UNIVERSITY PARK — Penn State wrestling coach Cael Sanderson makes no secret that he and his Nittany Lions want to win every competition they enter, no matter what it is.
However, he’ll be the first to tell you that a team is measured more on its postseason tournament success than its ability to win regular-season dual meets.
Penn State finished its regular season by pounding Illinois (34-7) and Maryland (45-6) to wrap up its second consecutive undefeated regular season and secured the Big Ten regular-season title. While Sanderson agreed that this may be his most consistent team, he wasn’t ready to anoint it as one of his best just yet.
“A lot of the individuals are consistent. In the past, we’ve had some guys that were very consistent and we had some guys that weren’t, but turned it on at nationals. (This is a) very consistent team and that’s what we want. Those are the type of kids we recruit. This is a very good team,” he said.
‘All the important stuff is still ahead so we’ll find out how great of a team this is. We have a chance to have a lot of success in the next three events.”
The first of those three events will come at 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19, in Stillwater, Okla., in the title match of the NWCA Dual Championship Series. No. 2 Penn State (13-0, 9-0 Big Ten) will walk into Gallagher-Iba Arena to try to repeat its win over No. 1 Oklahoma State (14-0, 6-0 Big 12) from a year ago.
“We are excited to be wrestling in the title event of the 2017 NWCA Dual Championship Series,” Sanderson said. “Dual meets matter and the NWCA Dual Championship Series gives fans one more shot to see 16 of the nation’s best teams face off against each other. We are looking forward to an exciting atmosphere in Stillwater and the chance to compete in an outstanding event.”
The Nittany Lions will put their 30-match winning streak on the line. The last time Penn State tasted defeat was on Feb. 15, 2015. It came at the hands of the Cowboys, 21-18, in Stillwater.
Here’s a look back at each of the weekend’s duals, in which Penn State won 17 of 20 bouts, amassed a combined 66-15 edge in takedowns and did it in front of the two biggest Rec Hall crowds of the year (6,645 Feb. 10 and 6,661 Feb. 12):
■ NO. 2 PENN STATE 45, MARYLAND 6
On a day in which Penn State honored four seniors and a host of lettermen, including Maryland coach Kerry McCoy, there was plenty for Nittany Lions fans to be happy about.
Penn State honored four senior wrestlers — Brian Brill, Jimmy Gulibon, Caleb Livingston and Geno Morelli — along with a number of lettermen. The Lions competed in black and pink singlets in a nod to Penn State’s original colors and fans were asked to wear black for a blackout.
After the match, the wrestlers donned Big Ten champion T-shirts and hats, celebrated with the championship trophy in the middle of the mat, and then tossed 1,000 T-shirts to fans who stayed to celebrate with the team. Each member of the team literally took the shirt off his back and presented it to a fan who won the honor of receiving it.
As he’s done in all but one match this season, Nick Suriano staked Penn State to a lead at 125. He recorded 10 of Penn State’s 32 takedowns on the day in a 23-8 technical fall.
Maryland took its one and only lead with a win at 133. Billy Rappo led Triston Law 4-2 when Rappo caught Law on his back in a neutral position scramble and got the fall.
Gulibon started an eight-match winning streak with a 9-4 win over Ryan Diehl in a match that featured two wrestlers who had won a combined eight high school championships between them. It was Gulibon’s final appearance in Rec Hall.
“It’s been a great five years. I had a lot of fun. Yeah, you know, it’s kind of weird. It really hasn’t sunk in yet that this is my last
match. But it was fun,’ Gulibon said.
“I just went out there and had fun with it, my last match. My last match here. There’s a lot of wrestling left.”
Penn State then went on a five-match pinning frenzy, none of them later than the second period.
Zain Retherford (3:17), Jason Nolf (1:27), Vincenzo Joseph (3:58), Mark Hall (1:14) and Bo Nickal (2:08) recorded the falls to expand Penn State’s lead to 38-6.
“Bonus points are always a big part of winning in the postseason and winning dual meets. We need our guys looking for those extra points. That’s good, that’s what we want,” Sanderson said. “They feed off of each other in those situations. That’s what we need going into Big Tens and the national tournament.”
Matt McCutcheon added a 5-3 decision and Nick Nevills a 10-1 major decision to close out the rout.
McCoy, the former Nittany Lion two-time NCAA champion and three-time All-American at heavyweight, said watching the Nittany Lions is bittersweet to him.
“It was great. I mean this place is so special to me. I have so many memories here, so many people that supported me. So to be able to come back and people remembering what I did was really nice. It was very special to come back for that,” McCoy said.
“They’re really good, they’re really good. You sit there and it’s boom, boom, boom. I told people, as an alum it’s awesome to see, but as competition it’s really tough to get up when you battle them. They do a great job here and it’s really nice for the sport of wrestling to see that.’’
