March 4, 2017
Photo Gallery I VIDEO: Session I Recap
Live Audio
Session 1 | Session 2 | Session 3/4
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- No. 1 Penn State (14-0, 9-0 B1G) sits in first place after the opening session of the 2017 Big Ten Championships at Indiana University. Head coach Cael Sanderson's squad will have seven individuals wrestling in tonight's semifinals. Eight Nittany Lions are still alive as Penn State looks to win its second straight, and sixth overall, Big Ten Championship.
Penn State, saddled with six first round byes and an injury default, still sits atop the conference in the team race. Penn State is in first with 70.0 points, Ohio State is a close second at 68.0 and Iowa is in third with 55.5. Missing out on the chance for first round bonus points, the Nittany Lions responded with five pins in the quarterfinals and seven overall.
True freshman Nick Suriano (Paramus, N.J.), the No. 2 seed at 125, stepped on the mat against Purdue's Ben Thornton for one second and then took an injury default loss. Suriano will medically forfeit out of the tournament and leaves Bloomington with a 16-3 overall record (having lost his last two matches with injury defaults). Suriano will be in the pool for an at-large bid at 125 when the NCAA announces the full field (including at-large bids) for the 2017 NCAA Championships. The announcement takes place on Wednesday, March 8, at 6 p.m. Eastern on NCAA.com. Red-shirt freshman Triston Law (Windber, Pa.) went 0-2 at 133 and did not place.
Senior Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), the No. 2 seed at 141, received a bye and then was upset by Michigan State's Javier Gasca in the quarterfinals. Gulibon's loss moves him into tonight's consolation action, needing one more win to secure a bid to the NCAA Championships and still holding the ability to finish as high as third. Junior Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), the No. 1 seed at 149, rolled through his first two opponents. Retherford picked up two pins, getting a the fall at the 6:12 mark over Purdue's Nate Limmex and then pinning Michigan State's Nick Trimble at the 4:45 mark in the quarterfinals. Retherford moves into tonight's semifinals and has secured a spot in the NCAA Championships. The pins were his 14th and 15th of the year.
Sophomore Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), the No. 1 seed at 157, received a first round bye and then pinned Wisconsin's TJ Ruschell at the 5:58 mark to move into tonight's semifinals and earn a trip to NCAAs. The fall was Nolf's 12th of the year. Red-shirt freshman Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), the No. 4 seed at 165, notched an important 8-3 decision over No. 16 Joey Gunther of Iowa, picking up three takedowns, advancing to the semifinals and earning a trip to the NCAA Championships.
True freshman Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), the No. 2 seed at 174, received one of Penn State's six first round byes and then made short work of Purdue's Jacob Morrissey in the quarters. Hall pinned Morrissey in just :29 to move into the semifinals and earn a trip to NCAAs. It was his 12th pin of the year. Sophomore Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), the No. 1 seed at 184, continued Penn State's quarterfinal pin parade. Nickal pinned No. 22 Hunter Ritter of Wisconsin at the 3:41 mark. The fall, Nickal's 14th of the year, moved the Texas native into the semifinals and secured a spot in the NCAA Championships.
Junior Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), the No. 4 seed at 197, received Penn State's sixth first round bye. He then posted a hard-fought 3-2 win over Rutgers' Matt Correnti in the quarterfinals. The win moved McCutcheon into the semifinals and punched his ticket to the NCAA Championships in St. Louis. Sophomore Nick Nevills (Clovis, Calif.), the No. 3 seed at 285, picked up a first round fall, pinning Michigan's Dan Perry at the 4:25 mark. He then posted Penn State's sixth quarterfinal fall, pinning Brooks Black of Illinois at the 4:45 mark and advancing to the Big Ten semis.
Six of Penn State's seven semifinalists have earned spots in the 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships two weeks from now in St. Louis' Scottrade Center on March 16-18. With 285 only qualifying five automatically, Nevills needs one more win. Gulibon is still alive at 141, needing one more victory in consolation action to get a bid at 141 and can still finish as high as third. Penn State posted a 9-5 overall record and picked up 14.0 bonus point off the seven pins.
Penn State will continue the event tonight with session two, set to begin at 6 p.m. Eastern session . The championship, serving as the NCAA qualifier for the conference, concludes on Sunday with 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. Eastern sessions. The Nittany Lions, now Big Ten Regular Season (dual meet) Champions and NWCA National Dual Meet Champions, are the defending Big Ten Champion and have won five of the last six Big Ten crowns.
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.
2017 Big Ten Championships -- Team Standings (top four) after Session 1:
March 4, 2017 -- Assembly Hall -- Bloomington, Ind.
1: PENN STATE -- 70.0
2: Ohio State -- 68.0
3: Iowa -- 55.5
4: Minnesota -- 52.0
Weight-by-weight agate (rankings listed are Coaches Poll as of 2/23/17)
* indicates unattached wrestler, not eligible for team scoring
125: #2 Nick Suriano, Fr. -- 2nd seed -- 0-1 overall, DNP
Rd. 1: vs. Ben Thornton, Purdue -- L, inj. def. (0:01)
Cn. 1: Medical Forfeit (team total loss, not a loss for Suriano)
True freshman Nick Suriano (Paramus, N.J.), the No. 2 seed at 125, stepped on the mat against Purdue's Ben Thornton for one second and then took an injury default loss. Suriano will medically forfeit out of the tournament and leaves Bloomington with a 16-3 overall record (having lost his last two matches with injury defaults). Suriano will be in the pool for an at-large bid at 125 when the NCAA announces the full field (including at-large bids) for the 2017 NCAA Championships.
