There are times when a member of a team, group or organization flies under the radar for longer than he or she should. His — or her — doings behind the scene may carry more weight than what anyone looking at the surface can see.
For the Penn State wrestling team, that member is Matt Brown. The certified 165-pounder weighed in at 174 pounds, but bumped up for the second consecutive match to the 197-pound class and bested Michigan’s 15th-ranked Max Huntley, 3-2, on Sunday.
The performance capped off a blowout victory, 34-7, over the Wolverines at Rec Hall, clinching the Nittany Lions a share of the Big Ten dual championship.
‘I noticed it’s a lot harder to finish (at 197 pounds), but I was able to on that last shot,’ Brown said.
Tied 1-1, with each wrestler having earned an escape, Brown and Huntley attempted a variety of shots in the third period, looking for the deciding takedown. It was Brown who finally got it on the near-edge, as he countered a Huntley reversal with a single leg that Huntley nearly reversed himself, but ultimately could not.
A sellout crowd of 6,671 exploded to its feet for the remaining 15 seconds of the match as Brown earned his first victory in front of the Penn State faithful.
‘The crowd was pretty awesome,’ Brown said, responding to a question later about the in-house reaction. ‘It was great.’
Nico Megaludis beat Steve Pizzo by major decision, 22-10, to give Penn State a quick 4-0 lead. But the lead evaporated just as quickly when Zac Stevens and Kellen Russel earned a decision and major decision, respectively, to put Michigan in front before Frank Molinaro tied the score for Penn State with a 6-1 decision victory.
Dylan Alton put Penn State in front for good with a hard-fought 5-4 victory over Brandon Zeerip before the break. The Nittany Lions’ dominating middle- and heavyweights took care of it from there.
‘I didn’t even know there was a Big Ten dual title, but it’s certainly a great honor and we are real happy with it,’ Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said. ‘ … It wasn’t our goal, but it is a stepping stone for the Big Ten and national individual tournaments.’
Before Brown stole the show at 197, it looked as if Quentin Wright would have the match-of-the-day award locked up. He scored nine points, six on three takedowns and one on a three-point nearfall, before decking Hunter Collins with a headlock throw.
That resulted in a fall at the 3:42 mark, essentially clinched the match for Penn State as it gave the Nittany Lions a commanding 25-7 lead.
During Tuesday’s media availability, Wright said scoring points is often a high-risk, high-reward situation — and the standing headlock throw he used Sunday certainly fell into that category.
‘The move was just there, and it’s all about me feeling more comfortable with going after those big moves and hitting them instead of being hesitant,’ Wright said.
Sanderson said he feels the team is right about where he expected it to be in early February. Sunday’s victory marks its 10th straight dual win.
But the third-year head coach said there’s also always room for improvement.
‘I think our guys are right where we expected them to be, but they can all improve on individual things that they can work on,’ Sanderson said. ‘ … We like to have our guys peaking going into Big Tens and nationals, and I think that they certainly can still get to a higher level.’
Notes
- Penn State won eight of 10 bouts for the third consecutive meet, and scored 10 bonus points.
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