Nov. 8, 2016
NOTES:Army West Point-Stanford
TODAY'S ACTION
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, winners of five of the last six NCAA and Big Ten titles, will open up the 2016-17 season with a split dual meet weekend. Penn State will travel to Army West Point (0-0) and host No. 12 Stanford (1-0). Penn State treks to West Point to open the campaign on Friday, Nov. 11, at 8 p.m. The Nittany Lions then host Stanford in their Rec Hall opener on Sunday, Nov. 13, at 2 p.m.
The Nittany Lions potential starting line-up could feature as many as eight (or more) underclassmen. Despite its youth, head coach Cael Sanderson's squad features ten individuals ranked in InterMat's preseason top 20. True freshman Nick Suriano heads into his first collegiate season ranked No. 12 at 125 while sophomore transfer Jered Cortez is No. 9 at 133. Senior All-American (in 2015) Jimmy Gulibon is ranked No. 12 at 141 and defending NCAA Champion Zain Retherford holds the No. 1 spot at 149. Sophomore All-American Jason Nolf is ranked No. 1 at 157.
Red-shirt freshman Vincenzo Joseph is ranked No. 8 at 165. Senior Geno Morelli, who went 2-2 at NCAAs last year, could get the nod at 174 for Penn State while sophomore Shakur Rasheed is No. 20 at 174. Sophomore Bo Nickal, Big Ten Champion, NCAA finalist and All-American at 174 last year, is ranked No. 3 at 184. Two-time NCAA qualifier Matt McCutcheon is ranked No. 16 at 197 and red-shirt freshman Kellan Stout is in the mix at that weight as well. Sophomore Nick Nevills is ranked No. 14 at 285.
Army West Point brings a talented line-up into the season-opening dual meet. The Black Knights, who wrestled well in an open tournament last weekend, could send as many as four seniors into action in the battle. Army West Point is led by senior Russ Parsons, who is ranked No. 15 at 157 in InterMat's preseason release, and sophomore Rocco Caywood, who is No. 11 at 197. Senior Logan Everett is No. 17 at 141 as well. Parsons went 5-0 this past weekend, Caywood went 4-1 and Everett went 3-1. Freshman Ben Harvey was also 5-0 at 174.
Stanford enters the weekend ranked No. 12 in InterMat's preseason TPI and is 1-0. The Cardinal opened up the dual meet season last weekend with a 21-9 win over Cal Poly. The Cardinal starting line-up is a veteran one, including No. 4 Connor Schram at 125. Joey McKenna is ranked No. 2 at 141, Jim Wilson No. 13 at 174 and Nathan Butler No. 10 at 285. All four of those Stanford wrestlers were victorious in the team's season opening win over Cal Poly as Stanford won seven of ten bouts.
Penn State leads the all-time series against Army West Point 30-4-2. The Nittany Lions last wrestled the Knights at the Virginia Duals on Jan. 11, 2002, picking up a 26-9 win. This is Penn State's first trip to West Point since a 34-4 victory on Jan. 31, 1976. Penn State won the only other meeting with Stanford, a 31-12 win in Palo Alto last year on Nov. 22.
The Nittany Lions trek to the University of Pennsylvania on Sunday, Nov. 20, for the Keystone Classic in Philadelphia. Action begins at 9 a.m. in the Palestra. The Nittany Lions return home on Sunday, Dec. 4, when the team hosts Lehigh in the Bryce Jordan Center. Some tickets remain for the near-16,000 seat venue. Fans can purchase tickets by calling the Penn State Athletics ticket office at 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 2016-17 Penn State wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here.
#4 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (0-0, 0-0 B1G)125 #12 Nick Suriano Fr. Paramus, N.J./Bergen Catholic 0-0
133 #9 Jered Cortez So. Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North 0-0
141 #12 Jimmy Gulibon Sr. Latrobe, Pa./Derry Area 0-0
149 #1 Zain Retherford Jr. Benton, Pa./Benton 0-0
157 #1 Jason Nolf So. Yatesboro, Pa./Kittanning 0-0
165 #8 Vincenzo Joseph Fr. Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic 0-0
174 Geno Morelli Sr. DuBois, Pa./DuBois 0-0
OR #20 Shakur Rasheed So. Coram, N.Y./Longwood 0-0
184 #3 Bo Nickal So. Allen, Texas/Allen 0-0
197 #16 Matt McCutcheon Jr. Apollo, Pa./Kiski Area 0-0
Kellan Stout Fr. PIttsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon 0-0
Anthony Cassar Fr. Rocky Hill, N.J./Montgomery 0-0
285 #14 Nick Nevills So. Clovis, Calif./Clovis 0-0
ARMY WEST POINT BLACK KNIGHTS (0-0)125 Trey Chalifoux Fr. Nashville, Tenn./Father Ryan 3-1
133 Austin Harry So. Harvey's Lake, Pa./Lake Lehman 3-2
141 #17 Logan Everett Sr. Tioga, Pa./Williamson 3-1
149 Matt Kelly Jr. Damascus, Md./Good Counsel 2-2
157 #14 Russ Parsons Sr. Clinton, N.J./Blair Academy 5-0
165 Andrew Mendel Jr. Mason, Ohio/Moeller 4-2
174 Ben Harvey Fr. New Palestine, Ind./Indianapolis Cathedral 5-0
