No. 1 Penn State takes seven of 10 to beat Lehigh in front of record crowd at Stabler Arena
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by Gary Blockus, Special to TheMat.com
Morgan McIntosh of Penn State controls John Bolich of Lehigh at 197 pounds. Photo courtesy of GoPSUSports.com
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – All the top-ranked unbeatens remained the same on Friday night after unbeaten and No. 1 Penn State swam by Lehigh 28-9 in front of a record crowd of 5,909 at Stabler Arena.
Freshman Jason Nolf (24-0 at 157), sophomore Zain Retherford (23-0 at 149) and senior Morgan McIntosh (22-0 at 197) racked up bonus wins as the Nittany Lions won seven of the 10 bouts. Nolf pinned, McIntosh had a technical fall, Retherford had a major decision, and fellow No. 1 Bo Nickal (24-1 at 174) also added a bonus win a major.
“We had some guys get tired, but I think that’s more of the conditions,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said of facing the hostile crowd as well as some of the Lehigh wrestlers who were willing to push the pace.
“There were a lot of great scrambles and some good matches. I’m sure the crowd enjoyed the match.”
Fourth-ranked Nico Megaludis (22-1) and No. 5 Jordan Conaway (19-3) staked the Nittany Lions to a a 6-0 lead with a pair of decisions at 125 and 133 before Lehigh answered back with No. 18 Randy Cruz blanking No. 14 Jimmy Gulibon 4-0. Penn State then won the next four bouts for an insurmountable 23-3 lead heading into 184.
“I think if we had any chance of winning this dual, we had to come out early and strike early, and I think our guys were really gun shy the first couple of matches,” Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. “We didn’t see any leg attacks. When you wrestle a team like Penn State, they’re the No. 1 team in the country for a reason. I thought our pace was really slow, and we can’t wrestle that way, not against a great team.”
With a final Big Ten match at home against Michigan State on Saturday, Sanderson said his team isn’t feeling any No. 1-type pressure.
“A lot of it comes from your leaders,” he said. “Our leaders are real calm, so a lot of poise like in a Zain, and a Nolf, and a Nickal and a Nico, and Conaway is a senior. I don’t think there’s any kind of difference.”
Megaludis proved that. He changed levels several times in the opening period before creeping in for a sideways takedown on No. 13 Darian Cruz with both wrestlers on their knees. Megaludis chose the bottom to start the second period and picked up a point for locked hands before escaping for a 4-0 cushion heading into the final period. Megaludis cut the sophomore after earning riding time, then scored another takedown near the end of the bout for a 7-1 decision and 3-0 lead for the Nittany Lions.
Conway scored an early takedown on Lehigh senior Mason Beckman to kick off the 133-pound bout. He chose defense to start the second period, escaped and score on a double leg to make it 5-1. Conaway finished the match off with another takedown for an 8-2 win.
The action turned funky at 141. After a scoreless first period, Lehigh’s Randy Cruz and Penn State’s No. 14 Jimmy Gulibon went through two stalemates before Cruz turned the Penn State wrestler for a one-count. Cruz gave Gulibon a hard ride for the full period without allowing an escape. Cruz escaped nine seconds into the final period, and then funked through a deep dingle by Gulibon to come out the back door for the takedown and 4-0 decision to put the Mountain Hawks on the Stabler Arena scoreboard, down 6-3.
Retherford, a sophomore, scored a takedown 21 seconds into the match against Lehigh junior Laike Gardner at 149 and rode him out for the rest of the period. Retherford escaped to start the middle period. The pair got funky in a wild scramble initiated by a Retherford double ankle shot that almost ended up with Gardner putting the Penn State wrestler on his back, but on the Retherford scored another takedown off the restart to make it a major for a 10-3 Penn State lead.
“Zane’s an animal,” Sanderson said. “He’s doing well. The kid he wrestled tonight is a tough kid. We love Zane. He’s an animal. I don’t know what else to say about him.”
Nolf, one of Penn State’s two freshman sensations, used an inside ankle pick for the takedown on Ian Brown and slipped under the Lehigh freshman’s shoulder to plant him on his back for a pin in 1:23 and a 16-3 lead.
Two stalling points at 165 cost Lehigh sophomore Drew Longo a chance at an upset. Penn State’s Shakur Rasheed, a freshman ranked No. 17 at 165, held a 5-0 lead and riding time because of those points heading into the third period when Longo went on a dramatic attack with three takedowns before the pair reversed each other as Rasheed held on for the 10-8 decision and a 19-3 Pen State lead.
Nickal outrolled Lehigh freshman Gordon Wolf from every position en route to a 14-6 major decision thanks to four takedowns and a pair of two-point tilts.
