March 17, 2016
Session II Roundup - Feature Story & VIDEO
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (16-0, 9-0 B1G, B1G Champions) closed out day one of the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships in New York's Madison Square Garden in first place. Head coach Cael Sanderson's squad will have six, a full two-thirds of its nine qualifiers, in the national quarterfinals tomorrow morning.
Penn State will send six wrestlers into the quarters with two others still alive in consolation action. Penn State has eight of its nine NCAA qualifiers still alive as day one ends.
Senior Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), the No. 3 seed at 125, took on No. 14 Josh Rodriguez of North Dakota State in the second round. Megaludis gave up an early takedown but responded to score the bout's final four points to post a strong 4-2 win and move into the national quarterfinals. Megaludis went 2-0 with a major on day one.
Senior Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.), the No. 5 seed at 133, met returning All-American, No. 12 Ryan Taylor of Wisconsin in round two. Conway gave up the bout's first takedown and then dominated the action from there. The Lion junior notched a takedown in the second and two in the third to roll to an 8-5 win, avenging two losses in the Big Ten tournament, and moving into the quarterfinals. Conaway went 2-0 on day one.
Sophomore Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), the No. 1 seed at 149, took on No. 16 Patricio Lugo of Edinboro in round two. Lugo notched the bout's first takedown and then Retherford took over from there. The Lion sophomore led 3-2 after one and 11-4 after two periods. In the third, with Lugo starting down, Retherford steadily worked him over for a four-count and then picked up the fall at the 6:37 mark to move into the quarterfinals and pick up key bonus points for the Nittany Lions. Retherford went 2-0 with a pin and a tech fall on day one.
Red-shirt freshman Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), the No. 3 seed at 157, met Penn's May Bethea in the next round. The Lion freshman put on an offensive show, totaling 12 takedowns on his way to a lopsided 25-10 technical fall at the 6:35 mark of the third period. Nolf led 6-2 after one, 15-5 after two and picked up five third period takedowns to end the bout and advance to the quarterfinals. Nolf went 2-0 with a pin and a tech fall on day one.
Red-shirt freshman Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), the No. 1 seed at 174,faced No. 16 Micah Barnes of Nebraska in the next round. Like his first round match, Nickal gave up the opening takedown but rebounded to dominate the action. The Lion freshman picked up takedowns in the first and second periods and rode Barnes out in the third to post the 7-2 win and move into the quarterfinals. Nickal went 2-0 with a major on day one.
Senior Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), the No. 1 seed at 197, took on No. 16 Kyle Conel of Kent State in the second round. McIntosh found himself behind 4-2 early, giving up two first period takedowns. But the top-seeded Lion controlled the rest of the match, opening up a 13-5 lead before turning Conel for a pin at the 6:01 mark to move into the quarterfinals while picking up key bonus points for the team. McIntosh went 2-0 with a major and a pin on day one.
Junior Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), unseeded at 141, met No. 12 Chris Mecate of Old Dominion in the second round. Mecate, a returning All-American, hit Gulibon for a quick takedown and then turned him for four near fall points to take a 6-0 lead that would be the bout's final score. The loss dropped Gulibon into consolation action. Gulibon went 1-1 on day one of the tournament, including a tech fall over No. 5 Mike Manley of Missouri in round one.
Junior Geno Morelli (DuBois, Pa.), unseeded at 165, faced No. 6 Steven Rodriguez of Illinois in the next round. The Lion junior battled the sixth-seed tough for over nine minutes before dropping a hard-fought 3-1 (SV2) decision. Tied 1-1 after one sudden victory period, Morelli rode Rodriguez out in the first tie-breaker period and nearly escaped twice but could not in his tie-breaker. Rodriguez notched a quick takedown in the second sudden victory period to post the win and drop Morelli into consolation action. Morelli went 1-1 on day one.
Sophomore Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), the No. 16 seed at 184, met Jack Dechow, returning All-American, in the first round of consolation action Thursday night. The Lion sophomore gave up takedowns in the first and third periods and dropped a 6-1 decision, ending his tournament run with a 0-2 mark.
Penn State leads the team race with 27.5 points while Ohio State and Oklahoma State are in second with 24.0. The Nittany Lions went 14-4 overall on day one, picking up 13.5 bonus points off three pins, three tech falls and three majors. Eight Nittany Lions will continue on tomorrow with six quarterfinalists (Megaludis, Conaway, Retherford, Nolf, Nickal and McIntosh) and two in consolation action (Gulibon, Morelli). Only McCutcheon ended his season today.
