Jan. 25, 2017
WR Notes 16-17 WISNU I BLOG: This Week in Penn State Wrestling
TODAY'S ACTION
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- No. 1 Penn State (8-0, 4-0 B1G) heads into its lone Big Ten `split' weekend this Friday and Sunday. The Nittany Lions are at No. 13 Wisconsin (3-3, 1-3 B1G) on Friday, Jan. 27, at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m .Central, and then host Northwestern (*6-4, 1-3 B1G) on Sunday, Jan. 29, at 2 p.m. in Rec Hall. Rankings listed are InterMat Tournament Power Index (TPI). *Northwestern hosts Indiana on Friday, 1/27, the same evening Penn State is at Wisconsin (post-press).
The Nittany Lions are coming off a rousing 26-11 win at Iowa last Friday night. The dual meet saw Penn State win seven of ten bouts, helping the team improve to 8-0 overall, 4-0 in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions have won 25 straight dual meets dating back to the end of the 2014-15 season.
Penn State will send seven underclassmen into action this weekend, including two true freshmen. Nine Penn Staters are ranked by InterMat in its latest individual release (six in the top four), spurring the team on to the No. 1 ranking in InterMat's TPI. True freshman Nick Suriano is 11-1 overall and ranked No. 3 at 125, senior Jimmy Gulibon is 8-6 and No. 12 at 141, junior Zain Retherford is 13-0 and No. 1 at 149, sophomore Jason Nolf is 13-0 and No. 1 at 157, red-shirt freshman Vincenzo Joseph is 11-1 and No. 4 at 165, true freshman Mark Hall is 18-2 and No. 7 at 174, sophomore Bo Nickal is 12-0 and No. 2 at 184, junior Matt McCutcheon is 10-2 and No. 10 at 197 and sophomore Nick Nevills is 12-0 and No. 4 at 285.
Wisconsin enters the weekend ranked No. 13 in the latest TPI. The Badgers are 3-3 overall and 1-3 in Big Ten duals. Wisconsin has four ranked grapplers, led by unbeaten senior Connor Medbery at 285. Medbery is ranked No. 2 with a 16-0 mark. Senior Isaac Jordan is 16-1 at 165 and ranked No. 3 while junior Ricky Robertson is 20-10 at 197 and ranked No. 12. Freshman Cole Martin is 15-8 at 141 and ranked No. 15.
Northwestern, which hosts Indiana the same night that Penn State is at Wisconsin (post-press), heads into the weekend with a 6-4 overall record, 1-3 in Big Ten action. Northwestern hosts Indiana on Friday, the same night that Penn State is at Wisconsin. Junior Mitch Sliga checks in as NU's lone ranked grappler, sporting a 15-4 record and a No. 20 ranking at 184. Conan Jennings is 14-7 at 285 and Johnny Sebastian is 13-6 at 165 as well.
Penn State owns a 14-8 lead in the all-time series with Wisconsin, having won the last five. The Nittany Lions won 36-7 in the BJC last year on 12/13/15. The Nittany Lions shut-out the Badgers 43-0 on 1/15/12 in their last trip to Madison. Penn State leads Northwestern 14-1 and has won 12 straight. The Lions won 46-4 last year in Evanston on 1/17/16. The Nittany Lions won the last meeting in Rec Hall as well, posting a 39-8 victory on 1/19/14.
Penn State heads to Columbus, Ohio, next weekend to face No. 3 Ohio State on Friday at 6 p.m. in a BTN live national telecast. The Nittany Lions return to Rec Hall on Friday, Feb. 10, hosting Illinois at 7 p.m. Rec Hall duals are sold out but a limited number of standing room only tickets are available to the events. Fans can purchase these SROs on a first-come, first-serve basis by calling the Penn State Athletics ticket office at 1-800-NITTANY while supplies last. 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.