■ No. 2 Penn State 34, No. 10 Illinois 7
Penn State, as it has all year, prevented any drama by winning eight of 10 bouts — with a fall (Retherford), two technical falls (Nolf, Hall), three major decisions (Suriano, Gulibon and Nickal) and two decisions (McCutcheon and Nevills) — while amassing a 34-12 advantage in takedowns.
What little drama that existed came in the marquee bout of the night, at 165 pounds.
Coming out of the break, the crowd buzzed in anticipation of a showdown between No. 1 Isaiah Martinez, the junior two-time NCAA champion, and No. 4 freshman Vincenzo Joseph.
Martinez won 5-2, but the match was closer than the final score, and Joseph made him earn it.
Martinez, on the whistle, thudded Joseph’s head several times and referee Michael Chase stopped the bout to warn him about it. It was all part of Martinez’s plan.
“Absolutely! I’m here to wrestle. It’s a brawl when I wrestle. It’s going to be hard. I like to set a tone right off the whistle,” he said.
The difference came in the first period when Martinez clearly sensed Joseph with a bit too much weight forward. The Illini snapped Joseph down and spun around for a quick takedown. Joseph escaped 17 seconds later and the match went into the second with Martinez leading, 2-1.
A second-period escape from Martinez gave him a 3-1 lead heading into the third. Joseph chose bottom and escaped in eight seconds and the chase was on for a go-ahead takedown.
Always a master technician, Martinez countered every shot Joseph threw at him, including a desperation double with eight seconds left that Martinez converted into a takedown of his own for the 5-2 win.
“Well, it was a good match. You’ve got to go get that takedown, find a way to get a takedown,” Sanderson said. “Martinez is obviously hard to score on. He’s good at scrambling if you get to his legs. We knew that. Joseph knew that going into the match. The difference was a slide-by, it was nice, but I think Joseph comes away confident that he can win that match but you’ve got to do it.”
No. 2 Penn State 34
No. 10 Illinois 7
(Feb. 10 at University Park)
125: No. 2 Nick Suriano, PSU, maj. dec. Travis Piotrowski, 17-6.
133: No. 6 Zane Richards, Ill., maj. dec. George Carpenter, 19-7.
141: No. 11 Jimmy Gulibon, PSU, maj. dec. Mousa Jodeh, 10-2.
149: No. 1 Zain Retherford, PSU, pinned No. 10 Eric Barone, 4:08.
157: No. 1 Jason Nolf, PSU, won by tech. fall over No. 12 Kyle Langenderfer, 26-11 (6:45).
165: No. 1 Isaiah Martinez, Ill., dec. No. 4 Vincenzo Joseph, 5-2.
174: No. 7 Mark Hall, PSU, won by tech. fall over No. 12 Zac Brunson, 17-1 (7:00).
184: No. 2 Bo Nickal, PSU, maj. dec. No. 12 Emery Parker, 18-5.
197: No. 9 Matt McCutcheon, PSU, dec. Andre Lee, 3-1.
285: No. 3 Nick Nevills, PSU, dec. No. 15 Brooks Black, 5-0.
Ridge Riley Award winner: Mark Hall, 174 pounds.
Attendance: 6,645.
Referees: Michael Chase, Mike Millward.
Takedowns: Illinois 12; Penn State 34.
Records: Illinois 8-3, 5-3 Big Ten; Penn State 12-0, 8-0.
No. 2 Penn State 45
Maryland 6
(Feb. 12 at University Park)
125: No. 2 Nick Suriano, PSU, won by tech. fall over Michael Beck, 23-8 (6:21).
133: Billy Rappo, M, pinned Triston Law, 4:44.
141: No. 11 Jimmy Gulibon, PSU, dec. Ryan Diehl, 9-4.
149: No. 1 Zain Retherford, PSU, pinned Adam Whitesell, 3:17.
157: No. 1 Jason Nolf, PSU, pinned Justin Alexander, 1:27.
165: No. 4 Vincenzo Joseph, PSU, pinned Patrick Gerish, 3:58.
174: No. 7 Mark Hall, PSU, pinned Josh Ugalde, 1:14.
184: No. 2 Bo Nickal, PSU, pinned Idris White, 2:08.
197: No. 9 Matt McCutcheon, PSU, dec. David-Brian Whisler, 5-3.
285: No. 4 Nick Nevills, PSU, maj. dec. Youssif Hemida, 10-1.
Ridge Riley Award winner: Jimmy Gulibon, 141 pounds.
Referee: Jim Rivello.
Attendance: 6,661.
Takedowns: Maryland 3; Penn State 32.
Records: Maryland 2-14, 0-9; Penn State 13-0, 9-0.
Next match: Penn State at Oklahoma State, 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19, at Stillwater, Okla., in NWCA Dual Championship Series title match.
