Dec. 11, 2015
By Ryan Hickey, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" Brighter lights and bigger crowds will welcome the Penn State wrestlers as just for the third time ever, the Nittany Lions will head across campus as they host the No. 15 Wisconsin Badgers in the Bryce Jordan Center Sunday.
While a venue like this is not out of the ordinary, it is certainly a different feeling than wrestling at Rec Hall. After the first BJC match against Pittsburgh back in 2013, head coach Cael Sanderson had to work out some of the kinks and now, by year three, thinks all the necessary adjustments have been made in order to have the event run smoother than ever.
"After the first year, there were some issues seeing the clocks and the riding time," said Sanderson. "There were certain parts of the arena that they couldn't see some of the necessities there. I think last year, we made adjustments."
Sanderson is excited about the atmosphere in the building, citing how a majority of the matches against the Panthers came down to the end, which really energized the crowd.
Coming into this weekend where Sanderson will have a few freshmen in the starting lineup, the seventh year coach hasn't changed anything in practice this week and says how the team is used to atmospheres like the one they are going to face on Sunday.
"We haven't talked too much about it. It's much different for us," said Sanderson. "It is our home turf, but for some of these guys, it's their first time wrestling over there, but some of our freshmen have only wrestled [at Rec Hall] once here too so they don't know any different."
For veterans like red-shirt senior Nico Megaludis, Sunday's match is a great precursor for the bigger tournaments later in the season, as the environment and atmosphere is similar to the one that will be at the Jordan Center Sunday.
"BJC is awesome. You have 15,000 people and it's kind of like the National tournament setting, so you get out there on the big stage and I always think that's pretty cool," said Megaludis. "We always have good teams there, so it's always a big match and pretty cool to wrestle in front of people who get to come who don't have the chance to go to Rec Hall."
Megaludis also likes the event because it allows fans who don't have the ability to come to Rec Hall due to the limited seating capacity a chance to watch the team wrestle in person. Megaludis, who will have some family and friends in attendance Sunday, is not concerned that the stage will be too big for some of the freshmen that are experiencing this environment for the first time.
"You see our freshmen. They are all mature and they expect to win," said Megaludis. "I don't think anything phases them. They are pretty mature freshman."
For freshman Bo Nickal, this Sunday's match wont be the first time he has experienced a wrestling match in the BJC. Last year, Nickal had a front row seat during his redshirt season and praises the atmosphere as one of the coolest he's ever seen.
"It was awesome. It was the coolest thing ever," said Nickal. "The lights were going and it was one of the coolest atmospheres I have ever seen for a wrestling match or any sporting event."
Going into this weekend, Nickal is taking this match like he would any other one and going about his normal routine. The Allen, Texas native cites how hosting matches at venues like these is a testimate to the fans and the passion they bring to each match.
"It's definitely awesome to have such a knowledgeable fan base. It's cool to see the different generations of people that are Penn State wresting fans," said Nickal. "Definitely the support and the understanding that comes from them is huge for us with home matches and it's something that I love to compete in front of a crowd and it's awesome to hear them cheer."
Back in high school, Nickal talked about how wrestling was that as popular and would get minimal crowds for a home match. He estimated the biggest crowd he ever wrestled in front of was about 2,000 people at the state tournament. One of the biggest attractions in coming to Penn State was the overall fan base and how excited they were about the program.
Looking towards the match against Wisconsin, a different venue can unsettle some wrestlers who like to stay in a strict routine. For Nickal, being at the match last year and seeing some of the subtle differences compared to a match at Rec Hall allows him to know what to expect and not be surprised by any of the extra fanfare.
"I feel like it's definitely good to have some knowledge prior to the actual event happening of how things are going to work, so that definitely plays to my advantage," said Nickal. "I noticed last year when there would be a big takedown or a big turn, the lights were flashing and I thought that was really cool, but it's good to be aware of that prior to the actual event and I think that's going to help a lot."
Fans may purchase singles to Penn State's two BJC Duals (Wisconsin on 12/13 and Ohio State on 2/5) online at www.GoPSUsports.com/accountmanager or by calling 1-800-NITTANY. BJC Dual public tickets are $16 for adults and $8 for youth (12-and-under). Group tickets for the BJC Duals are now available as well, allowing fans to purchase 20 or more tickets at only $8 per ticket.