TODAY'S ACTION
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; Dec. 27, 2018 -- No. 1 Penn State (4-0, 0-0 B1G) will head to Chattanooga, Tenn., once again to ring in the new year at the Southern Scuffle. The Lions have won the event in each of their last seven trips. The 2019 Southern Scuffle is set for Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 1-2, at UT-Chattanooga's McKenzie Arena.
Penn State is coming off a dominating win over No. 9 Arizona State (1-3) in the Sun Devils' first-ever appearance in Rec Hall. Penn State won nine of ten bouts, including two top five clashes, to roll to a 41-3 victory over the Sun Devils in front of yet another Rec Hall sellout crowd. The dual was highlighted by top-five match-ups at 165 and 174, opening up the second half after the Lions bolted out to a 17-3 lead at intermission. Junior Mark Hall and Vincenzo Joseph thrilled one of the largest crowds in Rec Hall history with big wins in the two marquee bouts. The win kept Penn State unbeaten on the year with a 4-0 mark.
The Nittany Lions will take a deep and talented line-up to the Scuffle (as of press time on Dec. 28, subject to change of course!): Sophomore Devin Schnupp sports a 4-4 mark at 125 for the Nittany Lions. True freshman Roman Bravo-Young is 7-0 at 133 and ranked No. 15 by InterMat. Sophomore Nick Lee is 9-0 at 141 and ranked No. 4 while red-shirt freshman Brady Berge is 6-0 and No. 10 at 149. Senior Jason Nolf is 8-0 and ranked No. 1 at 157 while junior Vincenzo Joseph is 8-0 and No. 1 at 165. Junior Mark Hall is 8-0 and No. 1 at 174 while senior Shakur Rasheed is 9-0 and No. 3 at 184. Senior Bo Nickal is 7-0 and ranked No. 1 at 197 and senior Anthony Cassar is 7-0 and No. 5 at 285.
Junior Dominic Giannangeli will also compete at 141 for Penn State. Redshirt freshman Jarod Verkleeren, 6-2 overall, will go at 149 as will sophomore Luke Gardner. Sophomore Bo Pipher is set for action at 157 as is redshirt freshman Mason Manville at 174. Junior Francisco Bisono will wrestle at 184 and two-time All-American Nick Nevills is ready to challenge at 285. True freshman Brody Teske (Duncombe, Iowa) is set to compete unattached at 125, making his first appearance of the season, albeit unattached. Team scoring at the event is simple. Regardless of how many wrestlers a team has entered at a given weight, whichever man scores the most team points, those points are included in the team total. Only one wrestler scores per weight. The Nittany Lions have the last two Scuffle Outstanding Wrestlers (Mark Hall in 2017 and Shakur Rasheed in 2018).
The 2019 Southern Scuffle promises to be exciting with a stacked field of potential competitors. Other teams set to challenge for the team title are No. 4 North Carolina State, No. 6 Oklahoma State, No. 17 Virginia Tech, No. 18 Lehigh, No. 22 Iowa State and No. 23 Lock Haven in addition to Duke, Cal State Bakersfield, Stanford, Drexel, Edinboro, Navy, Columbia, Rider, host Chattanooga, Appalachian State, George Mason, Binghamton, Air Force, Ohio University, The Citadel and Gardner Webb.
The Lions will look to win their eighth Southern Scuffle Championship in their last eight trips when they travels to Chattanooga for the two-day event. The Nittany Lions have won in each of its last seven trip to the event (over the last eight years, not competing in the event once during that span).
Penn State opens up Big Ten action with a split weekend in ten days. The Nittany Lions are at Northwestern on Friday, Jan. 11, at 8 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. Central) and then host Wisconsin in Rec Hall on Sunday, Jan. 13, at 1 p.m.
The 2018-19 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.
