Home or away, tournament or dual meet, ranked or unranked opponent, the No. 1 Penn State wrestling team has posed more questions than its opponents have had answers for so far this season.
The Nittany Lions traveled to the state of Indiana for a pair of Big Ten dual meets and returned to Pennsylvania with a pair of wins.
Penn State’s 42-3 win over No. 19 Purdue on Jan. 8 and 34-8 victory over Indiana on Jan. 10 raised the Lions’ record to 8-0 overall and 3-0 in conference.
Twelve Nittany Lions (Penn State wrestled two different wrestlers at 141 and 184) combined to go 17-3, recording four pins, four technical falls, five major decisions and four decisions.
Penn State 34, Indiana 8
It wasn’t the eight matches the Nittany Lions won that was the news. Rather, it was one of bouts they lost that grabbed the headlines.
Just days after being elevated to No. 1 at 174 pounds, freshman Bo Nickal tasted defeat for the first time. He was edged, 7-6, by No. 11 Nate Jackson.
Nickal scored the initial takedown but Jackson countered a throw attempt, tossing Nickal to his back for a reversal and four-point nearfall. Nickal tried to rally through the next two periods but two apparent takedowns in the third period were either waved off or not awarded and he lost.
Indiana was penalized a team point during the bout.
Penn State won with relative ease, but wasn’t as dominant as it was Jan. 8 against Purdue.
The match started at 157 and Jason Nolf piled up 21 points in a 21-8 major decision. Shakur Rasheed followed with another major decision, 11-2, to stake Penn State to an 8-0 lead.
Following Nickal’s loss, Penn State bounced back with a pair of wins. Devon Van Cura, filling in while Matt McCutcheon’s back heals, earned a decision and Morgan McIntosh posted his second fall of the weekend.
Indiana got a fall at heavweight for its last win of the day.
Nico Megaludis earned a tough decision at 125, Jordan Conaway and Jimmy Gulibon scored back-to-back major decisions and Zain Retherford continued his domination with a first-period fall.
Penn State 42, Purdue 3
In a match that promised to be more competitive than it turned out, the Nittany Lions burst out to a 42-0 lead by winning the first nine bouts.
Even where the Boilermakers were favored, Penn State posted lopsided wins.
At 141, Kade Moss subbed in for Gulibon against veteran Danny Sabatello. Moss made quick work of Sabatello in an 11-3 major decision.
And, at 165, Rasheed provided another glimpse of the incredible upside the Penn State coaches have mentioned. He locked up No. 5 Chad Welch in a cradle and pinned him in 1:56.
Five of Penn State’s other seven wins came with bonus points. McIntosh added another pin; Megaludis, Retherford, Nolf and Nickal rolled up technical falls.
Conaway and Brian Brill (184) earned decisions.
Penn State returns home for a 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 15, dual meet with Nebraska.
No. 1 Penn State 34
Indiana 8
(Jan. 10 at Bloomington, Ind.)
157: No. 3 Jason Nolf, PSU, maj. dec. Jake Danishek, 21-8.
165: Shakur Rasheed, PSU, maj. dec. Bryce Martin, 11-2.
174: No. 11 Nate Jackson, IU, dec. No. 1 Bo Nickal, 7-6.*
* Indiana penalized one team point for unsportsmanlike conduct
184: Devon Van Cura, PSU, dec. Matt Irick, 5-3.
197: No. 1 Morgan McIntosh, PSU, pinned Jake Masengale IU, 2:50.
285: Garret Goldman, IU, pinned Jan Johnson PSU, 5:35.
125: No. 4 Nico Megaludis, PSU, dec. Elijah Oliver, 6-2.
133: No. 4 Jordan Conaway, PSU, maj. dec. Alonzo Shepherd, 14-3.
141: No. 13 Jimmy Gulibon, PSU, maj. dec. Cole Weaver, 11-3.
149: No. 1 Zain Retherford PSU pinned Luke Blanton IU, 2:43.
Attendance: 453.
Records: Penn State 8-0, 3-0 Big Ten; Indiana 4-1, 1-1.
No. 1 Penn State 42
No. 19 Purdue 3
(Jan. 8 at West Lafayette, Ind.)
125: No. 4 Nico Megaludis, PSU, won by tech fall over Ben Thornton, 21-6 (7:00).
133: No. 4 Jordan Conaway, PSU, dec. Luke Welch, 8-3.
141: Kade Moss, PSU, maj. dec. Danny Sabatello, 11-3.
149: No. 1 Zain Retherford, PSU, won by tech fall over Alex Griffin, 17-1 (6:09).
157: No. 3 Jason Nolf, PSU, won by tech fall over Doug Welch, 21-5 (6:10).
165: Shakur Rasheed, PSU, pinned No. 5 Chad Welch, 1:56.
174: No. 1 Bo Nickal, PSU, won by tech fall over Tanner Lynde, 16-1 (4:58).
184: Brian Brill, PSU, dec. Tanner Lynde, 11-7.
197: No. 1 Morgan McIntosh, PSU, pinned Drake Stein, 1:33.
285: Tyler Kral, PUR, dec. Jan Johnson PSU, 7-4.
Attendance: 1,850.