#1 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (8-0, 4-0 B1G)
125 #3 Nick Suriano Fr. Paramus, N.J./Bergen Catholic / 11-1
133 George Carpenter So. Chapel Hill, N.C./Carrboro / 1-8
141 #12 Jimmy Gulibon Sr. Latrobe, Pa./Derry Area / 8-6
149 #1 Zain Retherford Jr. Benton, Pa./Benton / 13-0
157 #1 Jason Nolf So. Yatesboro, Pa./Kittanning / 13-0
165 #4 Vincenzo Joseph Fr. Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic / 11-1
174 #7 Mark Hall Fr. Apple Valley, Minn./Apple Valley / 18-2
184 #2 Bo Nickal So. Allen, Texas/Allen / 12-0
197 #10 Matt McCutcheon Jr. Apollo, Pa./Kiski Area / 10-2
285 #4 Nick Nevills So. Clovis, Calif./Clovis / 12-0
#13 WISCONSIN BADGERS (3-3, 1-3 B1G)
125 Johnny Jiminez Jr. St. Charles, Ill./Marmion Academy / 6-4
133 Eli Stickley Fr. Urbana, Ohio/St. Paris Graham / 17-12
141 #15 Cole Martin Fr. Lancaster, Wis./Lancaster / 15-8
149 Andrew Crone Jr. Delafield, Wis./Arrowhead / 21-7
157 TJ Ruschell Sr. Crittenden, Ky./Ryle / 5-3
165 #3 Isaac Jordan Sr. Urbana, Ohio/St. Paris Graham / 16-1
174 Ryan Christensen So. Woodinville, Wash./Woodinville / 16-10
184 Hunter Ritter Fr. Perryville, Md./John Carroll / 14-9
197 #12 Ricky Robertson Jr. Tinley Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg / 20-10
285 #2 Connor Medbery Sr. Loveland, Colo./Loveland / 16-0
NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS (*6-4, 1-3 B1G)
125 Anthony Rubinetti Fr. Closter, N.J./Northern Valley Demarest / 9-9
133 Jason Ipsarides Fr. Cedarburg, Wis./Cedarburg / 8-8
141 Alec McKenna Fr. Winnetka, Ill./New Trier / 7-10
149 Shayne Oster Fr. Homer Glen, Ill/Lockport / 9-7
157 Ben Sullivan Sr. Eagle River, Alaska/Apple Valley (Minn.) / 4-12
165 Johnny Sebastian So. Ramsey, N.J./Bergen Catholic / 13-6
174 Braxton Cody Fr. Houston, Texas/Episcopal / 0-8
184 #20 Mitch Sliga Jr. Fishers, Ind./Fishers / 15-4
197 Jacob Berkowitz Sr. Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale / 18-6
285 Conan Jennings So. Centerville, Ohio/Centerville / 14-7
* Northwestern hosts Indiana on Friday, 1/27, the same night PSU is at Wisconsin.
Individual rankings are InterMat, team ranking is InterMat TPI
(Tournament Power Index) as of 1/24
THIS WEEK
No. 1 Penn State (8-0, 4-0 B1G) heads into its lone Big Ten `split' weekend this Friday and Sunday. The Nittany Lions are at No. 13 Wisconsin (3-3, 1-3 B1G) on Friday, Jan. 27, at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m .Central, and then host Northwestern (*6-4, 1-3 B1G) on Sunday, Jan. 29, at 2 p.m. in Rec Hall. *Northwestern hosts Indiana on Friday, 1/27, the same evening Penn State is at Wisconsin (post-press).
UP NEXT
Penn State visits No. 3 Ohio State on Friday, Feb. 3. the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes meet at 6 p.m. in a dual that will air nationally on the Big Ten Network.
ON THE AIR
TV - None
Live Web Video - BTN2go.com
Radio All Season - Penn State Radio Network. All live streaming of Penn State audio is free this year. All audio and some video (both free and $) can be accessed through GoPSUNow ( http://www.gopsusports.com/collegesportslive/ ).
NICKAL'S FAST PIN OF #5 BROOKS SPARKS PENN STATE TO 26-11 WIN AT #3 IOWA; NAMED B1G WoW
Sophomore Bo Nickal silenced a raucous Carver Hawkeye Arena crowd of over 14,000 fans by catching and pinning #5 Sammy Brooks at the 0:38 mark to remain unbeaten on the year. Nickal's pin was one of seven Penn State wins in the dual as the Nittany Lions rolled to a 26-11 win over the homestanding Hawkeyes on 1/20. Nickal was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week (1/22) for his efforts.
