while junior Vincenzo Joseph is 8-0 and No. 1 at 165. Junior Mark Hall is 8-0 and No. 1 at 174 while senior Shakur Rasheed is 9-0 and No. 3 at 184. Senior Bo Nickal is 7-0 and ranked No. 1 at 197 and senior Anthony Cassar is 7-0 and No. 5 at 285.

Junior Dominic Giannangeli will also compete at 141 for Penn State. Redshirt freshman Jarod Verkleeren, 6-2 overall, will go at 149 as will sophomore Luke Gardner. Sophomore Bo Pipher is set for action at 157 as is redshirt freshman Mason Manville at 174. Junior Francisco Bisono will wrestle at 184 and two-time All-American Nick Nevills is ready to challenge at 285. True freshman Brody Teske (Duncombe, Iowa) is set to compete unattached at 125, making his first appearance of the season, albeit unattached. Team scoring at the event is simple. Regardless of how many wrestlers a team has entered at a given weight, whichever man scores the most team points, those points are included in the team total. Only one wrestler scores per weight. The Nittany Lions have the last two Scuffle Outstanding Wrestlers (Mark Hall in 2017 and Shakur Rasheed in 2018).

The 2019 Southern Scuffle promises to be exciting with a stacked field of potential competitors. Other teams set to challenge for the team title are No. 4 North Carolina State, No. 6 Oklahoma State, No. 17 Virginia Tech, No. 18 Lehigh, No. 22 Iowa State and No. 23 Lock Haven in addition to Duke, Cal State Bakersfield, Stanford, Drexel, Edinboro, Navy, Columbia, Rider, host Chattanooga, Appalachian State, George Mason, Binghamton, Air Force, Ohio University, The Citadel and Gardner Webb.

Penn State opens up Big Ten action with a split weekend in the new year. The Nittany Lions are at Northwestern on Friday, Jan. 11, at 8 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. Central) and then host Wisconsin in Rec Hall on Sunday, Jan. 13, at 1 p.m.

#1 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (4-0, 0-0 B1G)

WT NAME EL HT/HS REC
125 Devin Schnupp So. Lititz, Pa./Warwick 4-4
133 #15 Roman Bravo-Young Fr. Tucson, Ariz./Sunny Side 7-0
141 #4 Nick Lee So. Evansville, Ind./Homeschool 9-0
Dominic Giannangeli Jr. Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional 3-4
149 #10 Brady Berge Fr. Mantorville, Minn./Kasson-Mantorville 6-0
Jarod Verkleeren Fr. Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield 6-2
Luke Gardner So. Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville 9-4
157 #1 Jason Nolf Sr. Yatesboro, Pa./Kittanning 8-0
Bo Pipher So. Paonia, Colo./Paonia 6-5
165 #1 Vincenzo Joseph Jr. Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic 8-0
Mason Manville Fr. Lorton, Va./Wyoming Seminary 3-2
174 #1 Mark Hall Jr. Apple Valley, Minn./Apple Valley 8-0
184 #3 Shakur Rasheed Sr. Coram, N.Y./Longwood 8-0
Francisco Bisono Jr. Hauppauge, N.Y./Hauppauge 2-3
197 #1 Bo Nickal Sr. Allen, Texas/Allen 7-0
285 #5 Anthony Cassar Sr. Rocky Hill, N.J./Montgomery 7-0
Nick Nevills Sr. Clovis, Calif./Clovis 3-1
Wrestling unattached
125 Brody Teske Fr. Duncombe, Iowa/Fort Dodge 0-0