March 16, 2018
PSU Photo Gallery I VIDEO: Looking Back at Session III
CLEVELAND, Ohio; March 16, 2018 -- The Penn State Nittany Lions (14-0, 9-0 B1G) will have five wrestlers competing in tonight's NCAA National Semifinals as action continues at the 2018 NCAA Wrestling Championships. Head coach Cael Sanderson's squad is looking to win its seventh NCAA title in the last eight years in Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena.
Penn State has eight of its nine NCAA qualifiers alive, with all five of the semifinalists already securing All-American status. Three Nittany Lions remain alive for All-America honors, each of whom can finish as high as third. The Nittany Lions find themselves in second place in a hotly contested team race with 67.0 points. Ohio State is in first with 80.5 points.
Senior Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), the No. 1 seed at 149, met No. 8 Boo Lewallen of Oklahoma State in the first of seven straight quarterfinal match-ups for the Nittany Lions. Retherford scored quickly, taking Lewallen down off the opening whistle and opening up a 2-0 lead. He then went to work on top, looking for a chance to turn the Cowboy for back points. Retherford quickly got the four-point call and led 6-0 at the 1:00 mark. He turned Lewallen again for four and then gave up a scrambling reversal to lead 10-2 with 2:09 in riding time after one. He took Lewallen down to start the second period, picked up four more back points to up his lead to 16-2 and then finished off the technical fall with a final turn, posting a 20-2 tech fall at the 5:00 mark. Retherford's win makes him Penn State's 10th four-time All-American. He also advances to tonight's national semifinals.
Junior Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), the No. 3 seed at 157, took on No. 6 Michael Kemerer of Iowa in the quarters. Nolf drew first blood with a scrambling takedown less than a minute into the bout. Kemerer escaped quickly to a 2-1 score that held into the second period. Nolf escaped to start the second stanza and led 3-1 after an uneventful middle period. Kemerer chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 3-2 Nolf lead. Nolf added a takedown at the 1:00 mark and rode Kemerer out. With 1:19 in riding time, Nolf posted the 6-2 win to become a three time All-American. He will continue his quest for another individual title in tonight's national semifinals.
Sophomore Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), the No. 3 seed at 165, met No. 11 Isaiah White of Nebraska in the quarterfinals. He battled White through a scoreless first period with neither wrestler finding an opening to score. Joseph chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. He upped the tempo in the second period, forcing White to the outside circle but could not break through for a takedown. White escaped to start the third period, tying the bout at 1-1. Joseph nearly had a takedown on the edge of the mat at the 1:00 mark, but White was able to work his way to his feet and keep the bout tied at 1-1. In sudden victory, Joseph appeared to have a takedown with :23 left in the bout, but none was given. The Penn State bench challenged the call to no avail. Tied 1-1, the bout moved to a tie-breaker. Joseph chose down for the first :30 and quickly escaped to a 2-1 lead. White chose down for the second :30 and escaped to a 2-2 tie at the :13 mark. The bout moved to a second sudden victory period and Joseph quickly ended the bout with a fast takedown to post the 4-2 (SV2) win and become a two-time All-American. Joseph will now wrestle in tonight's semifinals.
Sophomore Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Utah), the No. 2 seed at 174, faced off against No. 7 Taylor Lujan of Northern Iowa in the quarterfinals. Hall wasted no time taking an early 2-0 lead with a fast duck under for a takedown. He turned Lujan to his back for two near fall points and carried a 4-1 lead with 1:20 in riding time into the second period. Hall chose down to start the second stanza and escaped to a 5-1 lead that he pushed into the third period. Lujan chose down to start the third period and Hall controlled the action long enough to build up 2:50 in riding time before Lujan escaped. Hall posted the 6-2 win to become a two-time All-American. He moves into tonight's national semifinals.
Junior Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), the No. 1 seed at 184, met No. 9 Max Dean of Cornell in the national quarterfinals. Nickal took a 2-0 lead with a takedown at the 2:00 mark and upped his lead to 4-2 after one period. Dean chose down to start the second period and Nickal turned him for two quick back points before the Big Red wrestler escaped to a 6-3 Nickal lead. But an illegal cut back was called on Nickal, negating the back points, giving Dean a point and restarting things with Nickal leading 4-3 and on top. Dean escaped to a 4-4 tie at the 1:15 mark but Nickal had 1:40 in riding time. He added two more takedowns in the second and led 8-5 with 2:30 in riding time after two periods. Nickal chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 9-5 lead. Dean took Nickal down and the Lion escaped to a 10-7 lead with clinched riding time. He added two more back points to up his lead to 12-7 and, with 2:23 in riding time, rolled to a 13-7 win to become a three-time All-American. Nickal advances to the semifinals this evening.