133: Triston Law, Fr. -- 14th seed -- 0-2 overall, DNP
Rd 1: vs. #5 Cory Clark, Iowa -- L, 12-3 maj. dec.
Cn 1: vs. Jason Ipsarides, Northwestern -- L, 2-4 dec.
Red-shirt freshman Triston Law (Windber, Pa.) took on third-seed and No. 5 Cory Clark in the first round at 133. Law fell behind 8-3 after one period and dropped a 12-3 major decision. He took on Northwestern's Jason Ipsarides in the first round of consolation action and dropped a tough 4-2 decision, ending his tournament with an 0-2 mark.
141: #10 Jimmy Gulibon, Sr. -- 2nd seed --
Rd. 1: bye
Qtrs: vs. #21 Javier Gasca, Michigan State -- LBF (6:20)
Cn 2: vs. #28 Sal Profaci, Michigan --
Senior Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), the No. 2 seed at 141, received a first round bye. He met No. 21 Javier Gasca in the quarterfinals. Gulibon fell behind 3-1 early in the second period and was pinned late in the third (6:20), sending him to the consolation bracket where he met Michigan's Sal Profaci.
149: #1 Zain Retherford, Jr. -- 1st seed --
Rd. 1: vs. Nat Limmex, Purdue -- WBF (6:21)
Qtrs: vs Nick Trimble, Michigan State -- WBF (4:45)
Semis: vs. Alfred Bannister, Maryland --
Junior Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), the No. 1 seed at 149, took on Purdue's Nate Limmex in the first round. The Lion junior built up a 14-2 lead before turning Limmex to his shoulders for a pin at the 6:21 mark, picking up Penn State's first win of the tournament and vital bonus points. Retherford then took on Michigan State's Nick Trimble in the quarterfinals and picked up a second straight pin, this one at the 4:45 mark. The two falls were Retherford's 14th and 15th of the year. The win moved Retherford into the semifinals and punched his ticket to the NCAA Championships.
157: #1 Jason Nolf, So. -- 1st seed --
Rd. 1: bye
Qtrs: vs. #26 TJ Ruschell, Wisconsin -- WBF (5:58)
Semis: vs. #9 Jake Short, Minnesota --
Sophomore Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), the No. 1 seed at 157, received a bye in the first round. He took on TJ Ruschell of Wisconsin in the quarterfinals. Nolf rolled up a big 21-7 lead midway through the third period and, needing a quick move to avoid winning by just a technical fall, muscled the Badger to his back and picked up the pin at the 5:58 mark. The fall, Nolf's 12th of the year, moved him into the semifinals and secured a spot in the NCAA Championships.
165: #4 Vincenzo Joseph, Fr. -- 4th seed --
Rd. 1: bye
Qtrs: vs. #16 Joey Gunther, Iowa -- W, 8-3 dec.
Semis vs. #1 Isaiah Martinez, Illinois --
Red-shirt freshman Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), the No. 4 seed at 165, received a first round bye. He met No. 16 Joey Gunther of Iowa in the quarterfinals and rolled to an 8-3 decision off three takedowns and escape and over 1:00 in riding time. The win moved Joseph into the semifinals and punched his ticket to nationals.
174: #5 Mark Hall, Fr. -- 2nd seed --
Rd. 1: bye
Qtrs: vs. #24 Jacob Morrissey, Purdue -- WBF (0:29)
Semis: vs. #11 Zac Brunson, Illinois --
True freshman Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), the No. 2 seed at 174, received a first round bye. He met No. 24 Jacob Morrissey of Purdue in the quarterfinals. The true freshman made short work of his first Big Ten tournament bout, pinning Morrissey in just :29. The pin, his 12th of the year, moved Hall into the semifinals and earned him a trip to the NCAA Championships.
184: #2 Bo Nickal, So. -- 1st seed --
Rd. 1: bye
Qtrs: vs. #22 Hunter Ritter, Wisconsin -- WBF (3:41)
Semis: vs. #8 Myles Martin, Ohio State --
Sophomore Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), the No. 1 seed at 184, received a first round bye. The top-seed took on No. 22 Hunter Ritter of Wisconsin in the quarterfinals. Nickal picked up his 14th pin of the season by decking Ritter at the 3:41 mark in the second period. Nickal's win moved him into the semifinals and earned him a spot in the NCAA Championships.
197: #7 Matt McCutcheon, Jr. -- 4th seed -
Rd. 1: bye
Qtrs: vs. Matt Correnti, Rutgers -- W, 3-2 dec.
Semis: vs. #2 Brett Pfarr, Minnesota --
Junior Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), the No. 4 seed at 197, received a first round bye. He met Matt Correnti of Rutgers in the quarterfinals. In a mirror of the dual meet that McCutcheon won in close fashion, the Lion junior rode a first period takedown to a hard-fought 3-2 win over Correnti to advance to the semifinals and clinch an NCAA spot.
285: #3 Nick Nevills, So. -- 3rd seed --
Rd. 1: vs. Dan Perry, Michigan -- WBF (4:25)
Qtrs: vs. #32 Brooks Black, Illinois -- WBF (4:45)
Semis: vs. #2 Connor Medbery, Wisconsin --
Sophomore Nick Nevills (Clovis, Calif.), the No. 3 seed at 285, took on Michigan's Dan Perry in the first round. The sophomore opened up an early 6-1 first period lead off two takedowns and a near fall, then pinned the Wolverine in the second period at the 4:25 mark. The sophomore picked up his second pin in as many bouts in the quarterfinals, getting the fall at the 4:45 mark over Illinois' Brooks Black. The pins, Nevills' fifth and sixth of the year, moved the Lion into the semifinals.