The 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships continue on Friday, March 18, at 11 a.m. with session three. Session four is set for Friday at 8 p.m. and the event concludes on Saturday, March 19 at 11 a.m. and 8 p.m.
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.
2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships -- Team Standings (Top Three -- Session 2):
March 17, 2016 -- Madison Square Garden -- New York, N.Y.
1: PENN STATE -- 27.5
2: Ohio State -- 24.0
2: Oklahoma State --- 24.0
Attendance (Day One): 35,569
Weight-by-weight agate (rankings listed are tournament seeds)
* indicates unattached wrestler, not eligible for team scoring
125: #3 Nico Megaludis, Sr., Murrysville, Pa.
Rd 1: Chase Tolbert, Utah Valley -- W, 18-5 maj. dec.
Rd 2: #14 Josh Rodriguez, North Dakota State -- W, 4-2 dec.
Qtrs: Conor Youtsey, Michigan --
Senior Nico Megaludis, the No. 3 seed at 125, took on Utah Valley's Chase Tolbert in the opening round of the 2016 NCAA Championships. Megaludis put on a takedown clinch racking up six takedowns and a reversal to roll to an 18-5 major decision and move into the second round.
Megaludis took on No. 14 Josh Rodriguez of North Dakota State in the second round. Megaludis gave up an early takedown but responded to score the bout's final four points to post a strong 4-2 win and move into the national quarterfinals.
133: #5 Jordan Conaway, Sr., Abbottstown, Pa.
Rd 1: Corey Keener, Central Michigan -- W, 6-5 dec.
Rd 2: #12 Ryan Taylor, Wisconsin -- W, 8-5 dec.
Qtrs: #4 Cody Brewer, Oklahoma --
Senior Jordan Conaway, the No. 5 seed at 133, met Central Michigan's Corey Keener in the opening round of the 2016 NCAA Championships. Conaway opened up an early lead and then held off a late Keener flurry to post a 6-5 win and move into the second round.
Conaway met returning All-American, No. 12 Ryan Taylor of Wisconsin in round two. Conway gave up the bout's first takedown and then dominated the action from there. The Lion junior notched a takedown in the second and two in the third to roll to an 8-5 win, avenging two losses in the Big Ten tournament, and moving into the quarterfinals.
141: Jimmy Gulibon, Jr., Benton, Pa.
Rd. 1: #5 Matt Manley, Missouri -- W, 17-2 (TF; 7:00)
Rd. 2: #12 Chris Mecate, Old Dominion -- L, 0-6 dec.
Cn 2: Ian Nickell, CSU Bakersfield --
Junior Jimmy Gulibon, unseeded at 141, met No. 5 Matt Manley of Missouri in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Championships. Gulibon, returning All-American at 133, put on a clinic, using a takedown and four back points to open up an early lead. The Lion junior never looked back, rolling to a 17-2 technical fall (7:00) with 4:33 in riding time to move into the second round.
Gulibon met No. 12 Chris Mecate of Old Dominion in the second round. Mecate, a returning All-American, hit Gulibon for a quick takedown and then turned him for four near fall points to take a 6-0 lead that would be the bout's final score. The loss dropped Gulibon into consolation action.
149: #1 Zain Retherford, So., Benton, Pa.
Rd. 1: Coleman Hammond, CSU Bakersfield -- W, 21-6 (TF; 5:46)
Rd. 2: #16 Patricio Lugo, Edinboro -- WBF (6:37)
Qtrs: #9 Justin Oliver, Central Michigan --
Sophomore Zain Retherford, the No. 1 seed at 149, took on Coleman Hammond of CSU Bakersfield in the opening round of the 2016 NCAA Championships. The top-seeded Lion made short work of Hammond, totaling eight takedowns and a reversal on his way to a 21-6 technical fall at the 5:46 mark to move into the second round.
Retherford took on No. 16 Patricio Lugo of Edinboro in round two. Lugo notched the bout's first takedown and then Retherford took over from there. The Lion sophomore led 3-2 after one and 11-4 after two periods. In the third, with Lugo starting down, Retherford steadily worked him over for a four-count and then picked up the fall at the 6:37 mark to move into the quarterfinals and pick up key bonus points for the Nittany Lions.
157: #3 Jason Nolf, Fr., Yatesboro, Pa.