GULIBON, RETHERFORD, NOLF, NICKAL PICK UP RANKED WINS IN PENN STATE'S 26-11 VICTORY AT #3 IOWA
Senior Jimmy Gulibon notched four third-period takedowns in an 8-6 comeback win over #18 Topher Carlton at 141, Zain Retherford held on for a hard-fought 9-8 (tb2) win over #3 Brandon Sorensen and Jason Nolf used four takedowns to dominated #2 Michael Kemerer 9-4 in Penn State's 26-11 victory at Iowa on 1/20. Sophomore Bo Nickal's pin of #5 Sammy Brooks at the 0:38 mark at 184 gave the Nittany Lions four ranked wins in its seven victories in the dual.
LIONS DOMINATE #21 RUTGERS 37-6 FOR B1G WIN
The Penn State Nittany Lions downed #21 Rutgers 37-6 to win their 24th straight dual meet dating back to the 2014-15 season. The Lions won eight of ten bouts, including two pins, three techs and a major, to roll to the Big Ten win in front of the 32nd straight Rec Hall sell out crowd. Zain Retherford pinned #14 Ken Theobold (5:33), Bo Nickal pinned #14 Nicholas Gravina (4:27), Jason Nolf teched #16 John Van Brill while both Vincenzo Joseph and Nick Nevills picked up techs as well. Nick Suriano stayed unbeaten with a major and Geno Morelli and Matt McCutcheon picked up decisions.
NOLF'S BIG WEEKEND NOTCHES HIM B1G WoW HONORS
Sophomore Jason Nolf dominated two of the Big Ten's best in a road swing through the midwest. Nolf pinned #9 Jake Short of Minnesota at the 3:44 mark of the second period. Nolf's fall came after opening up a gaudy 14-4 lead after one period. His win helped Penn State roll over the homestanding Gophers 33-6. Two days later, the Nittany Lion All-American cruised past #3 Tyler Berger of Nebraska with a 15-7 major. Nolf dominated the match from start to finish, posting a six to one takedown edge. Nolf's win helped propel Penn State to a dominating 27-14 win over #6 Nebraska in Lincoln. The honor is the second for Nolf (he won once last year) and the first for Penn State this year.
NITTANY LIONS HAND MINNESOTA LOPSIDED DEFEAT IN MINNEAPOLIS
The Nittany Lion wrestling team roared through Minneapolis on Friday, Jan. 6, handing the homestanding Golden Gophers a 33-6 defeat. Penn State won eight of ten bouts in the lop-sided dual, including three pins. True freshman Nick Suriano downed #6 Ethan Lizak 8-6, rolling up four takedowns to get the win at 125. Jimmy Gulibon downed #9 Tommy Thorn 6-3 at 141, Vincenzo Joseph beat #14 Nick Wanzek 7-4 at 165 and Nick Nevills shut-out #8 Michael Kroells 4-0 at 285. Penn State got pins from Zain Retherford at 149, Jason Nolf (over #9 Jake Short) at 157 and Bo Nickal at 184.
PENN STATE'S YOUTH TAKES DOWN SENIOR-LADEN NEBRASKA SQUAD IN LINCOLN
Penn State's line-up featuring six underclassmen rolled through Lincoln, Neb., on Sunday, Jan. 8, to beat #6 Nebraska 27-14. The Nittany Lions youthful line-up won seven of 10 bouts against a veteran NU squad that featured six seniors. True freshman Nick Suriano downed #5 Tim Lambert 3-2 in one marquee match-up while sophomore Nick Nevills pinned senior Collin Jensen at the 6:01 mark in another key bout at 285. Sophomore Bo Nickal handled No. 3 TJ Dudley in the showcase bout at 184, with Nickal rolling up four takedowns in a 10-5 win over the senior. Penn State also got key wins from Zain Retherford at 149, Jason Nolf with a 15-7 major over No. 3 Tyler Berger at 157, Vincenzo Joseph at 165 and Geno Morelli at 165.
SO ABOUT TRUE FRESHMAN Nick Suriano'S EARLY SEASON STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE...
