Jan. 17, 2016
EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 1 Penn State (10-0, 5-0 B1G) rolled into Evanston on a frigid January day and stormed off with a lop-sided 46-4 win over No. 25 Northwestern in a Big Ten road dual. Senior Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.) picked up his 100th career win and Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.) cruised to a major decision the dual's marquee match-up at 149.
The dual began at 125 where No. 4 Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.) rolled to a 23-7 technical fall over Garrison White. Senior Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.), ranked No. 5 at 133, then pinned NU senior Dom Malone at the 4:37 mark. Junior Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), ranked No. 13 at 141, received a forfeit victory to put Penn State up 17-0 and improved his record to 8-4 on the year.
Sophomore Retherford, ranked No. 1 at 149, dominated No. 5 Jason Tsirtsis in the dual's marquee match-up. Retherford tallied six takedowns and 3:33 in riding time as he rolled to a 15-5 major over the two-time All-American and 2014 national champion. Red-shirt freshman Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 3 at 157, gave Penn State a 27-0 lead at the dual's midway point with a quick first period pin (2:13) of NU's Anthony Petrone. It was his ninth of the year.
Red-shirt freshman Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.), ranked No. 16 at 165, opened up the second half with a dominating 5-0 shut-out over Luke Norland that included 4:52 in riding time. Red-shirt freshman Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 1 at 174, followed that up with a quick first period pin (1:13), his sixth of the year, to put Penn State up 36-0.
Sophomore Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), ranked No. 13 at 184, returned to action and just one minute into his bout received an injury forfeit victory when Regis Durbin could not continue after concussion protocol. Senior McIntosh, ranked No. 1 at 197, picked up the 100th win of his career with a strong 17-4 major over NU's Jacob Berkowitz, including 4:57 in riding time. McIntosh is now 100-18 as a Nittany Lion. Sophomore Wes Phipps (Grove City, Pa.) once again got the call at 285 but dropped a tough 10-0 major to Conan Jennings and Penn State walked away from Evanston with a lop-sided 46-4 victory.
Penn State is now 10-0, 5-0 in the Big Ten while Northwestern falls to 1-7, 0-3 in the conference. The Nittany Lions picked up 19 bonus points off three pins, a forfeit, an injury default, a tech fall and two majors. Penn State posted a gaudy 27-2 edge in takedowns over Northwestern as well.
Penn State will visit No. 8 Illinois on Saturday, Jan., 23, for a 4 p.m. dual (3 p.m. Central) that will air live on the Big Ten Network. Penn State's next home meet will be a Jan. 31 showdown with Michigan in Rec Hall at 2 p.m.. 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 limited number of tickets to Penn State's second BJC Dual, Feb. 5 vs. Ohio State, are available but disappearing fast. BJC Dual tickets are $16 for adults and $8 for youth (12-and-under) and can be purchased via www.GoPSUsports.com/accountmanager or by calling 1-800-NITTANY
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 46, #25 Northwestern 4
January 17, 2016 -- Evanston, Ill.
125: #4 Nico Megaludis PSU tech fall Garrison White NU, 23-7 (TF; 5:40) / 5-0
133: #5 Jordan Conaway PSU pinned Dominick Malone NU, WBF (4:37) / 11-0
141: #13 Jimmy Gulibon PSU won by forfeit / 17-0
149: #1 Zain Retherford PSU maj. dec. #5 Jason Tsirtsis NU, 15-5 / 21-0
157: #3 Jason Nolf PSU pinned Anthony Petrone NU, WBF (2:13) / 27-0
165: #16 Shakur Rasheed PSU dec. Luke Norland NU, 5-0 / 30-0
174: #1 Bo Nickal PSU pinned Mitch Sliga NU, WBF (1:13) / 36-0
184: #13 Matt McCutcheon PSU inj. def. Regis Durbin NU, Inj.Def. (0:52) / 42-0
197: #1 Morgan McIntosh PSU maj. dec. Jacob Berkowitz NU, 17-4 / 46-0
285: Conan Jennings NU maj. dec. Wes Phipps PSU, 10-0 / 46-4
Records: Penn State 10-0, 5-0 B1G; Northwestern 1-7, 0-3 B1G
Up Next for Penn State: at #8 Illinois, Saturday, Jan. 23, 4 p.m. Eastern/3 p.m. Central
BOUT-BY-BOUT:
125: Senior All-American Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), ranked No. 4 at 125, met Garrison White. Megaludis quickly took a 2-1 lead with a takedown and cut just seconds into the match. He worked White to the edge of the mat, shot low and notched a second takedown to open up a 4-2 lead and went on to pick up two more takedowns to lead 8-3 after a furious opening period. White chose down to start the second stanza and Megaludis built his riding time edge up to 1:05 before cutting him to an 8-4 score. He quickly took him down and cut him to lead 10-5. Megaludis would add one more takedown and four near fall points to lead 16-5 at the :40 mark. Megaludis took White down on the edge of the mat, cut him loose and then took him down once more as the period wound down to lead 20-7 with 2:20 in time after two. Nico chose top to start the third period, looking to tilt white for a pin or a tech fall. He picked up one point on stalling and added two near fall points to post the 27-7 technical fall at the 5:40 mark.
133: Senior All-American Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.), ranked No. 5 at 133, battled Dominick Malone. Conaway fought off an early Malone shot, forced a reset, and then began going to work in the middle of the mat. The wrestlers both met moving forward, forcing Malone into a quick concussion protocol. The Wildcat was quickly cleared to continue and action resumed with 1:38 on the clock. Conaway broke into the scoring column at the :48 mark with a solid takedown and then rode Malone out to lead 2-0 with :48 in riding time after one. Malone chose down to start the second stanza and escaped to a 2-1 score with 1:45 on the clock. Conaway countered a Malone shot, worked his way around for a takedown and cut Malone loose to a 4-2 lead at the 1:00 mark. The Lion senior blew through a solid high double, got the takedown and then quick worked his way into control for a fall at the 4:37 mark.