#1 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (4-0, 0-0 B1G)
125 Devin Schnupp So. Lititz, Pa./Warwick 4-4
133 #15 Roman Bravo-Young Fr. Tucson, Ariz./Sunny Side 7-0
141 #4 Nick Lee So. Evansville, Ind./Homeschool 9-0
Dominic Giannangeli Jr. Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional 3-4
149 #10 Brady Berge Fr. Mantorville, Minn./Kasson-Mantorville 6-0
Jarod Verkleeren Fr. Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield 6-2
Luke Gardner So. Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville 9-4
157 #1 Jason Nolf Sr. Yatesboro, Pa./Kittanning 8-0
Bo Pipher So. Paonia, Colo./Paonia 6-5
165 #1 Vincenzo Joseph Jr. Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic 8-0
Mason Manville Fr. Lorton, Va./Wyoming Seminary 3-2
174 #1 Mark Hall Jr. Apple Valley, Minn./Apple Valley 8-0
184 #3 Shakur Rasheed Sr. Coram, N.Y./Longwood 8-0
Francisco Bisono Jr. Hauppauge, N.Y./Hauppauge 2-3
197 #1 Bo Nickal Sr. Allen, Texas/Allen 7-0
285 #5 Anthony Cassar Sr. Rocky Hill, N.J./Montgomery 7-0
Nick Nevills Sr. Clovis, Calif./Clovis 3-1
Wrestling unattached
125 Brody Teske Fr. Duncombe, Iowa/Fort Dodge 0-0
Rankings listed are InterMat TPI/InterMat Individual as of 12/25
THIS WEEK
#1 Penn State (4-0, 0-0 B1G) will head to Chattanooga, Tenn., once again to ring in the new year at the Southern Scuffle. The Lions have won the event in each of their last seven trips. The 2019 Southern Scuffle is set for Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 1-2, at UT-Chattanooga's McKenzie Arena.
UP NEXT
Penn State opens up Big Ten action with a split weekend in ten days. The Nittany Lions are at Northwestern on Friday, Jan. 11, at 8 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. Central) and then host Wisconsin in Rec Hall on Sunday, Jan. 13, at 1 p.m.
ON THE AIR
TV - None
Radio - ESPN Radio 1450
Radio online - Free all year via Lionvision at GoPSUsports.com
Live Web Video - FloWrestling ($)
NOTES
THE MILESTONE WATCH LIST
A number of team and individual records and milestones are in play as the 2018-19 wrestling season begins to play itself out:
* Career Wins: 100 win threshold -- Nickal 97, Nolf 94
* Career Falls: Record is 53 (Retherford, Taylor, Moore) -- Nolf 51, Nickal 45
* Career Dual Meet Wins: 20th all-time is 48 (four individuals) -- Nickal 46, Nolf 43
* Coaching Dual Wins: Record is 191 (Speidel in 34 season) -- Lorenzo 2nd at 188, Sanderson 3rd at 130
* Big Ten Dual Wins: Cael Sanderson holds record with 65
HALL AND JOSEPH'S TOP-FIVE WINS LEAD LIONS TO BIG VICTORY OVER #9 ARIZONA STATE
Juniors Mark Hall and Vincenzo Joseph notched impressive top-five victories to spark Penn State to a dominating 41-3 win over #9 Arizona State in sold out Rec Hall on Dec. 14. Hall took down previously unbeaten and top-ranked Zahid Valencia at 174, posting a 4-0 shutout with 4:24 in riding time. Joseph majored No. 5 Josh Shields at 165, rolling to a convincing 11-2 major. Their two wins were two of Penn State's nine in the dual victory.
BRAVO-YOUNG, BERGE, NOLF WITH RANKED WINS IN DUAL VICTORY OVER ARIZONA STATE
With Hall and Joseph notching top-five wins, three other Nittany Lions posted victories over ranked wrestlers in Penn State's dual meet win over the Sun Devils. True freshman Roman Bravo-Young dominated seventh-ranked 125-pounder Ryan Millhof, who moved up to 133 in the dual. Bravo-Young was untouched, posting a 14-1 major over the returning All-American. Brady Berge made his Rec Hall dual debut and posted a solid 5-4 win over #11 Josh Maruca at 149. Senior Jason Nolf majored #16 Christian Pagdilao 18-3 at 157, giving the Nittany Lions a sweep of all five matches against a ranked Sun Devil.
