UNIVERSITY PARK — It was another weekend of domination for the No. 1 Penn State wrestling team.
The Nittany Lions defeated No. 7 Nebraska, 24-10, Jan. 15 at Rec Hall and then flew to Illinois, where they blasted No. 25 Northwestern, 46-4, Jan. 17 at Evanston.
Penn State outscored its two opponents by a combined 70-14 by winning 16 of 20 bouts and amassing a 47-7 combined edge in takedowns.
“That comes from the head coach,” head assistant coach Casey Cunningham told the Penn State Sports Network after the Northwestern win. “He preaches ‘who cares if you make mistakes?’ Go out there make mistakes, score points, make up for mistakes with hustle. That’s what’s preparing them for the end of the year.”
No. 4 125-pounder Nico Megaludis, No. 5 133-pounder Jordan Conaway, No. 1 149-pounder Zain Retherford, No. 3 157-pounder Jason Nolf, No. 1 174-pounder Bo Nickal, No. 13 184-pounder Matt McCutcheon and No. 1 197-pounder Morgan McIntosh all won both of their matches.
Of those seven, though, Retherford had the weekend to remember. In successive matches he faced off with the Nos. 5 and 4 wrestlers at his weight. He outscored them by a combined 27-8 in a pair of lopsided major decisions.
On Friday, he used five takedowns, an escape and a point for 3:17 in riding time advantage to dominate No. 5 Jake Sueflohn. On Sunday, he upped the ante, using six takedowns, an escape, a penalty point for stalling and a point for 3:33 in riding time advantage to suffocate two-time All-American and 2014 NCAA champion Jason Tsirtsis, 15-5.
“I think with Zain you get the same guy every time. He’s going to get after you. You better be ready to go for seven minutes. He is not going to stop,” Cunningham said.
McIntosh hit a milestone on Sunday, earning his 100th win. His career record is now 100-18. He’s the 32nd Nittany Lion to amass 100 wins.
“He’s been a quiet leader. He’s not rah rah. He’s more laid back. For him to come across the country for the last five years and be a part of this program, has been huge,” said Cunningham. “For him to get 100 wins, that’s a big milestone. We are happy for him, but he and us have bigger goals for him so that’s what he is working towards now.”
The coach was clearly referencing winning a national championship.
Before looking back at the two wins, there’s a big reason to look forward. Penn State wrestles at 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23, in Champaign, Ill., against the Illini (10-3).
The marquee bout of the dual meet will come at 157 pounds. Nolf, who improved to 20-0, will meet undefeated defending champion Isaiah Martinez, who has started his college career 61-0.
“Friday night he wrestled a guy who beat him a year a a half ago,” Cunningham said. “And then he teched him. He’ll wrestle hard, at a fast pace. It should be a fun match, a lot of points on the board.”
Penn State 46, Northwestern 4
The Nittany Lions won the first nine bouts before the Wildcats broke through for their only win.
Penn State roughed up Northwestern, which is coached by former State High and Penn State wrestler Matt Storniolo. The Nittany Lions notched three falls, an injury default, a forfeit, a technical fall, two major decisions and a decision.
“The guys came out with a purpose today,” Cunningham said. “They wanted to get their hands on them and score points today, and for the most part they did that.”
Conaway notched his first fall of the year. Nolf and Nickal pinned their opponents, too. No. 13 Jimmy Gulibon received a forfeit at 141. Matt McCutcheon had a first-period injury default over his opponent, who defaulted after being pulled into concussion protocol.
Megaludis started things off with a technical fall. Retherford and McIntosh added major decisions. Shakur Rasheed was back in the lineup at 165 pounds and earned a 6-0 decision.
Northwestern’s loan win came at heavyweight, where Conan Jennings rolled up a 10-0 major decision on Wes Phipps. Jennings outweighed Phipps by 76 pounds.
Penn State 24, Nebraska 10
Even with 10 ranked wrestlers, Nebraska was no match for Penn State. The Nittany Lions (9-0, 3-0 Big Ten) won seven of 10 bouts and easily won the takedown battle, 19-5, in a 24-10 win over the Cornhuskers (9-2, 3-2) in front of 6,537 Rec Hall fans.
In a testament to the Nebraska’s tenacity and talent, Penn State could manage just two bonus point wins.
“I think our guys did what they had to do. They did pretty well. I don’t feel like we were at our best, but we probably shouldn’t be at our best tonight,” Nittany Lion coach Cael Sanderson said.
“We won some close matches, but those bonus points are obviously what we’re looking for. But it depends on who’s wrestling who. A win when it’s a big win is great.”
Two of those “big” wins came at 149 and 184.
Top-ranked 149-pounder Zain Retherford absolutely wore out No. 5 Jake Sueflohn, racking up five takedowns in a 12-3 major decision.
“I thought Zain wrestled really well. Sueflohn’s a tough kid. He’s one of the better kids in the country,” Sanderson said.
“Zain had some really nice takedowns, really clean. His first takedown was awesome.”
Retherford didn’t sound concerned with his top ranking or the fact that by most accounts he’s wrestling better than he ever has.
“Right now I’m having fun. That’s my mindset going into every match. I’m trying to have fun with it more than worry about rankings or anything, all that negative outside stuff,” he said.
Another “big” win came at 184 where No. 13 Matt McCutcheon converted a takedown with a second left in the match for an 8-7 win over No. 5 T.J. Dudley.