True freshman Nick Suriano, less than a year removed from winning yet another New Jersey state high school title, has faced perhaps one of the nation's toughest early season schedules. Suriano has met 12 foes thus far. Five of those 12 wrestlers were all ranked among the nation's best, each within the top six. Suriano has defeated (with rankings listed at the time of the match) #4 Connor Schram of Stanford (3-0), No. 4 Darian Cruz of Lehigh (7-0), No. 6 Ethan Lizak of Minnesota (8-6, with four takedowns) and No. 5 Tim Lambert of Nebraska (3-2). His lone loss was a tough 3-2 decision to No. 1 Thomas Gilman in CHA on 1/23.
Mark Hall WINS SOUTHERN SCUFFLE TITLE; NAMED OW!
True freshman Mark Hall, red-shirting and wrestling unattached, blazed through a rugged field of nationally ranked opponents to win the 174-pound title at the 2017 Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tenn. Hall went 5-0 with two pins and a major to claim the crown and was named the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler. He pinned Martin Duane of the Citadel in the first round and majored Oklahoma State's Jordan Rogers 12-4 in the second. He then dominated tourney top seed and No. 3-ranked Casey Kent of Penn 9-4 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, he pinned No. 15 Ryan Preisch of Lehigh to advance to the championship finals. Hall then roughed up No. 6 Kyle Crutchmer of Oklahoma State in the finals, opening up a 6-0 lead and rolling to a 10-3 victory.
HALL WINS CSU OPEN TITLE
True freshman Mark Hall, red-shirting this year and competing unattached, posted a perfect 5-0 mark at 174 with three pins and a major to win the 2016 Cleveland State Open on 12/17. Hall's victory was his second open tourney title of the year. Classmate Luke Gardner also competed at the event, picking up a tech fall win at 149.
WEATHER KEEPS LIONS FROM COMPETING AT RENO
A nation-wide weather event, from ice storms in the East to snowstorms in the Rockies, kept the Penn State Nittany Lions from competing at the 2016 Reno Tournament of Champions on Dec. 18. Missing the tournament means that Penn State was out of action from Dec. 11, 2016, to Jan. 6, 2017, nearly one full month.
PENN STATE'S FOUR UNBEATENS ON BONUS STREAK
The Penn State Nittany Lions head into the weekend's dual meets with four unbeaten starters, each of which are piling up bonus point victories. Zain Retherford is 13-0 at 149 with ten pins, one technical fall and one major. Jason Nolf is 13-0 at 157 with seven pins, four techs and a major. Bo Nickal is 12-0 at 184 with ten pins and one major. Nick Nevills is 12-0 with four pins and seven techs.
NICKAL MAJORS #13 SCHNEIDER TO LEAD PSU TO 46-0 SHUT OUT WIN V. BINGHAMTON
Sophomore Bo Nickal dominated #13 Steve Schneider of Binghamton on 12/11, posting an 18-7 major over the talented Bearcat. The victory was the highlight in Penn State's 46-0 shut out victory over BU in front of a sold out Rec Hall crowd.
SURIANO DOWNS #4 CRUZ IN BJC DUAL WIN OVER LEHIGH
True freshman Nick Suriano continued his superb start to the 2016-17 season with a dominating 7-0 win over returning All-American Darian Cruz of Lehigh on 12/4. The win helped spark Penn State to a 30-10 victory over #9 Lehigh in front of over 15,000 fans in this year's BJC Dual. It was Suriano's second win over a returning All-American.
NICKAL AND RETHERFORD CONTINUE PIN PARADE IN BJC DUAL WIN OVER LEHIGH
Sophomore Bo Nickal and junior Zain Retherford each picked up their seventh straight pin in Penn State's 30-10 win over #9 Lehigh in the BJC Dual on 12/4. Nickal pinned Kyle Gentile at the 2:35 mark for his seventh pin in as many matches while Retherford pinned #9 Laike Gardner at the 3:55 mark for his seventh straight pin in his eighth match.
