Penn State Crushes Northwestern in B1G Opener

EVANSTON, Ill. – No. 1 Penn State (5-0, 1-0 B1G) opened up Big Ten dual meet action with a convincing win at No. 11 Northwestern (2-5, 0-2 B1G) on Friday night.  The Nittany Lions rolled to a 33-8 victory for their 50th straight dual meet win.

Senior Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.) hit the 100-career win mark with a 19-7 victory over No. 3 Ryan Deakin of Northwestern at 157.  Nolf had eight takedowns in the marquee match-up, with all of Deakin’s points coming via escape.

The dual began at where sophomore Devin Schnupp (Lititz, Pa.) took on No. 1 Sebastien Rivera of Northwestern to start the dual meet.  Rivera posted a 18-2 technical fall at the 2:53 mark to give Northwestern an early 5-0 lead.  True freshman Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), ranked No. 14 at 133, posted a 15-9 win over NU’s Colin Valdiviez to cut the lead to  5-3 and then sophomore Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 4 at 141, rolled to a 16-6 major over Alex McKenna to put Penn State on top 7-5.

Redshirt freshman Brady Berge (Mantorville, Minn.), ranked No. 9 at 149, rolled up nine takedowns in a 19-7 major over junior Shayne Oster to put the Nittany Lions up 11-5. Nolf closed out the first half by picking up his 100^th career win with a dominating 19-7 major over No.3 Deakin at 157. Nolf’s career milestone sent Penn State into intermission leading 15-5.

Sophomore Bo Pipher (Paonia, Colo.) moved up a weight to 165 to step in for top-ranked Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.) who did not wrestle.  Pipher dropped a hard-fought 11-9 decision to Tyler Moreland, having a late comeback fall just short.  Junior Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), ranked No. 1 at 174, took care of Wildcat Senior Johnny Sebastian, scoring the only takedowns in a 10-4 win.  Senior Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.), ranked No. 3 at 184, rolled up three first period turns as he posted an 18-2 technical fall over Brendan Devin, getting the final takedown midway through the second period at the 3:59 mark.

Senior Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 1 at 197, notched his 51^st career pin, and his team-leading 10^th of the year, with a fall over Zack Chakonis at the 6:12 mark.  Senior Anthony Cassar (Rocky Hill, N.J.), ranked No. 4 at 285, closed out the dual by dominating No. 19 Conan Jennings, collecting five takedowns in a 12-3 major over the ranked Wildcat.  Cassar’s capstone win finished off Penn State’s impressive 33-8 victory.

Penn State had 51 takedowns in the bout, rolling to a 51-7 lead.  The Nittany Lions won eight of ten bouts, marking the first time all year Penn State lost more than one match in a dual.  Penn State picked up nine bonus points off a pin (Nickal), a tech fall (Rasheed) and four majors (Lee, Berge, Nolf, Cassar). Penn State has now outscored its first five dual meet opponents 210-17 and has a stunning 132-12 takedown advantage in those duals.  The Lions have won 45 of their 50 dual meet bouts.

The Nittany Lions have now won 50-straight dual meets dating back to the end of the 2014-15 season.  Sanderson’s Lions won their last dual of that campaign, went 16-0 in 2015-16, went 14-0 in 2016-17 and went 14-0 in 2017-18. Penn State is now 5-0, 1-0 B1G, while Northwestern falls to 2-5, 0-2 B1G.  Penn State will return to action quickly, hosting No. 19 Wisconsin on Sunday, Jan. 13, in Rec Hall.  The dual meet is set for a 1 p.m. start.

#1 Penn State 33, #11 Northwestern 8

January 11, 2019 – Evanston, Ill.

 

125: #1 Sebastian Rivera NU tech fall Devin Schnupp PSU, 18-2 (TF; 2:53)       0-5

133: #14 Roman Bravo-Young PSU dec. Colin Valdiviez NU, 15-9                      3-5

141: #4 Nick Lee PSU maj. dec. Colin Valdiviez NU, 16-6                                    7-5

149: #9 Brady Berge PSU maj. dec. Shayne Oster NU, 19-7                                  11-5

157: #1 Jason Nolf PSU maj. dec. #3 Ryan Deakin NU, 19-7                                 15-5

165: Tyler Moreland NU dec. Bo Pipher PSU, 11-9                                                 15-8

174: #1 Mark Hall PSU dec. Johnny Sebastian NU, 10-4                                                       18-8

184: #3 Shakur Rasheed PSU tech fall Brendan Devine NU, 18-2 (TF; 3:59)       23-8

197: #1 Bo Nickal PSU pinned Zack Chakonis NU, WBF (6:12)                                          29-8

285: #4 Anthony Cassar PSU maj. dec. #19 Conan Jennings NU, 12-3                 33-8

Attendance: 1,810

Records: Penn State (5-0, 1-0 B1G); Northwestern (2-5, 0-2 B1G)

Up Next for Penn State: Home vs. #19 Wisconsin, Sunday, Jan. 13, 1 p.m., Rec Hall