After Ohio State stunned Iowa a weekend ago, it would seem that when the No. 5 Buckeyes came to Rec Hall Sunday afternoon they would be ready to put up a fight to show they belonged.
However, that didn’t happen.
Whether it was a complete lack of intensity, as Ohio State coach Tom Ryan described his team’s effort, or the extra motivational boost that a raucous Rec Hall crowd produces as Quentin Wright explained it, it ended in one thing: total Penn State domination as the Lions won eight of 10 bouts in a 34-9 drubbing of the Buckeyes.
“I thought the team wrestled well today, they went after it and looked good,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said.
“Conditioning looked good, and technique is improving every weekend, and we saw a lot of attitude out there, which is what it takes to be the best.”
Penn State got its first lead right before intermission when Dylan Alton finished off a major decision over Josh Demas, but it was after the 10-minute break that Penn State poured it on.
David Taylor started a 5-0 run for Penn State with an energetic technical fall of Ohio State’s Derek Garcia that ended with a fist pump in the center circle, and preempted back-to-back falls from Ed Ruth and Wright that boosted Penn State to a near insurmountable 21-9 lead. Morgan McIntosh clinched the victory with a hard-fought 5-4 decision against No. 20 Andrew Campolattano.
“That was the second time I wrestled him, and that first matchup really helped me for this one,” Ruth said of his opponent, Nick Heflin.
Ruth scored a quick takedown seconds into the period, than dug in for his patented cross-face cradle. Once he locked it in, the fall came seconds later at the 2:05 mark.
“It wasn’t the cradle that cost him as much as it was the five seconds earlier when he (Heflin) lost his intensity and let Ruth put him back down,” Ryan said.
“But give all the credit to Ed Ruth, he did a great job and fought for that pin.”
After the consecutive falls, McIntosh started off with two-straight takedowns, cutting Campolattano after each one and giving him a 4-2 lead at the end of the first period.
Campolattano fought back though, getting an escape off the second period whistle to make it 4-3, before a flurry in the middle of the mat left McIntosh grasping his right knee, the same knee he tweaked earlier this season.
“Dan Monthley, our team trainer, is very good at what he does, and he can tell right away if it’s catching or how serious the damage is for the most part and that’s all good, so that was good to see,” Sanderson said of McIntosh being able to finish the match.
After the brief injury stoppage, Campolattano escaped again to tie the match at four, but McIntosh chose down to start the third period, quickly escaped and fended off a couple of late shots to secure the victory.
The dual started at 125 pounds with Penn State freshman Nico Megaludis scoring a pair of takedowns and an escape to beat No. 15 Johnni Dejulius, 6-2, before Ohio State won back-to-back bouts from its brother tandem of Logan and Hunter Steiber, the former by fall over Frank Martelloti at the 1:38 mark. But Frank Molinaro righted the ship for Penn State with a 12-0 major decision, and the Nittany Lions didn’t lose another bout.
“It’s always good to beat Ohio State, and I knew in my match I’d be capable of scoring and I wanted to try some stuff I had been working on,” Molinaro said.
Penn State improves to 9-1 on the season and is off until next Friday, when it travels to Nebraska for an 8 p.m. dual before hosting Michigan on 2 p.m. Sunday at Rec Hall.
Notes
- Penn State scored 10 bonus points in the dual, and won the takedown battle, 16-4, scoring a riding time point in five of 10 bouts.
- During the post-match press conference, reference to the Nittany Lions work in the room came up rather frequently, and it was decided upon that Penn State assistant coach Casey Cunningham is the least favorite opponent for the Lions upper weights to wrestle. “He doesn’t shoot, and he doesn’t give you any points, either,” Penn State’s 157-pounder David Taylor said. “Least if you do it right, Coach Cael will give you a point, but Coach Cunningham gives you no points,” Wright said with a laugh.
- Penn State sits in second place in the Big Ten standings, with the lone unbeaten, Minnesota, its only obstacle to the top spot. Minnesota and Iowa did battle today in Iowa City.
- Cameron Wade closed the meet out for the Nittany Lions by scoring a reversal and two three-point near falls in the third period to win 9-1 with a riding time point.
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