Penn State holds tight edge on Iowa after quarterfinals at Big Ten Championships

No. 1 seed at 157 pounds, Jason Nolf (Penn State) works for the fall against Doug Welch (Purdue) in the opening round of the Big Ten Championships. Photo: Mark Lundy, Lutte Lens.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The top-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions pushed seven wrestlers to the semi-final round during session one of the Big Ten Championships, holding a slim, six-point lead over second-place Iowa.

Nittany Lion No. 1 seeds Zain Retherford (149), Jason Nolf (157), Bo Nickal (174) and Morgan McIntosh (197) all advanced to tonight’s semifinals. The foursome has scored bonus point victories in every match they have wrestled today.

The best win of the tournament thus far belongs to Penn State 141-pounder Jimmy Gulibon who knocked off No. 1 seed Micah Jordan of Ohio State, 3-2, in overtime. Gulibon was a NCAA All-American at 133 pounds last year, but has seen his fair share of struggles since moving up to 141 pounds this season. He entered the Big Ten Championships as the No. 8 seed.

“It was a big win for Jimmy,” said Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson. “Jimmy has that capability, people know. He just has to go wrestle and give himself a chance to win. I was proud of him. He toughened it out in a double overtime situation, just kind of kept his composure, which was good. He needed that. He wasn’t an automatic spot to go to the nationals.”

No. 2 seeds Nico Megaludis (125) and Matt McCutcheon (184) round out the semifinalists for Penn State.

Megaludis, a three-time All-American, is slated to face Thomas Gilman of Iowa in the bottom-side quarterfinal at 125 pounds. Both men are considered among the favorites to win the NCAA title this season. Megaludis owns the only head-to-head win between the two, having defeated Gilman 4-1 in a dual meet two years ago.

In another crucial match for the team race, McCutcheon will battle Hawkeye No. 3 seed Sammy Brooks in the 184-pound semifinals. Brooks took out All-American Kenny Courts of Ohio State, 8-3 in the quarterfinals.

In total, Penn State has accumulated 10 bonus point wins, scoring five major decisions, one technical fall and four falls in 16 contested bouts.

“Our guys are wrestling pretty well. The rounds just get bigger. The matches just get bigger. Our guys that lost have to come back strong here. It’s kind of do or die for them. We are happy so far. We’ve just got to keep plugging away,” said Sanderson.

The Iowa Hawkeyes also placed seven wrestlers in the semifinals led by their quartet of past All American’s Gilman (125), Cory Clark (133), Brandon Sorensen (149) and Nathan Burak (197).

Hawkeye No. 5 seed Edwin Cooper, Jr. scored a key win for Iowa in the 157-pound quarterfinals taking down No. 4 seed Jake Ryan of Ohio State 2-1 on riding time. Cooper will face Nolf in the third Penn State versus Iowa semifinal this evening.

At 174 pounds Alex Meyer looked dominant in his only match of the day picking up a 16-0 technical fall over Minnesota’s Nick Wanzek to join his six Hawkeye teammates in the semifinals.

A surging Nebraska squad sits in third place overall, 11 points behind Penn State. The Huskers placed six wrestlers in the semifinal round.

The defending Big Ten and NCAA champions from Ohio State currently sit in fourth place with four semifinalists.

NCAA champion Nathan Tomasello put up 40 points and two technical falls throughout his two matches at 125 pounds in the morning session.

Reigning World champion in men’s freestyle Kyle Snyder impressed to the tune of 26-11 over No. 7 seed Brooks Black of Illinois in his opening match of the day.

It was a tumultuous morning for defending NCAA champion Isaiah Martinez of Illinois who averted two serious scares to make the 157-pound semifinals. Martinez was leading TJ Ruschell of Wisconsin 14-1 in the first period before being caught in a lateral drop and inches away from giving up the fall. Martinez fought off his back, eventually topping Ruschell 24-8. He then took out Tyler Berger of Nebraska in a tight 14-11 quarterfinal bout.

Joining Martinez in the semifinals for fifth-place Illinois are Zane Richards (133), Steven Rodrigues (165) and Zach Brunson (174).

Michigan 149-pounder Alec Pantaleo posted a breakthrough 3-2 win against 2014 NCAA champion Jason Tsirtsis of Northwestern. Tied 1-1 in the waning moments of the match, Pantaleo was able to notch a go-ahead takedown to seal the victory. Michigan, also boasting four semifinalists, is tied with Illinois for fifth place in the team standings.

The second session of the Big Ten Championships is set to begin at 6 p.m. (CT) and can be viewed live on BTN2GO.com.

2016 BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
March 5-6 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, Iowa

Team Standings
1. Penn State 74.0
2. Iowa 68.0
3. Nebraska 63.0
4. Ohio State 43.5
T-5. Illinois 41.5
T-5. Michigan 41.5
7. Rutgers 27.5
T-8. Minnesota 25.5
T-8. Wisconsin 25.5
10. Purdue 16.5
T-11. Indiana 10.5
T-11. Michigan State 10.5
13. Maryland 4.0
14. Northwestern 1.0

Semifinal Match-Ups
125 pounds
No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) vs. No. 4 Tim Lambert (Nebraska)
No. 3 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) vs. No. 2 Thomas Gilman (Iowa)

133 pounds
No. 1 Zane Richards (Illinois) vs. No. 5 Eric Montoya (Nebraska)
No. 6 Ryan Taylor (Wisconsin) vs. No. 2 Cory Clark (Iowa)

141 pounds
No. 8 Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State) vs. No. 5 Javier Gasca III (Michigan State)
No. 3 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) vs. No. 7 Danny Sabatello (Purdue)

