Penn State Edged by Minnesota 17-16

AdminJanuary 25, 2015

3 minutes read

UNIVERSITY PARK– The 10th-ranked Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team dropped a hard-fought 17-16 decision to No. 2 Minnesota in a marquee Big Ten wrestling dual Sunday in Rec Hall. The dual was wrestled in front of a season-high Penn State crowd of 6,540.

Penn State’s line-up featuring four freshmen and two sophomores tangled with a veteran Gopher contingent that included five seniors. The dual meet began at 133 with one of the most anticipated bouts of the day. No. 9 Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.) of Penn State took on No. 1 Chris Dardanes. A frenetic and thrilling bout ended with Dardanes fighting off a late Gulibon escape and reversal attempt to hold on for a 3-2 victory. Dardanes sealed the win with a takedown at the :08 mark. Red-shirt freshman Kade Law (South Jordan, Utah) battled No. 4 Nick Dardanes but lost 14-6, with a late stall call giving Dardanes the major and putting Minnesota up 7-0 early.

Sophomore Zack Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.), ranked No. 18 at 149, scored nine unanswered points in the third period to roll to a 9-4 win over Jake Short, cutting the Minnesota lead to 7-3 and sending the capacity crowd to its feet . With No. 9 Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) held out, red-shirt freshman Cody Law (Windber, Pa.) took on No. 1 Dylan Ness at 157. Ness used a riding time point to post a 9-1 major and put Minnesota up 9-1. Lion freshman Garett Hammond (Chambersburg, Pa.) dropped an 8-4 decision to No. 17 Nick Wanzek at 165 and Minnesota led 14-3 at the break.

Another marquee match-up of top-ranked wrestlers took place at 174 where No. 4 Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah) took on No. 3 Logan Storley of Minnesota. Brown dominated the bout’s later half, notching a takedown and building up 2:15 in riding time to roll to a 4-1 win, cutting Minnesota’s lead to 14-6. Minnesota’s Brett Pfarr, ranked No. 11 at 184, stunted Penn State’s momentum with an 11-5 win over Lion red-shirt freshman Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), ranked No. 16.

Another bout featuring two All-Americans facing each other took place at 197 where No. 6 Morgan McIntosh took on No. 1 Scott Schiller. McIntosh dominated the bout from start to finish, tallying three takedowns while not giving any up to roll to a 7-4 win. Penn State senior Jimmy Lawson (Toms River, N.J.), ranked No. 6 at 285, got Penn State into striking distance with a 3-1 win over No. 13 Michael Kroells, cutting Minnesota’s lead to 17-12. In the dual meet’s final bout, No. 8 Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.) put forth a furious effort, trying to grab the dual victory by pinning Minnesota’s Ethan Lizak at 125. Conaway collected five takedowns and two near fall points, nearly getting pins twice. But Lizak was able to stave off the pin and Conaway posted the 13-3 major. Minnesota escaped with a 17-16 dual meet win.

Minnesota posted a 16-14 edge in takedowns as well. The dual is the second straight that Minnesota won by one point. The Nittany Lions are now 8-2, 4-2 in the Big Ten while Minnesota is 10-0, 6-0 Big Ten.

The Nittany Lions hit the road for two duals once again on Super Bowl weekend. Penn State is at Michigan on Friday, Jan. 30, at 7 p.m. and then visits Michigan State on Sunday, Feb. 1, at 2 p.m.

#10 Penn State 16, #2 Minnesota 17

January 25, 2015 – Rec Hall – University Park, Pa.

133: #1 Chris Dardanes MIN dec. #9 Jimmy Gulibon PSU, 3-2 0-3

141: #4 Nick Dardanes MIN maj. dec. Kade Moss PSU, 14-6 0-7

149: #18 Zack Beitz PSU dec. Jake Short MIN, 9-4 3-7

157: #1 Dylan Ness MIN dec. Cody Law PSU, 9-1 3-11

165: #17 Nick Wanzek MIN dec. Garett Hammond PSU, 8-4 3-14

174: #4 Matt Brown PSU dec. #3 Logan Storley MIN, 4-1 6-14

184: #11 Brett Pfarr MIN dec. #16 Matt McCutcheon PSU, 11-5 6-17

197: #6 Morgan McIntosh PSU dec. #1 Scott Schiller MIN, 7-4 9-17

285: #6 Jimmy Lawson PSU dec. #13 Michael Kroells MIN, 3-1 12-17

125: #8 Jordan Conaway PSU maj. dec. Ethan Lizak MIN, 13-3 16-17