Dec. 13, 2015
VIDEO: Highlights and Postmatch Interviews
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- No. 1 Penn State (5-0, 1-0 B1G) dominated No. 15 Wisconsin (1-2, 0-1 B1G) in the first of two BJC Duals this year. The Nittany Lions won eight of ten bouts to roll to a 36-7 victory in front of nearly 13,000 fans in the Bryce Jordan Center.
The dual began at 125 where senior All-American Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), ranked No. 4 nationally, dominated Johnny Jimenez on his way to an 11-3 major decision. Nittany Lion All-American Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.), ranked No. 8 at 133, received a forfeit victory to put Penn State up 10-0 early. Sophomore Kade Moss (South Jordan, Utah) got the call at 141 and posted a strong 4-1 win over Wisconsin's Luke Rowh.
Sophomore All-American Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 149, picked up his fourth pin, getting a first period fall (2:56) over Ryan Lubeck. Red-shirt freshman Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 3 at 157, closed out the first half with his sixth fall of the year, getting a 6:00 pin over TJ. Ruschell to put Penn State up 25-0 at intermission. .
Junior Geno Morelli (DuBois, Pa.) got the nod at 165, making his Penn State dual meet debut. The Lion junior nearly pulled off the upset, taking a late 4-3 lead over No. 3 Isaac Jordan of Wisconsin. But Jordan managed a last second (with :01 on the clock) takedown to steal the 5-4 win and end the Lion shut-out run. Red-shirt freshman Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 5 at 174, dominated No. 16 Ricky Robertson, posting a 16-2 major decision with 1:46 in riding time to put Penn State up 29-3.
Sophomore Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), ranked No. 13 at 184, majored Wisconsin's Ryan Christensen, posting a 14-1 win with 3:43 in riding time. Senior All-American Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 1 at 197, notched a 7-1 win over Eric Peissig to put Penn State up 36-3 with one bout to wrestle. At heavyweight, red-shirt freshman Devon Van Cura (Washington, N.C.) made his Penn State dual meet debut against Brock Horwath. Horwath used two takedowns to post a 10-0 major, and Penn State walked away with a 36-7 victory.
Penn State is now 5-0 overall, 1-0 in the Big Ten while Wisconsin falls to 1-2, 0-1 B1G. Penn State won the takedown battle by 20, with a 23-3 advantage. The Nittany Lions, in winning eight of ten bouts, tallied 12 bonus points off two pins, a forfeit and three majors. Retherford's fall was his fourth of the year while Nolf tallied his sixth.
Penn State will visit Rider in its next outing, taking on the Broncs on Saturday, Dec. 19, at 4 p.m. The Penn State/Rider dual will air live on The Comcast Network (TCN). Penn State's next home dual is on Friday, Jan. 15, when it hosts Nebraska at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall. With the remaining Rec Hall duals already at seated capacity, a limited number of Standing Room Only tickets (SROs) can be purchased for each of those duals as well. Rec Hall SROs may only be purchased by calling 1-800-NITTANY and are $15 per person. A few limited tickets remain for the second BJC Dual, the Feb. 5 date against Ohio State. Fans can purchase those tickets by calling 1-800-NITTANY as well. BJC Dual tickets are $16 for adults and $8 for students.
Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at @pennstateWREST, on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest. The 2015-16 Penn State wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here.
