Dec. 6, 2013
BOSTON, Mass. - The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, three-time defending NCAA champions, made its first ever trip to Boston University on Friday and came away with a 34-6 over the home-standing Terriers. A sold-out Case Center crowd, the first-ever in BU wrestling history, watched the event.
All-American Nico Megaludis (Murraysville, Pa.), ranked No. 3 at 125, got Penn State off to a good start with a solid 15-3 major over Boston's Bubba McGinley. Boston responded when Dane Harlowe upset freshman Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), ranked No. 11 at 133, 1-0, using two ride-outs to build up 4:00 riding time for the win.
True freshman Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), ranked No. 11 at 141, stayed undefeated at 141 with a dominating 17-2 technical fall over Boston's Peter Ishiguro at the 4:45 mark. Red-shirt freshman Zack Beitz (Mifflinburg, Pa.) picked up his first dual meet win as a Nittany Lion with a 9-3 decision over BU senior Dane Harlowe. Senior James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) took on No. 13 Nestor Taffur at 157 in one of the dual's most anticipated match-ups and nearly pulled off the upset. Taffur was able to notch a takedown with just :14 left and, after a late Vollrath escape, fight off the Lion's final effort and escaped with a 5-4 win. Penn State led 12-6 at intermission.
All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), ranked No. 1 at 165, dominated Boston's Mitchell Wightman, posting a 21-5 tech fall at the 6:57 mark. All-American Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah), ranked No. 3 at 174, followed that up with a 22-7 tech fall of his own, this one over Terrier Eric Des Lauriers. Red-shirt freshman Wes Phipps (Grove City, Pa.) picked up his first dual meet win as a Nittany Lion at 184, majoring Terrier Aaron Conrad 9-1. Sophomore Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 4 at 197, picked up a forfeit at 197 and junior Jimmy Lawson (Tom's River, N.J.), ranked No. 10 at 285, closed out the dual with a strong 10-3 win over Terrier senior Kevin Innis. The string of second half wins allowed Penn State to roll to the 34-6 victory.
Penn State was without the services of junior Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), ranked No. 9 at 149 and junior All-American Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), ranked No. 5 at 157, who are expected back mid-December following off-season surgery; and senior All-American Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 184, who is serving a one-month suspension for violation of team rules and policies.
Penn State won the takedown battle 30-3 and rolled to a 10-0 bonus point advantage. The sell-out crowd of 1,664 was the first ever sell-out in Boston University wrestling history.
Penn State moves to 4-0 with the win while Boston falls to 0-4. The Nittany Lions will trek back to State College and prepare for an historic dual meet against No. 23 Pitt on Sunday, Dec. 8, at 2 p.m. The intrastate match-up will take place in a sold out Bryce Jordan Center with 15,000-plus fans filling the vaunted venue for the meeting.
With the full season of Rec Hall duals sold out prior to the start of the campaign, a very limited number of standing room only tickets are available to a few of the remaining Rec Hall duals. People may purchase tickets by calling 1-800-NITTANY or by visiting the Penn State Athletics ticket office located in the BJC. Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at www.twitter.com/pennstateWREST and on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling. The 2013-14 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
#2 Penn State 34, Boston 6
December 6, 2013 - Boston, Mass.
125: #3 Nico Megaludis PSU maj. dec. Bubba McGinley BU, 15-3 / 4-0
133: Dane Harlowe BU dec. #11 Jimmy Gulibon PSU, 1-0 / 4-3
141: #11 Zain Retherford PSU tech fall Peter Ishiguro BU, 17-2 (TF; 4:45) / 9-3
149: Zack Beitz PSU dec. Nick Tourville BU, 9-3 / 12-3
157: #13 Nestor Taffur BU dec. James Vollrath PSU, 5-4 / 12-6
165: #1 David Taylor PSU tech fall Mitchell Wightman BU, 21-5 (TF; 6:57) / 17-6
174: #3 Matt Brown PSU tech fall Eric Des Lauriers BU, 22-7 (TF/NB; 6:03) / 21-6
184: Wes Phipps PSU maj. dec. Aaron Conrad BU, 9-1 / 25-6
197: #4 Morgan McIntosh PSU win by forfeit / 31-6
285: #10 Jimmy Lawson PSU dec. Kevin Innis BU, 10-3 / 34-6
Attendance: 1,664 (sell-out, first ever in BU wrestling history)
Records: Penn State 4-0, 0-0 B1G; Boston 0-4
Up Next for Penn State: Sunday, Dec. 8 home vs. Pittsburgh, 2 p.m. in the Bryce Jordan Center.
