Dec. 18, 2011
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - The fifth-ranked Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team put forth a dominating effort at Lock Haven on Sunday, shutting out the Bald Eagles 50-0 in non-conference wrestling action. Penn State won all ten bouts, including a thrilling pin by junior Bryan Pearsall (Lititz, Pa.) at 141, as Penn state rolled to victory.
True freshman Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), ranked No. 15 at 125, opened up the bout by pinning LHU's Bobby Rehm at the 4:02 mark. Junior Derek Reber (Lewisburg, Pa.) followed that up with a 6-3 win over LHU's John Trumbetti at 133. Junior Pearsall then notched the dual's hallmark win by pinning No. 14 Matt Bonson at the 4:22 mark at 141. All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.), ranked No. 1 at 149, then pinned Owen Wilkinson at the 2:30 mark. Red-shirt freshman Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), ranked No. 10 at 157, posted a 19-8 major over the Haven's Aaron Fry to give Penn State a 25-0 lead at the midway point.
All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), ranked No. 1 at 165, notched a furious 21-5 technical fall of Seth Creasy in just 3:21. With second-ranked Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) getting the night off, talented red-shirt freshman Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah) stepped in and the Nittany Lions did not skip a beat. Brown posted a 19-4 technical fall over Lock Haven's Aaron McKinney in just 3:47. All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.), ranked No. 5 at 184, posted a 17-2 technical fall at the 7:00 mark over Zach Heffner before true freshman Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 10 at 197, majored LHU junior Matt Parlier 13-4. Senior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio), ranked No. 8 at heavyweight, capped off the shut-out by pinning Harry Turner at the 3:53 mark to give Penn State the 50-0 win.
The Nittany Lions move to 4-1 while Lock Haven shifts to 3-3. Penn State was simply dominant in the dual, posting a gaudy 41-0 edge in takedowns and collecting 20 bonus points off four pins, three tech falls and two majors. The shut out is Penn State's first since a 48-0 shutout of Lock Haven last December in Rec Hall.
The Nittany Lions head to the Southern Scuffle for New Year's, taking part in the two-day, team scored tournament on Jan. 1-2 at UT-Chattanooga. Penn State's next home dual is on Sunday, Jan. 22, when Iowa invades Rec Hall for a 2 p.m. dual that is already sold out. The Nittany Lions then host Ohio State on Sunday, Jan. 29, at 2 p.m. Fans can purchase a limited number of `standing room only' tickets for the Ohio State dual by calling 814-865-5555. Tickets are priced at $8 for adults and $5 for youth (18 and under) and can be purchased from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day or in person at the Bryce Jordan Center box office. A maximum of four tickets may be purchased per person.
The full season slate of live dual meet and tournament action will air locally on WRSC AM (1390 AM) with Friday evening duals being simulcast on WRSC FM (103.1 FM). Lock Haven's WBPZ (1230 AM) will also carry the entire season live, WIEZ (690 AM) in Huntingdon/Lewistown carries all Sunday events and further affiliates may be added soon. The regular season schedule of radio broadcasts will be streamed live at www.GoPSUsports.com as part of Penn State's All-Access package, which will also feature live video streams of many home events. Ticket information is accessed easily online at www.GoPSUsports.com/tickets/m-wrestl-tickets.html . Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at www.twitter.com/pennstatepat and on Penn State Wrestling's facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling. The 2011-12 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
#5 Penn State 50, Lock Haven 0
December 18, 2011 - Thomas Fieldhouse - Lock Haven, Pa.
125: #15 Nico Megaludis PSU pinned Bobby Rehm LHU, WBF (4:02) 6-0
133: Derek Reber PSU dec. John Trumbetti LHU, 6-3 9-0
141: Bryan Pearsall PSU pinned #14 Matt Bonson LHU, WBF (4:22) 15-0
149: #1 Frank Molinaro PSU pinned Owen Wilkinson LHU, WBF (2:30) 21-0
157: #10 Dylan Alton PSU maj. dec. Aaron Fry LHU, 19-8 25-0
165: #1 David Taylor PSU tech fall Seth Creasy LHU, 21-5 (TF; 3:21) 30-0
174: Matt Brown PSU tech fall Aaron McKinney LHU, 19-4 (TF; 3:47) 35-0
184: #5 Quentin Wright PSU tech fall Zach Heffner LHU, 17-2 (TF; 7:00) 40-0
197: #10 Morgan McIntosh PSU maj. dec. Matt Parlier LHU, 13-4 44-0
285: #8 Cameron Wade PSU pinned Harry Turner LHU, WBF (3:53) 50-0
Attendance: 1,094
Records: #5 Penn State (4-1, 1-1 B1G), Lock Haven (3-3)
Up Next for Penn State: at Southern Scuffle, Jan. 1-2, Chattanooga, Tenn.