#1 Penn State 36, #15 Wisconsin 7
December 13, 2015 -- Bryce Jordan Center -- University Park, Pa
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125: #4 Nico Megaludis PSU maj. dec. Johnny Jimenez WIS, 11-3 / 4-0
133: #8 Jordan Conaway PSU win by forfeit / 10-0
141: Kade Moss PSU dec. Luke Rowh WIS, 4-1 / 13-0
149: #1 Zain Retherford PSU pinned Ryan Lubeck WIS, WBF (2:56) / 19-0
157: #3 Jason Nolf PSU pinned TJ Ruschell WIS, WBF (6:00) / 25-0
165: #3 Isaac Jordan WIS dec. Geno Morelli PSU, 5-4 / 25-3
174: #5 Bo Nickal PSU maj. dec. #16 Ricky Robertson WIS, 16-2 / 29-3
184: #13 Matt McCutcheon PSU maj. dec. Ryan Christensen WIS, 14-1 / 33-3
197: #1 Morgan McIntosh PSU dec. Eric Peissig WIS, 7-1 / 36-3
285: Brock Horwath WIS maj. dec. Devon Van Cura PSU, 10-0 / 36-7
Attendance: 12,862
Records: Penn State 5-0, 1-0 B1G; Wisconsin 1-2, 0-1 B1G)
Up Next for Penn State: at Rider, Saturday, Dec. 19, 4 p.m. (TCN)
BOUT-BY-BOUT:
125: Senior All-American Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), ranked No. 4 at 125, took on Wisconsin's Johnny Jimenez. Megaludis set the tempo early, nearly scoring on two quick shots. While shooting low at the 1:47 mark, the duo met at the middle and collided, forcing Jimenez to take injury time and then have to go through concussion protocols. Jimenez was cleared and Megaludis chose down on the reset. The Lion escaped to a 1-0 lead with 1:15 on the clock. Megaludis notched his takedown at the :40 mark and took a 3-0 lead. He then rode Jimenez out to lead 3-0 after the opening stanza. Megaludis chose down to start the second period and steadily worked his way to an escape and a 4-0 lead. Megaludis forced Jimenez into a warning with :25 on the clock and then rolled through a strong low single to tack on a takedown with :10 on the clock, closing out the second period strong. Trailing 6-0, Jimenez chose down to start the second period, escaping to a 6-1 score quickly. But Megaludis was relentless on offense, turning a low shot into another takedown and an 8-1 lead. A third caution gave Megaludis a penalty point and the Lion senior controlled the action from the top position until cutting the Badger loose with :50 left to wrestle. Megaludis turned a low single into a takedown and cut with :30 left, taking an 11-3 lead and rolling to the major decision.
133: Senior All-American Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.), ranked No. 8 at 133, received a forfeit victory and improved to 8-1 on the year.
141: At 141, sophomore Kade Moss (South Jordan, Utah) met Luke Rowh. Rowh took the first solid shot of the match, working his way in on a high single. But Moss countered, forcing himself over top of the Badger and getting a reset call with 1:30 on the clock. Rowh continued to try and work high singles into points. But Moss was solid defensively and the bout moved into the second period tied 0-0. Moss chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. Moss began to set the tempo offensively, forcing Rowh back towards the outside circle while looking for a chance to turn upper body control into a throw and points. Rowh found a low opening at the :25 mark, but Moss countered the shot and worked his way behind Rowh for a takedown at the :08 mark. Trailing 3-0, Rowh chose down to start the third period. Moss maintained control deep into the third period, working his riding time advantage over 1:00 before Rowh escaped to a 3-1 Moss lead with :40 left to wrestle. Moss rode the second period takedown and strong third period ride to a 4-1 win with 1:20 riding time.
149: Sophomore All-American Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 149, met Badger junior Ryan Lubeck. Retherford struck quickly, rolling Lubeck to the mat for an early 2-0 lead. The Lion then controlled the action from the top, looking for a chance to turn the Badger for back points or a fall. Retherford turned Lubeck for four near fall points and a 6-0 lead with 1:00, nearly pinning the Badger in the process. Another turn and a bit of work for Retherford and the Nittany Lion sophomore got the fall at the 2:56 mark.
157: Red-shirt freshman Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 3 at 157, faced off against junior TJ Ruschell. Nolf notched a quick takedown and cut to lead 2-1 early and then put on a takedown clinic. The Lion sophomore tallied a total of three takedowns in the first two minutes to lead 6-3 early. Nolf tacked on a fourth takedown, then a quick fifth with :30 on the clock and led 10-4 with 1:11 in riding time after one period. Nolf chose down to start the second period and steadily worked his way to a reversal and a 12-4 lead with :50 on the clock. Nolf cut Ruschell loose on a reset with :24 on the clock and picked up another takedown as the period wound down to lead 14-5 after two. Ruschell chose top to start the third period but Nolf quickly rolled under the Badger for another reversal and a 16-5 lead with 1:45 left to wrestle. Nolf then gained control of Ruschell's arm, turn the Badger junior to his back and got the fall at the 6:00 mark.