OR Jack Wedholm Jr. Blairstown, N.J./Blair Academy 4-2
184 Samson Imonode Sr. Phoenix, Ariz./Horizon 3-2
197 #11 Rocco Caywood So. Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg 4-1
285 Trevor Smith Sr. Ripon, Calif./Ripon 3-2
OR David Farr Sr. Cornwall, N.Y./Blair Academy 1-2
#12 STANFORD CARDINAL (1-0)125 #4 Connor Schram Sr. Canonsburg, Pa./Canonsburg-McMillan 1-0
133 Mason Pengilly Jr. Porterville, Calif./Porterville 0-0
Eric Cramer Sr. Palo Alto, Calif./Gunn 0-1
141 #2 Joey McKenna So. Towaco, N.J./Blair Academy 1-0
149 Tommy Pawelski Jr. Park Ridge, Ill./Montini Catholic 1-0
157 Paul Fox So. Gilroy, Calif./Gilroy 0-1
165 Keaton Subjeck Jr. El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge 1-0
174 #13 Jim Wilson Sr. Lodi, Calif./McNair 1-0
184 Austin Flores Fr. Clovis, Calif./Clovis North 0-1
197 Josh Marchok Sr. Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg 1-0
285 #10 Nathan Butler Jr. Leavenworth, Ks./Leavenworth 1-0
Team ranking is InterMat TPI (Tournament Power Index) as of 11/6
NITTANY LION WRESTLERS BEGIN 2016-17 WITH TEN INDIVIDUALS RANKED BY INTERMAT
The Penn State Nittany Lions, coming off their fifth NCAA and Big Ten titles in the last six years, will begin the season ranked #4 in InterMat's Tournament Power Index (TPI). The Nittany Lions could sport one of the nation's youngest line-ups with eight underclassmen (five sophomores and three freshmen), one junior and one senior. True freshman Nick Suriano begins the year ranked #12 at 125, sophomore Jered Cortez is ranked #18 at 133, senior Jimmy Gulibon is ranked #12 at 141, junior Zain Retherford is ranked #1 at 149, sophomore Jason Nolf is ranked #1 at 157, redshirt freshman Vincenzo Joseph is ranked #8 at 165, sophomore Shakur Rasheed is ranked #18 at 174, sophomore Bo Nickal is ranked #3 at 184, junior Matt McCutcheon is #16 at 197 and sophomore Nick Nevills is ranked #14 at 285.
PENN STATE RADIO NETWORK SET FOR 2016-17
The Penn State Wrestling Radio Network has been finalized for the 2016-17 campaign. Forever Media's WRSC-AM 1390 will serve as the flagship station for the network. The Penn State Coaches Show featuring Cael Sanderson, presented by Pepsi, will be carried by Forever Broadcasting as well. Forever Media will air the bulk of the season on WRSC-AM 1390 with select dates tabbed for WQWK-AM 1450. In addition to those two stations WIBF-FM 92.5 Mexico/Lewistown and WDBF-FM 106.3 Mt. Union/Huntingdon will broadcast the full season as well. Jeff Byers will once again serve as the voice of Penn State Wrestling, calling each broadcast mat-side with the Nittany Lions. The Penn State Coaches Show featuring Cael Sanderson, presented by Pepsi, will air on Forever Media as well this year. The one-hour program will take place at Lettermans on East College Ave. in State College nearly every Wednesday at 6:05 p.m. from November 11 through mid-March. Fans are encouraged to attend the program throughout the year. The show will air live on WQWK-AM. Sanderson will be the featured guest for most shows from November 16 through mid-March. In addition to Sanderson, The Penn State Coaches Show will include various coaches from other Penn State teams and athletics administrators. The show is slated for Nov. 16, Nov. 30, Dec. 6, Dec. 14, Jan. 4, Jan. 11, Jan. 18, Jan 25, Feb. 8, Feb. 15, Feb. 22, March 1 and March 8. The Penn State Coaches Show featuring Cael Sanderson, presented by Pepsi, will feature guests answering questions from fans at Lettermans and online. Fans can submit questions to www.GoPSUsports.com/askthecoach. All Penn State wrestling broadcasts this season, both live action and the Penn State Coaches Show featuring Cael Sanderson, will be streamed online for free on GoPSUsports.com via GoPSUNow.
SOME TICKETS REMAIN FOR THE `16-17 BJC DUAL; LIMITED SRO'S FOR REMAINING REC HALL DUALS
The Penn State wrestling team, winner of five of the last six NCAA and Big Ten titles, has announced the start of public ticket sales for the 2016-17 BJC Dual as well as standing room only (SRO) tickets for the Nittany Lions' six Rec Hall dates. Head coach Cael Sanderson's Nittany Lions will host Lehigh on Sunday, Dec. 4. The public can purchase BJC Dual Tickets by visiting www.gopsusports.com, calling 1-800-NITTANY or stopping by the BJC Ticket Office from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Penn State's remaining Rec Hall dates are as follows: vs. Binghamton on Sunday, Nov. 11; vs. Rutgers on Jan. 13-15 (date TBA for TV); vs. Northwestern on Sunday, Jan. 29; vs. Illinois on Friday, Feb. 10; and vs. Maryland on Sunday, Feb. 12. Fans can purchase SROs to any of these events by calling 1-800-NITTANY based on availability, on a first come, first serve basis.