Lehigh’s Nate Brown, ranked No. 3 at 184, picked up a second-period escape to break a scoreless tie against No. 6 Matt McCutcheon, then added a takedown for a 3-0 gap. McCutcheon chose neutral to start the final period, but Brown went in super deep on an inside shot that almost got him trapped under the Nittany Lion before scrambling through for his second takedown of the bout for a 6-0 decision.
Top-ranked Morgan McIntosh led No. 17 John Bolich 10-0 after one period on the strength of two late four-point tilts. McIntosh (22-0) reversed to start the second period and earned another four-pointer for a 16-0 technical fall in 4:17.
Penn State brought sophomore 285-pounder Nick Nevills off the injured list with his season debut against No. 14. Max Wessell on the mat with the opening takedown. Nevills worked for a turn, but referee Ryan Hagan stopped it for an illegal headlock that was upheld upon video review. Wessell escaped on the restart, but had given up 1:08 in riding time. Wessell escaped to start the second period. Nevills escaped in the third, but Wessel scored a takedown and eliminated the riding time, and barely held off an ankle pull from behind by Nevil as time expired.
“I knew he had a snap single, but once I felt it, it was completely different,” Wessell said of the early takedown. “I was able to make the small adjustments and defend it.
“Although the score doesn’t directly reflect how we wrestled, we love competing with the No. 1s,” Wessell continued. “I thought we fought well, even matches like Gordon Wolf’s and Drew Longo’s. They lost, but they were inspiring.”
No. 1 Penn State 28, No. 6 Lehigh 9
125: No. 4 Nico Megaludis , PSU, dec. No. 13 Darian Cruz, 7-1.
133: No. 5. Jordan Conaway, PSU, dec. Mason Beckman, 8-2.
141: No. 18 Randy Cruz, L, dec. No. 14 Jimmy Gulibon, 4-0.
149: No. 1 Zain Retherford, PSU, maj. dec. Laike Gardner 8-0.
157: No. 1 Jason Nolf, PSU, pinned Ian Brown, 1:23.
165: No. 17 Shakur Rasheed, PSU, dec. Drew Longo, 10-8.
174: No. 1 Bo Nickal, PSU, maj. dec. Gordon Wolf, 14-6.
184: No. 3 Nathaniel Brown, L, dec. No. 6 Matt McCutheon, 6-0.
197: No. 1 Morgan McIntosh, PSU, No. 17 John Bolich, 16-0.
285: No. 14 Max Wessel, L, dec. Nick Nevills, 5.4
Referees: Ryan Hagan and Gary Kessel.
Attendance: 5,909
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – All the top-ranked unbeatens remained the same on Friday night after unbeaten and No. 1 Penn State swam by Lehigh 28-9 in front of a record crowd of 5,909 at Stabler Arena.
Freshman Jason Nolf (24-0 at 157), sophomore Zain Retherford (23-0 at 149) and senior Morgan McIntosh (22-0 at 197) racked up bonus wins as the Nittany Lions won seven of the 10 bouts. Nolf pinned, McIntosh had a technical fall, Retherford had a major decision, and fellow No. 1 Bo Nickal (24-1 at 174) also added a bonus win a major.
“We had some guys get tired, but I think that’s more of the conditions,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said of facing the hostile crowd as well as some of the Lehigh wrestlers who were willing to push the pace.
“There were a lot of great scrambles and some good matches. I’m sure the crowd enjoyed the match.”
Fourth-ranked Nico Megaludis (22-1) and No. 5 Jordan Conaway (19-3) staked the Nittany Lions to a a 6-0 lead with a pair of decisions at 125 and 133 before Lehigh answered back with No. 18 Randy Cruz blanking No. 14 Jimmy Gulibon 4-0. Penn State then won the next four bouts for an insurmountable 23-3 lead heading into 184.
“I think if we had any chance of winning this dual, we had to come out early and strike early, and I think our guys were really gun shy the first couple of matches,” Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. “We didn’t see any leg attacks. When you wrestle a team like Penn State, they’re the No. 1 team in the country for a reason. I thought our pace was really slow, and we can’t wrestle that way, not against a great team.”
With a final Big Ten match at home against Michigan State on Saturday, Sanderson said his team isn’t feeling any No. 1-type pressure.
“A lot of it comes from your leaders,” he said. “Our leaders are real calm, so a lot of poise like in a Zain, and a Nolf, and a Nickal and a Nico, and Conaway is a senior. I don’t think there’s any kind of difference.”
Megaludis proved that. He changed levels several times in the opening period before creeping in for a sideways takedown on No. 13 Darian Cruz with both wrestlers on their knees. Megaludis chose the bottom to start the second period and picked up a point for locked hands before escaping for a 4-0 cushion heading into the final period. Megaludis cut the sophomore after earning riding time, then scored another takedown near the end of the bout for a 7-1 decision and 3-0 lead for the Nittany Lions.