Junior Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.), the No. 5 seed at 197, faced off against No. 4 Michael Macchiavello of North Carolina State in the quarters, with a chance to become a first time All-American on the line. Rasheed notched a quick takedown on a solid single leg to lead 2-1, building up 1:01 in riding time in the process. Rasheed chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 3-1 lead with :57 in riding time. He carried that lead into the third period. Macchiavello chose down to start the third period and reversed Rasheed to tie the bout at 3-3. Rasheed escaped to a 4-3 lead with :35 on the clock, but Macchiavello was able to notch a last second takedown to steal a 5-4 win. Rasheed is still alive for third place and will wrestle in tonight's consolation blood round, still needing one win to earn All-America status.
Junior Nick Nevills (Clovis, Calif.), the No. 3 seed at 285, battled No. 6 Amar Dhesi of Oregon State in Penn State's final quarterfinals match-up. The duo battled through a scoreless opening period with neither grappler working his way into a scoring position. Nevills chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. The Lion fought off a long Dhesi scoring effort and worked his way out of trouble to keep the 1-0 lead. Dhesi chose down to start the second stanza and Nevills got called for a locked hands that tied the bout at 1-1. Dhesi escaped and then added a second locked hands call and a takedown to post the 4-2 upset win. Nevills' defeat sends him to the consolation round of 12 tonight, needing one more win to become a two-time All-American and still alive to finish as high as third.
Senior Corey Keener (Schuylkill Haven, Pa.), unseeded at 133, took on Rico Montoya of Northern Colorado in the second round of consolations, Penn State's first bout of the session. Keener threw Montoya in the opening seconds to take an early 2-0 lead. He built up 1:27 in riding time before Montoya escaped and led 2-1 after one. Keener had over 1:30 riding time in a 2-2 tie in the second period when Montoya caught him in a throw and ended the bout with pin at the 4:27 mark. The loss ends Keener's tournament run at 1-2. He ends his collegiate career as a four-time NCAA qualifier with a 17-10 record this season.
True freshman Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), the No. 8 seed at 141, took on No. 10 Mason Smith of Central Michigan in the second round of consolations. Lee opened up a 2-0 lead with over 1:30 in riding time after the first period. He added a reversal and an escape to post a dominating 5-0 win. In consolation round three, Lee took on No. 16 Cole Weaver of Indiana. Lee scored early in the first period, notching two takedowns to lead 4-1 with under a minute to go. He carried that lead with 1:32 in riding time into the second period, then quickly escaped to a 5-1 lead to start the middle stanza. He upped that lead to 7-1 with another late takedown and went on to notch a 13-5 major decision, picking up important bonus points with 1:51 in riding time. Lee will now continue consolation action tonight, needing one more win to become an All-American.
Penn State went 7-3 in session three, grabbing 2.5 more bonus points off a major (Lee) and a tech fall (Retherford). The Nittany Lions are 23-5 overall with 18.0 bonus points off six majors, four techs and two pins. Retherford's now has 17 NCAA tournament wins as a Nittany Lion, 8th all-time at Penn State. He now has 124 career wins, eighth all-time, and is the school's 10th four-time All-American. Nolf and Nickal became Penn State's 27th and 28th three-time All-Americans as well. Penn State's five All-American semifinalists (Retherford, Nolf, Joseph, Hall, Nickal) up the school's all-time All-American total to 211, 48 in Sanderson's eight years. Three Lions can still reach All-American status this year with one more win as well (Lee, Rasheed, Nevills).
Eight Nittany Lions continue the event tonight as session four begins at 8 p.m. in Quicken Loans Arena. The fourth session features the national semifinals as well as the all-important All-America round, with winners garnering All-America status in the Round of 12. Fans not in the Q can watch session four live on ESPN, with all mats beings streamed separately live on ESPN3. The 2018 NCAA Championships is a three day event that runs through Saturday, March 17.
The 2017-18 Penn State wrestling season is sponsored by The Family Clothesline. 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. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here.
2018 NCAA Championships -- Team Standings after Session 3 (top two):
March 16, 2018 -- Quicken Loans Arena -- Cleveland, Ohio
1: Ohio State -- 80.5
2: PENN STATE -- 67.0
Weight-by-weight agate (rankings listed indicate official tournament seed)
133: Corey Keener, Sr. -- unseeded -- DNP
Rd. 1: #11 Dom Forys, Pittsburgh -- LBF (4:57)
Cn. 1: Cam Sykora, North Dakota State -- W, 9-7 dec.
Cn. 2: Rico Montoya, Northern Colorado -- LBF (4:27)
Keener, unseeded at 133, took on No. 11 Dom Forys of Pittsburgh in Penn State's first bout of the tournament. The Lion senior, now a four-time NCAA qualifier, took an early 2-0 lead with a takedown but Forys answered with an escape and a takedown to take a 3-2 lead. Keener tied the bout in the second period and was trying to work a cradle when Forys countered and picked up the fall on his own at the 4:57 mark.