LIONS CROWN 8 AT KEYSTONE CLASSIC; DOMINATE THE FIELD IN PHILLY
Penn State dominated the field in the Keystone Classic on 11/20, crowning eight champs with ten finalists, to win the team title. Nick Suriano (125) went 4-0 to win at 125; Zain Retherford went 5-0 with five pins to win at 149 and claim OW honors; Jason Nolf went 5-0 with three pins and two techs to win at 157; Vincenzo Joseph went 4-0 with two techs, and wins over #5 and #13, to win at 165; Shakur Rasheed went 5-0 and won the 174-pound title with a 2-1 (tb2) victory over teammate Geno Morelli, who took second with a 4-1 mark and three pins; Bo Nickal went 4-0 with four pins to win at 184; Matt McCutcheon went 4-0 to win at 197 and Nick Nevills went 4-0 to win at 285. Kade Moss was runner-up at 141 with a 4-1 mark; Jered Cortez went 4-1 to take third at 133 and Gary Dinmore went 3-2 to take fourth at 149.
SURIANO, MORELLI AND NEVILLS NOTCH BIG WINS TO LEAD LIONS OVER #12 STANFORD
True freshman Nick Suriano dominated #4 Connor Schram at 125, rolling up nearly 2:00 in riding time to post a 3-0 shutout in his Rec Hall dual debut; senior Geno Morelli dominated #13 Jim Wilson to post a 6-3 win at 174; and sophomore Nick Nevills beat #10 Nathan Butler 3-1 at 285 to lead Penn State to a resounding 36-6 win over 12th-ranked Stanford. Penn State won eight of ten bouts in sold out Rec Hall.
NITTANY LIONS SHUTOUT ARMY WEST POINT 45-0
Penn State opened up its season at Army West Point on 11/11 and won all ten bouts. Three Nittany Lions won their Penn State and collegiate debuts: Nick Suriano (125), Jered Cortez (133) and Vincenzo Joseph (165) all got wins in their inaugural action in the blue and white singlet. Jimmy Gulibon got the night's most impressive win, a 17-6 major over #17 Logan Everett. Matt McCutcheon had a 4-2 win over #11 Rocco Caywood at 197.
HALL WINS BEARCAT OPEN; DINMORE SECOND
Ten members of the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team trekked to Binghamton, N.Y., for the 2016 Bearcat Kaloust Open today. True freshman Mark Hall, wrestling unattached, came away with 174 pound title while red-shirt freshman Gary Dinmore took second at 149. Five members of the team were competing attached, five unattached. Hall rolled to the title at 174 in his first open tournament wrestling unattached at the collegiate level. Hall went 5-0 with two pins, a tech fall and a 12-4 major over Harvard's Josef Johnson in the finals. Dinmore went 4-0 with a major, winning four straight before losing in the finals to a non-collegiate wrestler (meaning the loss does not count on his record). In addition to Dinmore and Hall, eight other Lions wrestled at Binghamton. Red-shirt freshman Dominic Giannangeli went 2-2 at 141 and red-shirt freshman Kellan Stout went 2-1 at 197. Francisco Bisono picked up a win at 174 and upped his season long win total to seven. Bisono went 6-1 at last week's Clarion Open to place third.
BISONO TAKES THIRD AT CLARION OPEN
Red-shirt freshman Francisco Bisono rolled to a 6-1 record at the Clarion Open on 11/6, placing third at 174. Bisono had one pin during his run as well. True freshman Bo Pipher went 2-2 with a pin at 141 as well. Devon Van Cura picked up a win at 184 while true freshmen Devin Schnupp and Brian Friery competed as well.
NINE LIONS RANKED BY INTERMAT AND FLO
Ten Nittany Lions are ranked by InterMat in the latest release by the site. Nick Suriano is #3 at 125, Jimmy Gulibon #12 at 141, Zain Retherford #1 at 149, Jason Nolf #1 at 157, Vincenzo Joseph #4 at 165, Mark Hall #7 at 174, Bo Nickal #2 at 184, Matt McCutcheon #10 at 197 and Nick Nevills #4 at 285. Nine Penn Staters are ranked by Flo Wrestling: Suriano #3, Gulibon #18, Retherford #1, Nolf #1, Joseph #6 at 165, Hall #11 at 174, Nickal #2, McCutcheon #9 and Nevills #4.
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.