HALL EARNS B1G AND USA WRESTLING WoW HONORS
Junior Mark Hall was named both Big Ten Wrestler of the Week and USA Wrestling National Wrestler of the Week for the week ending Dec. 16, 2018. Hall earned the honor after his impressive 4-0 shutout win, including 2:41 in riding time, over then No. 1-Zahid Valencia in Penn State's 41-3 dual victory over Arizona State on Dec. 14.
PENN STATE SHUTS OUT #10 LEHIGH IN SOLD OUT REC HALL
Penn State won all ten bouts in a 42-0 shutout win over #10 Lehigh in sold out Rec Hall on Dec. 2. The win over the short-handed Mountain Hawks was highlighted by three ranked wins for the Lions and sophomore Devin Schnupp's first dual victory in Rec Hall. Mark Hall posted a 6-2 win over No. 7 Jordan Kutler at 174, Bo Nickal teched No. 15 Jake Jakobsen 25-10 at 197 and Anthony Cassar notched a 12-3 major over No. 6 Jordan Wood at 285. Schnupp downed Luke Resnick 6-1 at 125 for his first dual victory in Rec Hall.
PENN STATE AND BUCKNELL COMPETE IN HISTORIC DUAL MEET AT STOJKA PAVILION
The Penn State Nittany Lions and Bucknell Bison competed in an historic dual meet in Lewisburg, Pa., on Nov. 30. The dual, won by Penn State 42-3, was the first-ever trip for Penn State to Bucknell for a dual and was wrestled in BU's Stojka Pavilion. A sellout crowd of 4,279 witnessed the Lion win, a Bucknell wrestling record and the third highest in the building's history. Key wins for Penn State included sophomore Devin Schnupp getting his first dual victory at 125 and redshirt freshman Brady Berge making his Lion dual debut with a technical fall win at 149.
PENN STATE PINS ITS WAY TO KEYSTONE CLASSIC TITLE
Penn State won the 2018 Keystone Classic on Nov. 18, rolling up a lofty 192.0 points and crowning eight champions. This marks the third straight year that Penn State has claimed the crown, wrestled in the University of Pennsylvania's historic Palestra. A total of 18 Nittany Lion wrestlers competed at the event. At a weight where the Lions had more than one athlete competing, the top point scorer at that weight had his points tallied into the team score. The entire Penn State contingent tasted success at the event, with every Nittany Lion collecting at least one victory and 14 of the 18 Penn Staters competing placing. Penn State crowned eight champions at the event. All-in-all, Penn State had 14 place winners: eight champions, one runner-up, one third, one fourth, one fifth and two sixths. Penn State posted a gaudy 60-16 overall record, including 10 majors, 11 technical falls and 21 pins.
LIONS CROWN 8 CHAMPS AT KEYSTONE CLASSIC
Penn State had eight wrestlers win titles at the Keystone Classic on Nov. 18 in Philadelphia. Roman Bravo-Young went 3-0 with a pin and a technical fall to win at 133; Nick Lee went 5-0 with a pin, three techs and a major to win at 141; Jason Nolf went 4-0 with three pins and a major to win at 157; Vincenzo Joseph went 5-0 with four pins and a tech to win at 165, earning OW honors; Mark Hall went 4-0 with two pins to win at 174; Shakur Rasheed went 4-0 with three pins and a tech to win at 184; Bo Nickal went 3-0 with two pins and a major to win at 197; and Anthony Cassar went 3-0 with a pin and a major to win at 285.