He then took on North Dakota State's Cam Sykora in the first round of consolation action. Keener opened up a 9-5 lead after a wild first period that ended with the Lion nearly getting the fall but having time run out on his effort. He carried that lead into the third period and rolled to a 9-7 decision.
For session three's information, see recap above.
141: Nick Lee, Fr. -- #8 seed
Rd. 1: Ryan Diehl, Maryland -- LBF (2:12)
Cn. 1: #9 Josh Alber, Northern Iowa -- W, 7-3 dec.
Cn. 2: #10 Mason Smith, Central Michigan -- W, 5-0 dec.
Cn. 3: #16 Cole Weaver, Indiana -- W, 13-5 maj. dec.
Rd. 12: #12 Tyler Smith, Bucknell -- tonight
Lee, the No. 8 seed at 141, faced off against Ryan Diehl of Maryland in the opening round of his first NCAA tournament. Lee opened up an early lead with two quick takedowns but Diehl answered with a takedown and quickly turned the Lion freshman to his back, picking up the fall at the 2:12 mark.
He then battled No. 9 seed Josh Alber of Northern Iowa in the first round of consolations. Lee scored right out of the gates to open up an early 2-1 lead that he pushed to 4-2 midway through the second period. The Lion freshman then escaped to a 5-3 lead midway through the third period and iced the bout with a third takedown to post a strong 7-3 win.
For session three's information, see recap above.
149: Zain Retherford, Sr. -- #1 seed
Rd. 1: Kyle Springer, Eastern Michigan -- W, 16-1 TF (7:00)
Rd. 2: #16 Alfred Bannister, Maryland -- WBF (2:29)
Qtrs: #8 Boo Lewallen, Oklahoma State -- W, 20-2 TF (5:00)
Semis: #4 Troy Heilmann, North Carolina -- tonight
Retherford, the No. 1 seed at 149, began his quest for a third straight NCAA individual title against Kyle Springer of Eastern Michigan. After watching two teammates see early leads turned into losses by fall, Retherford turned a 2-1 first period lead into a 5-1 edge after two periods. Retherford poured on the offense in the final stanza and walked away with a 16-1 technical fall with 4:05 in riding time.
He then took on No. 16 Alfred Bannister in Penn State's first bout of the session, opening up round two for the Nittany Lions. Retherford, two-time defending NCAA Champion, opened up a 4-0 lead in the first period and then turned Bannister to his back late in the period. Retherford adjusted once and got the fall at the 2:29 mark. The fall was Retherford's 53rd for his career, tying the all-time Penn State record.
For session three's information, see recap above.
157: Jason Nolf, Jr. -- #3 seed
Rd. 1: Colin Heffernan, Central Michigan -- W, 22-7 TF (7:00)
Rd. 2: #14 Andrew Crone, Wisconsin -- W, 6-1 dec.
Qtrs: #6 Michael Kemerer, Iowa -- W, 6-2 dec.
Semis: #7 Micah Jordan, Ohio State -- tonight
Nolf, the No. 3 seed at 157 and seeking a second straight NCAA individual crown, took on Central Michigan's Colin Heffernan in the opening round. Nolf led 4-1 after one period and extended that lead to 12-3 within the first minute of the second period. The Lion junior led 14-5 after two and rolled to a 22-7 technical fall on the riding time point.
He then took on No. 14 Andrew Crone of Wisconsin in the second round. The defending NCAA Champion opened an early 2-1 lead in the first period and extended it to a 5-1 lead after two periods. The Lion tacked on a riding time point and rolled to a 6-1 win.
For session three's information, see recap above.
165: Vincenzo Joseph, So. -- #3 seed
Rd. 1: Jonathan Schleiffer, Princeton -- W, 15-4 maj. dec.
Rd. 2: #14 Branson Ashworth, Wyoming -- W, 3-1 dec.
Qtrs: #11 Isaiah White, Nebraska -- W, 4-2 (SV2)
Semis: #2 David McFadden, Virginia Tech -- tonight
Joseph, the No. 3 seed at 165, began his battle for a second NCAA individual title against Jonathan Schleifer of Princeton. Joseph opened up 4-1 lead after one, improved it to 9-2 after two periods and closed out a strong performance with a 15-4 major decision with 3:21 in riding time.
He then faced off against No. 14 Branson Ashworth of Wyoming in the second round. The defending NCAA Champion took an early 2-0 lead and led by that score after one. He chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 3-0 lead. Joseph held on for a hard-fought 3-1 victory.
For session three's information, see recap above.
174: Mark Hall, So. -- #2 seed
Rd. 1: Austin Rose, Drexel -- W, 12-2 maj. dec.