BOUT-BY-BOUT:
125: Penn State's Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), ranked No. 15 nationally at 125, met Lock Haven's Bobby Rehm. Megaludis countered an early Rehm shot, gained control of his shoulders and turned a low ankle pick into a takedown and a 2-0 lead. Rehm escaped quickly only to get taken down again by the Lion freshman. Another Rehm escape cut Megaludis' lead to 4-2 with 1:08 on the clock, but Megaludis began adding takedowns at a quick rate. By the end of the period, Megaludis had a 10-4 lead thanks to five takedowns. Rehm chose down to start the second, was allowed up by Megaludis and immediately taken down by the Lion. Megaludis cut him loose and took him down again. This time, Megaludis worked the Bald Eagle to his back and got the pin at the 4:02 mark.
133: Junior Derek Reber (Lewisburg, Pa.) took on Bald Eagle senior John Trumbetti at 133. Reber and Trumbetti battled evenly for the first half of the opening period, wrestling to a series of stalemates as each man looked for an opening to score. Reber got in on a low single with :30 left in the opening period and forced a scramble as the period wound down. Trumbetti was able to fight the move off to keep things scoreless through three minutes. Reber chose down to start the second period and worked to escape. But Trumbetti was able to maintain control although he picked up a stall warning at the :55 mark. Reber finally reversed the Bald Eagle with :10 left to take a 2-0 lead after two periods, but Trumbetti had 1:46 in riding time. Trumbetti chose down to start the final stanza and worked his way into a chance to reverse Reber himself. He finished off the reversal with 1:25 and tied the bout. Trumbetti was called for an illegal hold, Reber then escaped to take a 4-2 lead. Reber added a final takedown and won 6-3 with Trumbetti getting the riding time point.
141: Junior Bryan Pearsall (Lititz, Pa.) took to the mat at 141 for Penn State against Lock Haven's Matt Bonson, who entered the bout 12-1 and ranked No. 14 nationally. Bonson gained control of Pearsall's legs early but Pearsall was able force a scramble and a stalemate to keep the bout scoreless early. Pearsall then scrambled around behind Bonson after a short scramble to take an early 2-0 lead. He then turned the ranked Bale Eagle for two back points and a 4-0 lead with :55 on the clock. Pearsall then rode Bonson out for a 4-0 lead with 1:11 RT after one period. Bonson chose down to start the second and Pearsall was hit with a quick stall warning just :08 into the period. Pearsall was able to break Bonson down and began looking for a chance to turn the ranked Eagle for more back points. After a reset, Pearsall gained control of Bonson's shoulders and turned him to his back with a solid headlock. A brief twenty second's worth of work led to a Pearsall pin of the ranked Bonson at the 4:22 mark, giving Penn State a 15-0 lead.
149: Three-time All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.), ranked No. 1 at 149, met LHU senior Owen Wilkenson. Molinaro got the bout's first takedown at the 1:55 mark and began looking for a chance to turn the Bald Eagle for back points. The Lion senior got two near fall points, reset and began working for another turn. Molinaro gained control of the Bald Eagle, turned him to his back and got the fall at the 2:30 mark to remain undefeated on the year.
157: Red-shirt freshman Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), ranked No. 10 at 157, met LHU's Aaron Fry. Alton wasted no time in taking a 2-0 lead with a takedown less than ten seconds into the bout. Alton added a second takedown after a Fry escape to lead 4-1 midway through the period. Fry worked his way for a reversal at the :46 mark to cut the lead to 5-3 after an Alton escape. Trailing 5-3, Fry chose down to start the second period and was cut loose by Alton at the 1:20 mark. Alton never lost contact and quickly slid behind the Bald Eagle to lead 7-5 after another Fry escape. Alton picked up a stall point and then took Fry down for a 10-5 lead with :35 on the clock. He then rode Fry out to lead 10-5 with 3:11 in riding time after two. Alton chose down to start the third, quickly escaped, and then added another takedown to lead 13-5 with 1:29 on the clock. The Lion freshman dominated the remainder of the rest of the period and rolled to a 19-8 major with 4:14 in riding time.