Conway scored an early takedown on Lehigh senior Mason Beckman to kick off the 133-pound bout. He chose defense to start the second period, escaped and score on a double leg to make it 5-1. Conaway finished the match off with another takedown for an 8-2 win.
The action turned funky at 141. After a scoreless first period, Lehigh’s Randy Cruz and Penn State’s No. 14 Jimmy Gulibon went through two stalemates before Cruz turned the Penn State wrestler for a one-count. Cruz gave Gulibon a hard ride for the full period without allowing an escape. Cruz escaped nine seconds into the final period, and then funked through a deep dingle by Gulibon to come out the back door for the takedown and 4-0 decision to put the Mountain Hawks on the Stabler Arena scoreboard, down 6-3.
Retherford, a sophomore, scored a takedown 21 seconds into the match against Lehigh junior Laike Gardner at 149 and rode him out for the rest of the period. Retherford escaped to start the middle period. The pair got funky in a wild scramble initiated by a Retherford double ankle shot that almost ended up with Gardner putting the Penn State wrestler on his back, but on the Retherford scored another takedown off the restart to make it a major for a 10-3 Penn State lead.
“Zane’s an animal,” Sanderson said. “He’s doing well. The kid he wrestled tonight is a tough kid. We love Zane. He’s an animal. I don’t know what else to say about him.”
Nolf, one of Penn State’s two freshman sensations, used an inside ankle pick for the takedown on Ian Brown and slipped under the Lehigh freshman’s shoulder to plant him on his back for a pin in 1:23 and a 16-3 lead.
Two stalling points at 165 cost Lehigh sophomore Drew Longo a chance at an upset. Penn State’s Shakur Rasheed, a freshman ranked No. 17 at 165, held a 5-0 lead and riding time because of those points heading into the third period when Longo went on a dramatic attack with three takedowns before the pair reversed each other as Rasheed held on for the 10-8 decision and a 19-3 Pen State lead.
Nickal outrolled Lehigh freshman Gordon Wolf from every position en route to a 14-6 major decision thanks to four takedowns and a pair of two-point tilts.
Lehigh’s Nate Brown, ranked No. 3 at 184, picked up a second-period escape to break a scoreless tie against No. 6 Matt McCutcheon, then added a takedown for a 3-0 gap. McCutcheon chose neutral to start the final period, but Brown went in super deep on an inside shot that almost got him trapped under the Nittany Lion before scrambling through for his second takedown of the bout for a 6-0 decision.
Top-ranked Morgan McIntosh led No. 17 John Bolich 10-0 after one period on the strength of two late four-point tilts. McIntosh (22-0) reversed to start the second period and earned another four-pointer for a 16-0 technical fall in 4:17.
Penn State brought sophomore 285-pounder Nick Nevills off the injured list with his season debut against No. 14. Max Wessell on the mat with the opening takedown. Nevills worked for a turn, but referee Ryan Hagan stopped it for an illegal headlock that was upheld upon video review. Wessell escaped on the restart, but had given up 1:08 in riding time. Wessell escaped to start the second period. Nevills escaped in the third, but Wessel scored a takedown and eliminated the riding time, and barely held off an ankle pull from behind by Nevil as time expired.
“I knew he had a snap single, but once I felt it, it was completely different,” Wessell said of the early takedown. “I was able to make the small adjustments and defend it.
“Although the score doesn’t directly reflect how we wrestled, we love competing with the No. 1s,” Wessell continued. “I thought we fought well, even matches like Gordon Wolf’s and Drew Longo’s. They lost, but they were inspiring.”
No. 1 Penn State 28, No. 6 Lehigh 9
125: No. 4 Nico Megaludis , PSU, dec. No. 13 Darian Cruz, 7-1.
133: No. 5. Jordan Conaway, PSU, dec. Mason Beckman, 8-2.
141: No. 18 Randy Cruz, L, dec. No. 14 Jimmy Gulibon, 4-0.
149: No. 1 Zain Retherford, PSU, maj. dec. Laike Gardner 8-0.
157: No. 1 Jason Nolf, PSU, pinned Ian Brown, 1:23.
165: No. 17 Shakur Rasheed, PSU, dec. Drew Longo, 10-8.
174: No. 1 Bo Nickal, PSU, maj. dec. Gordon Wolf, 14-6.
184: No. 3 Nathaniel Brown, L, dec. No. 6 Matt McCutheon, 6-0.
197: No. 1 Morgan McIntosh, PSU, No. 17 John Bolich, 16-0.
285: No. 14 Max Wessel, L, dec. Nick Nevills, 5.4
Referees: Ryan Hagan and Gary Kessel.
Attendance: 5,909
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