Jan. 16, 2015
By Matt Allibone, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - After three periods of wrestling, Penn State senior heavyweight Jon Gingrich had no intention of having the outcome of his match delayed any longer.
Taking on Billy Smith of Rutgers, the No. 13 ranked heavyweight in the country, Gingrich briefly led 3-1 in the third before a Smith escape and a penalty for locked hands tied the match and sent it to overtime. Although frustrated, the fifth-year wrestler stayed focused.
"I was kind of surprised by that...you just can't let that mess with your mind," Gingrich said. "If I hadn't gotten that called against me, either way, I couldn't give up another takedown so it just happened that he got it and I had to get the takedown in overtime."
In overtime, it would take just eight seconds for Gingrich to polish off the win, as he quickly grabbed the Scarlet Knight's ankles and yanked him to the mat for a 5-3 win that capped off the Nittany Lions' 28-6 road victory.
After wrestling defensively for most of the first two periods before starting to unleash his offense in the third, Gingrich said he saw no reason to act cautiously in the sudden victory period. By that point, he could tell his opponent was starting to wear down.
"Well, towards the end of the second, as I was tying up with him, I had the tie-ups that I like," Gingrich said. "In the first and halfway through the second he was really fighting hard. In the third I knew he was getting tired and I knew my shots were going to be there, so slowly feeling him break and wanting to give me a takedown.
"[In overtime], I didn't feel like going down to ride out or letting him get close so I really wanted to make sure I got [the takedown]."
The win was in some ways redemption for Gingrich, who lost to Smith 2-1 last season in a tournament on Nov. 10. More importantly though, it improved the Penn State heavyweight to 5-0 on the season in dual meets and gave him a victory over a ranked opponent.
At this point in the season, the Wingate, Pennsylvania, native is well aware of the situation he is in. While he has performed strongly every time he has been called on, he is still in the thick of a competition for the starting spot with fellow redshirt senior Jimmy Lawson.
The battle between Gingrich and Lawson is common knowledge to Nittany Lions fans by now. Both have wrestled at the NCAA Tournament, and both have the confidence of head coach Cael Sanderson.
"That's a tough opponent, he lost to that kid last year," Sanderson said. "Jon did some nice things, and you saw that he can go score some points. In overtime, he timed it and got a nice shot, a quick finish. A shot like that is really tough to stop, so he has that in him."
With Lawson having a pair of impressive wins over ranked opponents this year under his belt, the competition isn't over. For Gingrich though, it's a situation that he has become accustomed to.
"It's definitely a struggle," Gingrich said. "It's always looking over the back of your shoulder, sometimes...you see each other in practice and you want to go harder. Just trying to gain those little bits you know. It's definitely not easy but it definitely can motivate you."
Conaway Gets Back on Track With Major Decision When Jordan Conaway opened up the match at the 125-pound weight, he was looking to do more than get Penn State off to a good start.
After falling to Ohio State's Nathan Tomasello 11-2 last Sunday, the junior was in need of a bounce back performance.
Despite giving up an early takedown to Rutgers' Sean McCabe, Conaway responded with two takedowns and three back points that led to a 10-2 major decision victory and a 4-0 lead for the Nittany Lions.
"I thought he hit a nice shot there, and sometimes that happens, a guy came up on top, did a nice job but he kept plugging away," Sanderson said. "He gave up the first takedown and came back to get a major, I'm happy with that kid's performance."
With 30 seconds remaining in the first, the 125-pounder took McCabe down in the center of the mat before turning him to his back for the three addition points. After a scoreless second period, he added two escapes and a takedown in the third for the major.
Now 14-3 on the season and 6-1 in duals, Conaway looks strong as he continues to work towards his first All-American title. According to Sanderson, the wrestler's loss the previous week never shook the coaching staff's confidence in him.
"You've got to let stuff go quickly and you've got to move on," Sanderson said. "Conaway is very consistent. He obviously didn't have his best performance last week, but you've got to give credit to his competition too. But we're moving forward."