165: All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), ranked No. 1 nationally at 165, faced off against Bald Eagle senior Seth Creasy. The sophomore Lion dominated the opening period, rolling up takedowns and adding a three-point near fall to lead 11-4 after less than 2:00 of time. Taylor's fifth takedown allowed the Nittany Lion to lead 13-5 and his sixth on a quick low ankle pick gave Taylor a 15-5 lead with :20 on the clock. Taylor added three late back points to lead 18-5 after one period. Creasy chose top to start the second stanza and Taylor quickly escaped for a 19-5 lead. He then ended the match with a takedown to get the 21-5 technical fall at the 3:21 mark.
174: All-American Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 2 at 174, stepped aside for a dual to give talented red-shirt freshman Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah) a chance to wrestle in front of a dual meet crowd. Brown made his Penn State dual debut against LHU's Aaron McKinney. Brown took an early 2-0 lead with a solid takedown and then put together a nice ride, breaking McKinney down and looking for a chance to turn the Bald Eagle. Brown notched a second takedown and turned McKinney for three back points, nearly picking up the fall. The move gave the Lion freshman a 7-2 lead with :50 on the clock after cutting McKinney loose. Brown took McKinney down again at the :30 mark. A Brown ride out gave the Lion a 9-2 lead heading to the second. Brown chose down to start the second and quickly escaped to a 10-2 lead. Another takedown and three more back points put Brown up 15-2 with 1:20 on the clock. Brown cut the Bald Eagle loose at the :35 mark and picked up another takedown with :20 left, cut the Bald Eagle loose and then ended the bout with a final takedown at the :12 mark. The 19-4 technical fall came at the 3:47 mark.
184: All-American and defending national champion Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.), ranked No. 5 at 184, took on Lock Haven's Zach Heffner. Wright nearly ended the match in seconds, throwing Heffner to his back for a quick takedown and near fall. While Heffner was able to keep from getting pinned, the move gave Wright a 5-1 lead after cutting Heffner loose less than :20 into the bout. Wright set the tone on offense, looking for a chance at another shoulder throw or turning those shots into low singles. Heffner was able to fight off numerous Wright shots but the Lion All-American got his second takedown with :15 left and led 7-1 after one. Heffner chose down to start the second period and escaped :45 into the period. But Wright was relentless, tacking on another takedown to lead 9-2 with 1:00 on the clock. Wright then turned Heffner for back points at the end of the period to lead 12-2 after two periods. Wright quickly escaped and took Heffner down to lead 15-2. He picked up a stall point and, after a ride out, the bonus point for a 17-2 technical fall at the 7:00 mark.
197: Nittany Lion Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 10 at 197, med Bald Eagle junior Matt Parlier. McIntosh got the first takedown at the 2:05 mark and led 2-1 after cutting Parlier loose. The Lion freshman added a second takedown and cut, then a third one with 1:00 left to lead 6-3. McIntosh then forced a scramble and picked up a fourth takedown with :40 on the clock. He then rode Parlier out to carry an 8-3 lead into the second period. McIntosh chose neutral to start the second period and added a fifth takedown less than :30 in. He then controlled the action from the top, looking for a chance to turn the Bald Eagle for back points. While not picking up any back points, the ride out gave the Nittany Lion a 10-3 lead with 3:00 RT after two periods. Parlier chose down to start the third period and escaped to a 10-4 deficit, but McIntosh continued his offensive pressure, using a low ankle pick to up his lead to 12-4 with another takedown. McIntosh spent the rest of the bout in control and walked away with a convincing 13-4 major (with 4:31 riding time).
285: Senior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio), ranked No. 8 at heavyweight, met LHU's Harry Turner. Wade got the bout's first takedown and was looking for back points when Turner was able to reverse him at the 1:30 mark. A quick Wade escape gave the Lion a 3-2 lead. Wade continued to set the tempo, looking for chances to score high and shift to low singles. Turner was able to step back from numerous Wade shots and the Nittany Lion led 3-2 after one period. Turner chose down to start the second stanza but Wade was able to gain control of Turner and turn him to his back. Wade turned a three point near fall into a fall at the 3:53 mark, giving Penn State the 50-0 win.