BOUT-BY-BOUT:
125: Two-time All-American Nico Megaludis (Murraysville, Pa.), ranked No. 3 nationally at 125, battled Boston senior Bubba McGinley in the dual's opening salvo. Megaludis fought off an early McGinley shot as the Terrier gained control of the Lions' left leg, forcing him into defense. Megaludis was able to force a stalemate after over a minute. The shot energized Megaludis as he began to force the tempo, picking up his first takedown to lead 2-0 at the 1:00 mark. Megaludis maintained control for the rest of the period, fighting off a quick reversal attempt by McGinley. Leading 2-0 after one, Megaludis chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 3-0 lead. He quickly added a second takedown, cut McGinley loose and added a third to lead 7-2 at the :45 mark. Megaludis added one more takedown and led 9-2 with 1:17 in time after two. McGinley chose down to start the third and Megaludis quickly caught the Terrier, turning him to his back for three near fall points and a 12-2 lead with a clinched riding time point. McGinley escaped only to be taken down again by Megaludis and, with the ride-out, the Lion posted the 15-3 major to put Penn State up 4-0.
133: Red-shirt freshman Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), ranked No. 11 at 133, faced off against BU sophomore Dane Harlowe. The duo battled evenly through the first minute-plus when Gulibon shot after a reset, gaining control of Harlowe's legs. Harlowe fought off the move for over a minute as Gulibon nearly turned him to his back but the stalemate was called and action resumed 0-0 at the :30 mark. Tied 0-0 after one, Gulibon chose down to start the second period but could not break free of Harlowe's ride. The Terrier dominated the action from the top, riding Gulibon out to keep the score tied with 2:00 riding time in his favor. Harlowe chose top to start the third period, looking to clinch the riding time point and keep Gulibon down. Gulibon once again could not break free of Harlowe's ride and lost the match 1-0 on Harlowe chose top to start the third period, looking to clinch the riding time point and keep Gulibon down. Gulibon once again could not break free of Harlowe's ride and lost the match 1-0 on 4:00 riding time.
141: True freshman Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), ranked No. 11 at 141, took on Terrier Peter Ishiguro. Retherford wasted no time in gaining control of the match with a quick takedown to lead 2-0 out of the blocks. He then turned Ishiguro for three back points, nearly pinning him but not getting the call. Up 4-0 after a reset with 1:24, Retherford cut Ishiguro loose and began looking for more. Retherford quickly took Ishiguro down twice to lead 9-2 at the :20 mark. He added three back points and led 12-2 after one. Retherford chose down to start the second and quickly escaped to a 13-2 lead. He added a quick takedown to up his lead to 15-2 and began looking for a chance to turn the Terrier. He picked up two near fall points and got the 17-2 technical fall at the 4:45 mark, putting Penn State up 9-3.
149: Red-shirt freshman Zack Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.) took to the mat at 149 for Penn State to face BU senior Nick Tourville. Beitz countered an early Tourville shot, gained control of the Terrier and used his legs to put him to his back for three near fall points and a 5-1 lead after Tourville escaped. Beitz continued his pressure, working for a shot of his own and countering Tourville's offense. Leading 5-1, Beitz chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 7-1 lead, getting an extra point on a Tourville locked hands violation. Tourville shot low on Beitz' left ankle, but Beitz was able to force a stalemate and action resumed in the center circle at the 1:10 mark. Beitz used a quick low single and upped his lead to 9-1 with a takedown. Tourville escaped at the :30 mark to cut the lead to 9-2. Trailing 9-2, Tourville chose down to start the third and quickly escaped to a 9-3 Beitz lead. Beitz continued to pressure the Terrier, forcing him back towards the outer circle. Beitz would walk away with a strong 9-3 win, his first dual win as a Nittany Lion.