Rd. 1: Kamaal Shakur, Chattanooga -- WBF (3:34)
Rd. 2: May Bethea, Penn -- W, 25-10 (TF; 6:35)
Qtrs: #6 Joseph Smith, Oklahoma State --
Red-shirt freshman Jason Nolf, the No. 3 seed at 157, met Chattanooga's Kamaal Shakur in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships. Nolf dominated the match from the onset, notching four takedowns in the first period to open up a big lead. He then ended the bout with a cradle in the second period, locking up Penn State's first fall of the tournament at the 3:34 mark to move into the second round.
Nolf met Penn's May Bethea in the next round. The Lion freshman put on an offensive show, totaling 12 takedowns on his way to a lopsided 25-10 technical fall at the 6:35 mark of the third period. Nolf led 6-2 after one, 15-5 after two and picked up five third period takedowns to end the bout and advance to the quarterfinals.
165: Geno Morelli, Jr., DuBois, Pa.
Rd. 1: #11 John Staudenmayer, North Carolina -- W, 5-3 dec.
Rd. 2: #6 Steven Rodriguez, Illinois -- L, 1-3 (SV2)
Cn 2: Jake Faust, Duke --
Junior Geno Morelli, unseeded at 165, met No. 11 John Staudenmayer of North Carolina in the opening round of the 2016 NCAA Championships. Morelli, who dropped a 2-1 (TB) decision to Staudenmayer earlier in the year, avenged the defeat on the biggest stage. The Lion junior used a four-point throw in the first period to open up an early lead and then held on for a thrilling 5-3 win to advance to the second round.
Morelli moved on and faced No. 6 Steven Rodriguez of Illinois in the next round. The Lion junior battled the sixth-seed tough for over nine minutes before dropping a hard-fought 3-1 (SV2) decision. Tied 1-1 after one sudden victory period, Morelli rode Rodriguez out in the first tie-breaker period, nearly turning him for two back points. Morelli almost escaped twice but could not in his tie-breaker and Rodriguez notched a quick takedown in the second sudden victory period to post the win and drop Morelli into consolation action.
174: #1 Bo Nickal, Fr., Allen, Texas
Rd. 1: Josef Johnson, Harvard -- W, 10-2 maj. dec.
Rd. 2: #16 Micah Barnes, Nebraska -- W, 7-2 dec.
Qtrs: #9 Chandler Rogers, Oklahoma State --
Red-shirt freshman Bo Nickal, the No. 1 seed at 174, met Harvard's Josef Johnson in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Championships. The Lion freshman gave up an early takedown but responded calmly to dominate the rest of the match. Nickal used three takedowns and 3:44 in riding time to post the major decision, pick up key bonus points for the team, and move into the second round.
Nickal moved on to face No. 16 Micah Barnes of Nebraska in the next round. Like his first round match, Nickal gave up the opening takedown but rebounded to dominate the action. The Lion freshman picked up takedowns in the first and second periods and rode Barnes out in the third to post the 7-2 win and move into the quarterfinals.
184: #16 Matt McCutcheon, So., Apollo, Pa. // 0-2 overall, DNP
Rd. 1: Tom Sleigh, Bucknell -- L, 3-4 dec.
Cn. 1: Jack Dechow, Old Dominion -- L, 1-6 dec.
Sophomore Matt McCutcheon, the No. 16 seed at 184, met Tom Sleigh of Bucknell in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Championships. McCutcheon took a 3-0 lead early in the second period but gave up four straight points, including 1:08 in decisive riding time, to lose 4-3 and drop into consolation action.
McCutcheon met Jack Dechow, returning All-American, in the first round of consolation action Thursday night. The Lion sophomore gave up takedowns in the first and third periods and dropped a 6-1 decision, ending his tournament run with a 0-2 mark.
197: #1 Morgan McIntosh, Sr., Santa Ana, Calif.
Rd. 1: Ryan Wolfe, Rider -- W, 11-3 maj. dec.
Rd. 2: #16 Kyle Conel, Kent State -- WBF (6:01)
Qtrs: #8 Aaron Studebaker, Nebraska --
Senior Morgan McIntosh, the No. 1 seed at 197, faced off against Rider's Ryan Wolfe in the opening round of the 2016 NCAA Championships. McIntosh was steady, dominating Wolfe from start to finish. The Lion senior led 5-0 after two periods then poured it on in the third with two takedowns to post an important 11-3 major to advance to the second round.
McIntosh took on No. 16 Kyle Conel of Kent State in the second round. McIntosh found himself behind 4-2 early, giving up two first period takedowns. But the top-seeded Lion controlled the rest of the match, opening up a 13-5 lead before turning Conel for a pin at the 6:01 mark to move into the quarterfinals while picking up key bonus points for the team.