149 pounds
No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) vs. No. 5 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan)
No. 3 Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska) vs. No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa)

157 pounds
No. 1 Jason Nolf (Penn State) vs. No. 5 Edwin Cooper Jr. (Iowa)
No. 6 Brian Murphy (Michigan) vs. No. 2 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois)

165 pounds
No. 1 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin) vs. No. 4 Anthony Perrotti (Rutgers)
No. 3 Steven Rodrigues (Illinois) vs. No. 2 Bo Jordan (Ohio State)

174 pounds
No. 1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) vs. No. 4 Myles Martin (Ohio State)
No 3 Zach Brunson (Illinois) vs. No. 2 Alex Meyer (Iowa)

184 pounds
No. 1 Domenic Abounader (Michigan) vs. No. 4 TJ Dudley (Nebraska)
No. 3 Sammy Brooks (Iowa) vs. No. 2 Matt McCutcheon (Penn State)

197 pounds
No. 1 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) vs. No. 5 Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska)
No. 3 Nathan Burak (Iowa) vs. No. 2 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota)

285 pounds
No. 1 Adam Coon (Michigan) vs. No. 5 Michael Kroells (Minnesota)
No. 6 Collin Jensen (Nebraska) vs. No. 2 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State)

Quarterfinal Results
125 pounds
No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) tech. fall No. 8 Sean McCabe (Rutgers), 20-5
No. 4 Tim Lambert (Nebraska) maj. dec. No. 5 Elijah Oliver (Indiana), 14-1
No. 3 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) maj. dec. No. 6 Johnny Jimenez (Wisconsin), 10-2
No. 2 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) maj. dec. No. 7 Conor Youtsey (Michigan), 14-4

133 pounds
No. 1 Zane Richards (Illinois) dec. No. 8 Rossi Bruno (Michigan), 10-3
No. 5 Eric Montoya (Nebraska) dec. No 4 Geoff Alexander (Maryland), 6-3
No. 6 Ryan Taylor (Wisconsin) dec. No. 3 Jordan Conaway (Penn State), 10-5
No. 2 Cory Clark (Iowa) dec. No. 7 Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State), 7-3

141 pounds
No. 8 Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State) dec. No. 1 Micah Jordan (Ohio State), 3-2 TB2
No. 5 Javier Gasca III (Michigan State) dec. No. 4 Jameson Oster (Northwestern), 7-2
No. 3 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) dec. No. 6 Anthony Abidin (Nebraska), 5-2
No. 7 Danny Sabatello (Purdue) dec. No. 2 Tommy Thorn (Minnesota), 11-6

149 pounds
No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) maj. dec. No. 8 Jake Short (Minnesota), 14-4
No. 5 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan) dec. No. 4 Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern), 3-2
No. 3 Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska) dec. Luke Blanton (Indiana), 11-2
No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) maj. dec. Cody Burcher (Ohio State), 12-2

157 pounds
No. 1 Jason Nolf (Penn State) tech. fall Brandon Kingsley (Minnesota), 21-5
No. 5 Edwin Cooper Jr. (Iowa) dec. No. 4 Jake Ryan (Ohio State), 2-1
No. 6 Brian Murphy (Michigan) dec. No. 3 Richie Lewis (Rutgers), 2-1 TB2
No. 2 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) dec. No. 7 Tyler Berger (Nebraska), 14-11

165 pounds
No. 1 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin) fall No. 8 Patrick Rhoads (Iowa), 6:36
No. 4 Anthony Perrotti (Rutgers) fall No. 5 Chad Welch (Purdue), 4:49
No. 3 Steven Rodrigues (Illinois) dec. No. 6 Austin Wilson (Nebraska), 3-1
No. 2 Bo Jordan (Ohio State) dec. No. 7 Geno Morelli (Penn State), 3-2

174 pounds
No. 1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) maj. dec. No. 9 Phil Bakuckas (Rutgers), 15-3
No. 4 Myles Martin (Ohio State) dec. No. 5 Nate Jackson (Indiana), 8-2
No 3 Zach Brunson (Illinois) dec. No. 6 Micah Barnes (Nebraska), 6-2
No. 2 Alex Meyer (Iowa) tech. fall No. 7 Nick Wanzek (Minnesota), 16-0

184 pounds
No. 1 Domenic Abounader (Michigan) maj. dec. No. 8 Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin), 9-1
No. 4 TJ Dudley (Nebraska) dec. No. 5 Nick Gravina (Rutgers), 8-2
No. 3 Sammy Brooks (Iowa) dec. No. 6 Kenny Courts (Ohio State), 8-3
No. 2 Matt McCutcheon (Penn State) dec. No. 7 Jeff Koepke (Illinois), 6-2

197 pounds
No. 1 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) fall No. 8 Jacob Cooper (Michigan State), 1:40
No. 5 Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska) tech. fall No. 4 Max Huntley (Michigan), 17-2
No. 3 Nathan Burak (Iowa) dec. No. 6 Mark Martin (Ohio State), 6-2
No. 2 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota) maj. dec. No. 7 Hayden Hrymack (Rutgers), 13-1

285 pounds
No. 1 Adam Coon (Michigan) fall Brock Horwath (Wisconsin), 0:48
No. 5 Michael Kroells (Minnesota) dec. No. 4 Billy Smith (Rutgers), 3-3 RT
No. 6 Collin Jensen (Nebraska) maj. dec. No. 3 Sam Stoll (Iowa), 14-5
No. 2 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) tech. fall. No. 7 Brooks Black (Illinois), 26-11