The No. 2 Penn State wrestling team’s final two competitions of 2016 promise to be a study in contrasts.
As lopsided as the Nittany Lions’ 46-0 shellacking of Binghamton was Dec. 11, its path to a championship in the Reno Tournament of Champions on Sunday will be littered with orange and black land mines.
The field consists of 26 teams: Arizona State, Boise State, Campbell University, Cal Poly, CSU Bakersfield, CSU Pueblo, Clackamas, Colorado Mesa, CSU Pueblo, Eastern Oregon, Gateway Bible College, Menlo, Michigan State, Missouri, Montana State Northern, Northern Colorado, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Pacific University, Penn State, Simon Fraser, Simpson, Southern Oregon, Southwestern Oregon, Stanford and Wyoming.
And while Arizona State, Missouri and Oregon State boast their fair share of ranked wrestlers, the team race figures to come down to No. 1 Oklahoma State and No. 2 Penn State. It very well could be a preview of the NCAA championships in March.
Before we look forward, let’s take a quick glance back.
The Nittany Lions rolled up three falls, a technical fall, five major decisions and a decision, fueled by a 45-3 edge in takedowns in shutting out the Bearcats.
Binghamton coach Matt Dernlan is no stranger to Rec Hall. He coached at Penn State from 2005 to 2011, the last two years under Cael Sanderson. He brought his Bearcats to University Park knowing full well that they most likely couldn’t compete with the Nittany Lions, but also knowing the experience would be beneficial.
“This is exactly what we wanted. You can’t prepare yourself for this until you put yourself in this environment. This is exactly what we wanted. We needed this feel, we needed this constant pressure and type of intensity,” he said. “This is the only way we’re going to jump. You can’t jump until you feel what this is actually like. This is great.”
Sanderson seemed pleased with his team’s effort, too, in light of an emerging opponent and with finals week and semester break on the horizon.
“The effort was good and we scored a lot of points today. We’re heading into finals week and just-before-Christmas week and sometimes you can see the fire not there in a match like this, but I think the guys did a good job, they showed up and wrestled well,” he said.
The Nittany Lions were led by the usual suspects. Zain Retherford (149), Jason Nolf (157) and Nick Nevills (285) all recorded falls.
George Carpenter, who subbed in for Jered Cortez at 133, shook off an early takedown and rolled up a 17-2 technical fall. Sanderson said Cortez got hurt early in the Lehigh match and didn’t practice at all this week.
Carpenter, a junior from Chapel Hill, N.C., impressed a crowd of 6,319, the 31st consecutive sellout in Rec Hall.
“He looked great. You can tell our fans, our crowd, they appreciate effort and hustle and that’s what George is. He gave up the first takedown and just came back and got the second takedown and the crowd was just excited about the effort he put into it, which is what you like to see,” he said.
Carpenter was all smiles in the post-match news conference.
“It’s pretty exciting. It’s a great opportunity and I’m grateful for the coaches giving me the opportunity. I’m just thinking about wrestling, but as soon as it’s done I couldn’t really help but smile, seeing everybody, seeing all the fans,” he said.
“I hear everybody say we have the best fans, but you don’t really truly get that feeling until you’re out there for a match and everyone’s standing up clapping for you.”
They got to stand up and clap after every match.
Nick Suriano (125), Jimmy Gulibon (141), Geno Morelli (174), Bo Nickal (184) and Matt McCutcheon (197) all contributed major decisions. Vincenzo Joseph (165) earned a decision.
The same 10 wrestlers who took the mat against Binghamton are expected to be part of a 15-man contingent in Reno. Sanderson said Cortez’s status was still uncertain. Penn State will take two wrestlers at the following weights: 133 (assuming Cortez competes, as well as Carpenter), 141 (Kade Moss and Gulibon), 174 (Shakur Rasheed and Morelli) and 197 (Kellen Stout and McCutcheon) “and whoever else is working hard in the room and representing the program the way we want them to.”
With that many teams and that many wrestlers, the one-day tournament will be jam packed. It starts at 9 a.m. PST, with the place matches slated for 6 p.m.
“There will be some great competition there; a lot of teams there and some new faces for us. We are excited to get out there and compete like always,” Sanderson said.
With so many teams and so many good individuals, some of the Nittany Lions will receive their sternest tests of the season to date. By the end of the day, Sanderson will have a barometer of just where many of his wrestlers stand, and where they need to go in the next three months.
No. 2 Penn State 46
Binghamton 0
(Dec. 11 at University Park)
125: No. 4 Nick Suriano, PSU, maj. dec. Steve Bulzomi, 12-2
133: George Carpenter, PSU, won by tech. fall over Ian Lupole, 17-2 (7:00)
141: No. 13 Jimmy Gulibon, PSU, maj. dec. Dylan Caruana, 12-3
149: No. 1 Zain Retherford, PSU, pinned Parker Kropman, 2:39
157: No. 1 Jason Nolf, PSU, pinned Tristan Rifanburg, 3:48
165: No. 9 Vincenzo Joseph, PSU, dec. Vincent DePrez, 10-5
174: Geno Morelli, PSU, maj. dec. Anthony Lombardo, 22-9
184: No. 2 Bo Nickal, PSU, maj. dec. No. 13 Steve Schneider, 18-7
197: No. 13 Matt McCutcheon, PSU, maj. dec. Mark Tracy, 9-1
285: No. 8 Nick Nevills, PSU, pinned Connor Calkins, 3:57
Ridge Riley Award winner: George Carpenter, 133 pounds
Attendance: 6,319
Takedowns: Binghamton 3; Penn State 45
Records: Binghamton 1-2; Penn State 4-0
Next match: Penn State at Reno Tournament of Champions, noon, Sunday, Dec. 18, in Reno, Nev.