157: Penn State senior James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) faced off against BU senior Nestor Taffur, who entered the bout ranked No. 13 nationally at 157. The duo battled evenly for two minutes before Vollrath scored on a low single, taking a 2-0 lead at the 1:02 mark and then gaining control of the ranked Terrier with a strong ride. Taffur worked for an escape as the period ended, but Vollrath was able to keep control for the final seconds and led 2-0 with 1:03 riding time after one. Vollrath chose down to start the second period and escaped to a 3-0 lead. Taffur cut the lead to 3-2 with a strong takedown and then rode Vollrath out for the final seconds of the period. Trailing 3-2, Taffur chose down to start the final period and quickly escaped to a 3-3 tie. Vollrath gained control of Taffur's left leg on a high single and was working his way to a takedown when a stalemate was called at the :50 mark. Tied 3-3, Taffur gained control of Vollrath with :14 and notched a go-ahead takedown to lead 5-3. Vollrath quickly escaped but it was not enough and Taffur escaped with a 5-4 win, cutting Penn State's lead to 12-6 at the break.
165: Three-time NCAA finalist David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), ranked No. 1 at 165, met Boston's Mitchell Wightman. Taylor fell behind early when Wightman took the Lion down at the 2:24 mark. He quickly escaped to a 2-1 deficit, took him down within seconds and cut him loose to a 3-3 tie at the 1:27 mark. Taylor forced Whiteman into a stall warning, then quickly took the Terrier down for a 5-3 lead with 1:00 to wrestle. He turned Whiteman for three near fall points as the period ended and led 8-3 after one. Wightman chose down to start the second period but Taylor was controlling on top. Taylor picked up a stall point and then turned Wightman for three more back points and lead 12-3 at the :25 mark. Wightman escaped as the period ended and Taylor led 12-4 after two. Taylor chose down to start the third and quickly reversed Wightman to up his lead to 14-4, then picked another point on another stall to lead 15-4. Taylor let Wightman up, took him down to lead 17-5 and began working for a turning combination. Taylor turned Wightman twice for two-counts and rolled to the 21-5 technical fall at the 6:57 mark.
174: Junior All-American Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah), ranked No. 3 at 174, battled Eric Des Lauriers. Brown got off to a quick start with a takedown and a 2-0 lead at the 2:28 mark. He worked to build up over 1:00 in riding time then cut Des Lauriers loose. Brown began to put together a string of takedowns, building up a 6-3 lead with two more scores. He tacked on two more takedowns as the period wound down and led 10-4 after the opening three minutes. Des Lauriers chose top to start the second period and Brown quickly reversed the Terrier. He added a takedown and picked up a stall point to lead 15-5. Another takedown gave Brown a 17-6 lead after two periods. Brown took down to start the third period and quickly escaped. He picked up a stall point and then closed out the tech fall with another takedown, getting the 22-7 tech fall, a four pointer with no back points, at the 6:03 mark.
184: Red-shirt freshman Wes Phipps (Grove City, Pa.) made his Penn State road dual debut in Boston against Terrier Aaron Conrad at 184. The duo battled evenly for the opening minutes but Phipps was able to notch a takedown with :30 left and then rode Conrad out to lead 2-0 after the opening period. Phipps chose down to start the second period and quickly reversed Conrad for a 4-0 lead. He then dominated the action for the rest of the period and carried that lead, with 1:48 in riding time, into the third. Conrad chose neutral to start the third period but Phipps quickly took him down to up his lead to 6-0 and clinch the riding time point. He then cut Conrad loose and began looking for bonus points. Phipps upped his lead to 8-1 with another late takedown and then rode Conrad out for the 9-1 win with the 3:06 riding time point. The victory put Penn State up 25-6.
197: Sophomore Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 4 at 197, received a forfeit at 197 and the Nittany Lions led 31-6.
285: Junior Jimmy Lawson (Tom's River, N.J.), ranked No. 10 at 285, battled Terrier senior Kevin Innis in the dual's final bout. The duo battled evenly for the bulk of the opening period but Lawson got on the scoreboard late with a swift counter takedown. A short ride-out gave the Nittany Lion junior a 2-0 lead after the opening period. Innis chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped, but Lawson was relentless on offense, chasing the Terrier senior towards the outside circle and getting a takedown for a 4-1 lead. Innis worked to an escape and action resumed in the center circle. Neither man scored over the rest of the period. Lawson carried a 4-2 lead into the third period, chose down and escaped to a 5-2 lead. He then quickly added another takedown and led 7-2 with 1:30 left to wrestle. Lawson cut Innis loose and began looking for more takedowns and potential bonus points. But Innis was able to defend Lawson's final shots. Lawson picked up the riding time point and rolled to the 10-3 victory.