BLUMER LEADS PENN STATE CONTINGENT AT MAT-TOWN
Six members of the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team competed at the Mat-Town Open today at Lock Haven University. Three Nittany Lions placed at the event as wrestlers competed both attached and unattached. Redshirt freshman Joey Blumer led Penn State with a runner-up finish at 149. Blumer went 2-1, advancing to the finals before losing in the title bout. Sophomore Brian Friery picked up a win at 157, placing fourth. His victory was a major. Redshirt freshman Scott Obendorfer placed fourth at 141 as well, going 2-2.
LIONS USE SEVEN PINS TO DOMINATE #24 KENT STATE
Penn State opened up the 2018-19 season in stellar fashion, rolling to a 52-3 victory over #24 Kent State in sold out Rec Hall on Nov. 11. The Lions won nine of ten bouts, including seven pins and two technical falls. Penn State got pins from two freshmen in their collegiate debuts. True freshman Roman Bravo-Young got a pin at 133 and redshirt freshman Jarod Verkleeren got a fall at 149. Also picking up pins were Jason Nolf at 157, Vincenzo Joseph at 165, Mark Hall at 174, Shakur Rasheed at 184 and Bo Nickal at 197. Nick Lee (141) and Anthony Cassar (285) got the tech falls.
GARDNER AND MANVILLE PLACE AT BEARCAT OPEN
Seven members of the Penn State Nittany Lions competed at the 2018 Bearcat Open in Binghamton, N.Y., today. Two Nittany Lions came away as place-winners at the day-long event at Binghamton. Wrestlers competed both attached an unattached at the open tournament. Sophomore Luke Gardner and freshman Mason Manville led the Nittany Lions, each placing fourth at their respective weight classes. Gardner went 4-2 with a major and a pin to finish fourth at 149. Manville went 3-2 at 174, earning fourth place as well. Sophomore Bo Pipher went 2-2 with a pin at 157 as well.
5 LIONS BEGIN OPEN TOURNEY SEASON AT CLARION
Five members of head coach Cael Sanderson's Nittany Lion wrestling team competed at the Clarion Open today, officially opening up the 2018-19 open tournament season. Every Nittany Lion competing came away with at least one victory. Sophomore Alex Nicholas posted the most victories for Penn State, going 3-2 with a technical fall at 285. Sophomore Brian Friery went 2-2 with a tech fall at 157 as well. Sophomore Justin Lopez posted a 2-2 mark at 125 while red-shirt freshman Scott Obendorfer went 1-2 with a pin 141. Redshirt freshman Austin Hoopes went 1-2 at 184.
NATIONAL TV DATES SET FOR 2018-19 SEASON
The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, winner of seven of the last eight NCAA titles, will have a bevy of games air nationally on the Big Ten Network and ESPN2 this season. All times listed are Eastern. Please note that all dates and times are subject to change. Penn State's home dual with Lehigh on Sunday, Dec. 2, will air nationally on the BTN. The dual will take place in Rec Hall and starts at 1:30 p.m. Arizona State comes to Penn State for a dual in Rec Hall on Friday, Dec. 14, for a 6 p.m. dual that will air live nationally on ESPN2. The 2018 BJC Dual against Michigan on Friday, Feb. 1, will air on the BTN. The dual in the 16,000-seat venue begins at 7 p.m. The Nittany Lions trek to Columbus, Ohio, to take on Ohio State on Friday, Feb. 8, at 8:30 p.m. and the dual will also air on the BTN. In addition, the Big Ten Network will air the Big Ten Championships live on Sunday, March 10. The entire two-day tournament will also stream live on BTN2go/BTN-Plus. ESPN and its family of networks will once again air the entire three-day NCAA Championships on March 23-25 from Pittsburgh's PPG Paints Arena. ESPN will announce details of its ever-expanding coverage later. All eight of Penn State's duals will stream live online as well. Check the Penn State wrestling schedule at GoPSUsports.com for a complete listing. BTN2go/BTN-Plus ($) and Lionvision (free) will be available for seven of the dates. ESPN typically streams much of its live ESPN/2/U contents as well and streaming of the PSU/ASU dual in December will be confirmed later.