165: Junior Geno Morelli (DuBois, Pa.) got the nod at 165 and took on No. 3 Isaac Jordan of Wisconsin. The duo battled evenly for over two minutes with neither man finding an opening in which to score. The final minute of the first period was also scoreless and action moved to the second stanza 0-0. Jordan chose down to start the second period and quickly reversed Morelli. A quick Morelli escape gave Jordan a 2-1 lead with 1:20 on the clock and action resumed on the Lion logo. The duo battled evenly for the rest of the second period and Morelli trailed 2-1 after two periods. Morelli chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 2-2 tie with 1:40 on the clock. With 1:00 on the clock, Jordan took two swift low shots that Morelli was able to fight off, forcing the clock down to the :30 mark with the bout tied. Morelli then turned a fast low singe into a takedown and a 4-2 lead with :20 on the clock. Jordan escaped and furiously attacked Morelli, getting a takedown with just :01 on the clock to steal a 5-4 win over Morelli.
174: Red-shirt freshman Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 5 at 174, faced off against No. 16 Ricky Robertson. Nickal came out on fire, notching two quick takedowns and a two point near fall to work out to a 6-1 lead just :51 into the bout. He then turned Robertson for a four-point near fall on the reset, upping his lead to 10-1. Robertson worked his way to an escape, but Nickal was unstoppable on offense, notching another takedown to lead 12-2 with :25 left in a furious opening period. Nickal led 12-2 with 1:52 in riding time after one period. Nickal chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 13-2 lead. Robertson chose neutral to start the third period and then blocked off Nickal's offense for the bulk of the third period. Nickal notched one more takedown and posted a 16-2 major with 1:46 in riding time.
184: Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), ranked No. 13 at 184, tangled with Wisconsin freshman Ryan Christensen. McCutcheon took Christensen down early, opening up a 2-0 lead and then controlling action from the offensive position to build up a solid riding time advantage. McCutcheon's strong ride allowed the Nittany Lion sophomore to work the first period clock down to zeroes and he led 2-0 with 1:47 riding time after one period. McCutcheon chose down to start the second period and deftly worked his way into a reversal and then continued the move, nearly pinning Christensen on his way to four back points and an 8-0 lead with :55 on the clock. A ride out gave the Lion an 8-0 lead with 2:13 in riding time heading into the final period. Christensen chose neutral to start the third period and McCutcheon made him pay, using a high shot and turning it into a takedown and a 10-0 lead with a clinched riding time point. Looking for a technical fall, McCutcheon cut the Badger loose, took him down and cut him and led 12-1 with :40 left. A stall point gave McCutcheon a 13-1 lead and McCutcheon posted the 14-1 major with 3:43 in riding time.
197: Senior All-American Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 1 at 197, battled Badger Eric Peissig. McIntosh and Peissig battled evenly for nearly two minutes, with neither wrestler finding any offense. With both wrestlers looking for control up top, McIntosh used a fast low single for the period's lone takedown with :02 on the clock to lead 2-0 after one. McIntosh chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 3-0 lead. Offense was once again hard to come by in the second period, with Peissig getting hit for a first stall warning at the :25 mark as McIntosh circled the Badger for a full two minutes. Trailing 3-0, Peissig chose neutral to start the third period. McIntosh slipped down to a low single and picked up another takedown to lead 5-1 at the :30 mark after a quick Peissig escape. McIntosh worked in on a low single as the period ended and tacked on a final takedown to post the 7-1 win.
285: Red-shirt freshman Devon Van Cura (Washington, N.C.) made his Penn State dual meet debut up at 285 and took on Wisconsin's Brock Horwath. Horwath took an early lead, using a high single to take Van Cura down for a 2-0 lead less than :30 into the bout. Horwath then turned Van Cura to his back at the 1:20 mark, picking up four near fall points to lead 6-0 with 1:12 left in the opening period. Horwath rode Van Cura out and led 6-0 with 2:41 in riding time after one period. Horwath chose down to start the second period and escaped to a 7-0 lead. Van Cura got hit for a first stall at the 1:02 mark and action resumed in the center circle. Trailing 7-0, Van Cura chose neutral to start the third period. Van Cura nearly scored on a high single but Horwath countered for a third period takedown to take a 9-0 lead. The 2:55 riding time edge gave the Badger, who had 80 pounds on Van Cura, the 10-0 major.