141: Junior All-American Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), ranked No. 13 at 141, received a forfeit victory at 141 and improved to 8-4 on the year.
149: Sophomore All-American Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 149, tangled with No. 4 Jason Tsirtsis in the dual's marquee match-up. Retherford set the tempo early, forcing Tsirtsis backwards for the opening minute while he looked for an opening to move through. With the Wildcat moving backwards for much of the opening period, Retherford broke through for his first takedown at the :38 mark to open up a 2-0 lead. Retherford then controlled the action from the top position for the rest of the period and carried that lead and :38 in time into the second. Retherford chose down to start the second period and escaped in just one second to a 3-0 lead. He then continued to press Tsirtsis, forcing him backwards and turning a high single into a takedown and a 5-0 lead with 1:30 on the clock. Retherford cut Tsirtsis loose to a 5-1 score and then continued to move forward. A fast shot led to another takedown and a 7-1 lead for the Lion sophomore. Retherford got hit for an illegal hold call, cutting the lead to 7-2. A ride out gave Retherford a 7-2 lead with 1:54 in time after two periods. Tsirtsis chose down to start the third period and Retherford cut him loose to a 7-3 score with 1:40 on the clock. The Lion sophomore took Tsirtsis down just seconds after the escape to up his lead to 9-3 and then cut him loose once more. Retherford added another quick takedown, led 11-4 with :50 on the clock and then cut Tsirtsis loose once more as bonus points loomed. After picking up a point on another Tsirtsis stall, Retherford closed out the bout with a final takedown. With 3:33 in riding time, Retherford walked away with a dominating 15-5 major with 3:33 in riding time.
157: Red-shirt freshman Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 3 at 157, met Anthony Petrone. Nolf wasted no time blowing open a big lead. The Lion freshman took Petrone down early, turned him for four near fall points twice and led 10-0 quickly. He then adjusted to his feet, locked up a near standing cradle and got the pin at the 2:13 mark.
165: Red-shirt freshman Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.), ranked No. 16 at 165, tangled with Luke Norland. Rasheed came out quickly, rolling through a low double to force a scramble and took a 2-0 lead at the 2:05 mark after steadily gaining control of Norland's ankles. After a reset with 1:28 on the clock, Shakur broke Norland down and put together a strong ride, nearly turning the Wildcat for back points but settling for a ride out and a 2-0 lead with 2:08 in time after the opening period. Rasheed chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 3-0 lead. He then connected on a high single, forcing another scramble and getting his second takedown to lead 5-0 with :55 on the clock. Norland got called for stalling for the first time as the period ended and Rasheed led 5-0 with 2:52 in time after two. Norland chose down to start the third period and Rasheed quickly broke him down flat once more. Rasheed clinched the riding time point and then continued to work for a chance to turn the Wildcat. He was unable to pick up the back points but another strong ride out gave Rasheed a 5-0 win with 4:52 in riding time.
174: Red-shirt freshman Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 1 at 174, battled Mitch Sliga. Nickal scored quickly, taking Sliga down and cutting him, taking him down a second time and then going to work on top at the 2:10 mark. He deftly locked up a cradle, steadied his position to stay in bounds and got the fall at the 1:13 mark in the first period.
184: Sophomore Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), ranked No. 13 at 184, met Regis Durbin. McCutcheon came out of the gates setting the tempo early. As he moved him for a shot in the middle of the mat, he made contact with Durbin the Wildcat was forced into concussion protocol. Durbin could not continue and McCutcheon got the injury default victory at the 0:52 mark.
197: Senior All-American Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 1 at 197, took on Jacob Berkowitz. McIntosh took Berkowitz down quickly and cut him loose to a 2-1 score. The Lion senior followed that up with another takedown and led 4-2 after a Durbin escape. Looking for career win 100, McIntosh continued his offensive barrage and took Durbin down a third time to up his lead to 6-2 with 1:48 in time after one. Berkowitz chose down to start the second period and escaped to a 6-3 score at the 1:15 mark. McIntosh quickly took him down to an 8-3 lead then locked up a cradle and turned him for four near fall points and led 12-3 with a clinched riding time point after two. McIntosh chose neutral to start the third period and quickly rolled through a high double to up his lead to 14-3. He worked solid top control for over a minute, looking for a pinning opportunity. McIntosh cut him loose on a reset and then added one more takedown to post a 17-4 takedown with 4:57 in riding time for his 100th career win.
285: Sophomore Wes Phipps (Grove City, Pa.) faced off against Conan Jennings at 285. Phipps came out hot early, working his way into control of a high single that appeared to be a takedown. The call was not given to the Lion sophomore and a reset was called with 1:51 on the clock. Phipps continued to press the offense and nearly connected on another high single. Jennings used nearly 80 pounds of weight advantage to fight the move off and keep the bout scoreless at the 1:00 mark. With the bout moving into the second period scoreless, Jennings chose down to start the second period. Phipps maintained control for :26 before Jennings escaped to a 1-0 lead. Phipps got dinged for stalling a second time and fell behind 2-0. He then shot low again and this time Jennings countered for the bout's first takedown to lead 4-0. He locked up a cradle to turn Phipps for four back points as the period wound down and Phipps trailed 8-0 after two. Phipps chose neutral to start the third period and continued to shoot. But Jennings was able to defend his way out of trouble, forcing a reset with 1:04 on the clock. The Lion sophomore continued to shoot, but each time Jennings was able to defend his way to a reset. Jennings was able to add a final counter takedown and posted the 10-0 major.