Rd. 2: #15 Dylan Lydy, Purdue -- W, 21-3 (TF; 6:54)
Qtrs: #7 Taylor Lujan, Northern Iowa -- W, 6-2 dec.
Semis: #3 Daniel Lewis, Missouri -- tonight
Hall, the No. 2 seed at 174 and looking for a second straight NCAA individual title, faced off against Austin Rose of Drexel in the first round. Hall used a first period takedown to lead 2-0 after one stanza and improved it to 7-0 in the second period. The Lion sophomore quickly tacked on a flurry of third period takedowns and rolled to a 12-2 major with 3:38 in riding time.
He then took on No. 15 Dylan Lydy of Purdue in the second round. Hall came out blazing with a takedown and four quick back points to open up a 6-0 lead early. He led 6-1 after one and increased his lead to 9-1 early in the second period. Another turn and Hall led 13-1 after three periods. The defending NCAA Champion took Lydy down and turned him twice in the third period to roll to a 21-3 technical fall at the 6:54 mark.
For session three's information, see recap above.
184: Bo Nickal, Jr. -- #1 seed
Rd. 1: Martin Mueller, South Dakota State -- W, 16-4 maj. dec.
Rd. 2: #16 Jordan Ellingwood, Central Michigan -- W, 10-4 dec.
Qtrs: #9 Max Dean, Cornell -- W, 13-7 dec.
Semis: #5 Domenic Abounader, Michigan -- tonight
Nickal, the No. 1 seed at 184, began his quest for a second straight NCAA individual crown against South Dakota State's Martin Mueller. Nickal opened up a 6-0 lead with a takedown and four-point turn in the first period. He dominated the second stanza as well, leading 10-2 after two. Nickal rolled to a 16-4 major decision with 4:34 in riding time.
He then took on No. 16 Jordan Ellingwood of Central Michigan in round two. The defending NCAA Champion scored the first takedown less than a minute into the bout to take an early lead. He tacked on another late in the period to lead 4-1 after one. Nickal upped his lead to 6-3 after two and posted a strong 10-4 decision with 2:24 in riding time.
For session three's information, see recap above.
197: Shakur Rasheed, Jr. -- #5 seed
Rd. 1: Sawyer Root, The Citadel -- W, 13-5 maj. dec.
Rd. 2: Daniel Chaid, North Carolina -- W, 14-3 maj. dec.
Qtrs: #4 Michael Macchiavello, North Carolina State -- L, 4-5 dec.
Rd. 12: Tonight
Rasheed, the No. 5 seed at 197, took on The Citadel's Sawyer Root in the first round of his first NCAA Championship tournament. Rasheed led 4-1 after the opening period thanks to two takedowns. Root rebounded to tie the bout 4-4 after two periods but Rasheed rebounded with a reversal and then a cradle for four back points and a 10-4 lead. He stretched his lead to 12-5 with another takedown and rode Root out. A 2:15 riding time edge gave Rasheed a 13-5 major and his first victory in the NCAA tournament.
He then met North Carolina's Daniel Chaid in the second round. Rasheed struck quickly, taking the Tar Heel down and to his back for four quick back points and led 6-0 after one. The Lion junior led 9-0 after two and upped his lead to 12-3 midway through the third period. Rasheed dominated the bout, posting a 14-3 major decision with 3:36 in riding time.
For session three's information, see recap above.
285: Nick Nevills, Jr. -- #3 seed
Rd. 1: Stephen Suglio, Kent State -- WBF (5:24)
Rd. 2: #14 Michael Boykin, North Carolina State -- W, 5-4 (TB2)
Qtrs: #6 Amar Dhesi, Oregon State -- L, 2-4 dec.
Rd. 12: tonight
Nevills, the No. 3 seed at 285, opened up his second NCAA Championship tournament with a first round match-up against Kent State's Stephen Suglio. Nevills opened up a 2-0 lead with a late first period takedown and then upped it to 8-0 after two with another takedown and four back points. Nevills ended the bout early in the third, turning Suglio to his back for Penn State's first pin at the 5:24 mark.
He then battled No. 14 Michael Boykin of North Carolina State in the second round Thursday night. Nevills and Boykin battled through a scoreless first period. Boykin took a 1-0 lead with a quick escape in the second and held the lead after two. Nevills countered with his own escape to start the third and the bout was tied 1-1. The duo moved through a sudden victory scoreless. Each wrestler escaped in the first tiebreaker and then wrestled through a second scoreless sudden victory. With the score tied 2-2, Nevills chose down to start the second tie breaker and quickly escaped to a 3-2 lead. But Boykin countered with a takedown and led 4-3. Nevills managed an escape before the period ended and the bout was tied 4-4 with Boykin taking down. Needing a rideout to secure a win, Nevills turned the trick and won 5-4 on :16 of riding time.
For session three's information, see recap above.