Nov. 15, 2015
By Ryan Hickey, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" As a capacity crowd filled Rec Hall for the start of the 2015-16 wrestling season, there was an anxious buzz surrounding the match as this was the first time the fans were getting a glimpse at some of the highly touted freshman wrestlers making their debuts.
Getting their very first collegiate wrestling experience, the freshmen for Penn State capitalized on their opportunity. The Nittany Lions ran out four wrestlers making their collegiate wrestling debut, which was just one of many story lines in the No. 1 Nittany Lions' 50-0 shutout against Lock Haven Friday night.
"I'm excited. When you have freshmen coming out and wrestling as aggressively and confidently as these guys did, that feels pretty good," said head coach Cael Sanderson.
Jason Nolf was the first freshman to trot out on the mat for the Blue and White and right away, showed his aggressive style that Sanderson alluded to, pinning his opponent with 18 seconds left in the first period.
"I could feel the energy and it started to sink it when I was warming up," said Nolf. "I could feel my heart beating really hard, but it wasn't nervousness. It was energy. I had fun and felt the energy of the crowd."
Sanderson was impressed with the way Nolf came out and dominated, and said a message that can be said for Nolf as well as the rest of the first year grapplers on his squad.
"You watch [Nolf] and you are glad that you still have four more years with this guy," said Sanderson. "He scores points and is fun to watch."
Shakur Rasheed's debut was cut short as after recording a takedown in the first period against Dillon Gavlock, Gavlock suffered an injury and could not wrestle the rest of the match, giving Rasheed an injury default victory.
The third Nittany Lion freshman in a row, Bo Nickal, continued to wrestle the aggressive style that was the theme of the match for Penn State. Nickal, en route to a tech fall victory, tallied eight takedowns, part of an effort that saw the No. 1-ranked squad record 36 takedowns to the lone one for the Bald Eagles.
With the match securely in hand, nearly every individual in the 6,356-sellout crowd stayed to watch the final and arguably the most anticipated match of the night. Newcomer and heavy weight Jan Johnson, who was a member of the football team until a few weeks ago, received a standing ovation when he was announced.
Johnson, a two time Pennsylvania high school state champion, was not only transitioning from football to wrestling, but also making a weight change as well, bumping up to the heavyweight role.
"It's a lot different and the weight is a little bit different," said Johnson. "At first, I noticed it a little bit, but as the match went on, I couldn't tell as much and I felt that I could wrestle how I wanted to and that I had control of the pace."
Johnson took on Brad Emerick, who had 40 pounds on the freshman, which did not seem to faze the Mohnton, Pa. native. Johnson notched a second period takedown, sending the already raucous crowd into a frenzy and making Rec Hall the loudest it's was all night. Johnson outlasted Emerick to record a 3-2 victory to cap off the perfect 4-0 record for the Nittany Lion freshmen.
Also returning to the lineup was Nico Megaludis and Zain Retherford, who after sitting out a redshirt year, rang in their seasons with a bang. Megaludis, in his usual 125-pound weight class, set the tone early on for the Nittany Lions, recording seven takedowns and pinned Jake Field at the 6:07 mark.
"I was just thinking how nice it was to have Nico [Megaludis] back," said Sanderson. "He's so consistent and really sets the pace for the team and he has done that for three years. It's very nice to have him back to set that pace and get the brand rolling."
Retherford, who bumped up a weight class to 149-pounds this season, showed he was ready for the new challenge and continued the dominance Penn State showed all night. The sophomore took down Cody Wheeler right away and did not waste anytime getting the win, pinning Wheeler 2:15 into the first period.
Bonus points were also a huge key in the victory for Sanderson's squad, as the Nittany Lions tallied bonus points in eight of the ten matches. Notching four pins and two tech falls, the Blue and White totaled 20 bonus points on the night. It's that kind of style that Sanderson says makes watching this team fun to watch and keeps the fans wanting more.