Trailing 6-3 midway through the third period, McCutcheon escaped and scored a tying takedown. But with 20 seconds left Dudley escaped and was on his way to a win before McCutcheon’s late heroics.
“I wasn’t really sure on the time. I just knew I had to finish the right way. I let my head slip out a few times. That’s something I’m going to have to work on later. I had to finish, keep my head under and get the takedown,” McCutcheon said.
“I think that I should have tried to ride harder there. I gave him an easy escape. That’s something I need to change. He got to his feet and I peaked at the clock and I knew I had time to score. I let him go and went back to my leg attacks and got a quick takedown.”
Penn State burst out to a 15-3 lead through the first five bouts, but it wasn’t easy early.
Nico Megaludis went into the third period at 125 pounds with No. 9 Tim Lambert and the match tied 4-4. Megaludis, though, escaped scored a takedown and added a point for 1:36 in riding time advantage for an 8-5 win.
At 133, Jordan Conaway recorded takedowns in the first and second periods and escaped in the third for a workmanlike win over No. 12 Eric Montoya.
Nebraska broke through at 141, as 20th-ranked Anthony Abidin stayed a step ahead of Kade Moss in a 4-1 decision.
Penn State bounced right back with back-to-back bonus point wins at 149 and 157.
And, third-ranked Jason Nolf remained undefeated in his freshman campaign as he tore up No. 17 Tyler Berger, a four-time Oregon state champ, cruising to a 19-3 technical fall in seven minutes.
At 165, Sanderson sent out Geno Morelli instead of Shakur Rasheed. Morelli wrestled gamely but lost a 3-2 decision to No. 14 Austin Wilson.
“We wanted to give him another shot. They’ve been kind of back and forth. We wanted to give Geno a shot and see how he would respond,” Sanderson said.
Top-ranked 174-pounder Bo Nickal didn’t look particularly sharp, but still managed a 10-3 decision over No. 14 Micah Barnes.
At 197, top-ranked Morgan McIntosh didn’t look himself, either. No. 16 Aaron Studebaker forced the match into the tiebreaker tied, 1-1. McIntosh escaped after starting on bottom in the first 30-second period and then rode out Studebaker for a 2-1 win.
Nebraska got its final win and only bonus point of the night at 285. No. 17 Collin Jensen majored Wes Phipps, 9-1. Jensen outweighed Phipps by 45.2 pounds in Phipps’ first match in a year and a half as he battled injuries.
“That’s a solid heavyweight,” Sanderson said. “That’s Wes’ first match in a long time, so I think he did a nice job. He tried to horse him in a good position and he’s strong enough that he almost did it. He just has to figure out how to wrestle heavyweights.”
No. 1 Penn State 24
No. 7 Nebraska 10
(Jan. 15 at University Park)
125: No. 4 Nico Megaludis, PSU, dec. No. 9 Tim Lambert, 8-5.
133: No. 5 Jordan Conaway, PSU, dec. No. 12 Eric Montoya, 5-3.
141: No. 20 Anthony Abidin, NEB, dec. Kade Moss, 4-1.
149: No. 1 Zain Retherford, PSU, maj. dec. No. 5 Jake Sueflohn, 12-3.
157: No. 3 Jason Nolf, PSU, won by tech. fall over No. 17 Tyler Berger, 19-3 (7:00).
165: No. 14 Austin Wilson, NEB, dec. Geno Morelli, 3-2.
174: No. 1 Bo Nickal, PSU, dec. No. 14 Micah Barnes, 10-3.
184: No. 13 Matt McCutcheon, PSU, dec. No. 5 T.J. Dudley, 8-7.
197: No. 1 Morgan McIntosh, PSU, dec. No. 16 Aaron Studebaker, 2-1 TB.
285: No. 17 Collin Jensen, NEB, maj. dec. Wes Phipps, 9-1.
Referee: Matt Sorochinsky; assistant referee: Nate Chapman
Attendance: 6,537
Ridge Riley Award winner: Zain Retherford, 149 pounds
Takedowns: Nebraska 5; Penn State 19
Records: Nebraska 9-2, 3-2 Big Ten; Penn State 9-0, 3-0
No. 1 Penn State 46
No. 25 Northwestern 4
(Jan. 17 at Evanston, Ill.)
125: No. 4 Nico Megaludis, PSU, won by tech. fall over Garrison White, 23-7 (5:40).
133: No. 5 Jordan Conaway, PSU, pinned Dominick Malone, 4:39.
141: No. 13 Jimmy Gulibon, PSU, won by forfeit.
149: No. 1 Zain Retherford, PSU, maj. dec. No. 4 Jason Tsirtsis, 15-5.
157: No. 3 Jason Nolf, PSU, pinned Anthony Petrone, 2:13.
165: No. 16 Shakur Rasheed, PSU, dec. Luke Norland, 6-0.
174: No. 1 Bo Nickal, PSU, pinned Mitch Sliga, 1:13.
184: No. 13 Matt McCutcheon, PSU, won by inj. Def. over Regis Durbin,
197: No. 1 Morgan McIntosh, PSU, maj. dec. Jacob Berkowitz, 17-4.
285: Conan Jennings, NW, maj. dec. Wes Phipps, 10-0.
Referee: Gary Mayev
Ernie Lucas Award winner: Zain Retherford, 149 pounds
Takedowns: Penn State 28; Northwestern 2
Records: Penn State 10-0, 5-0 Big Ten; Northwestern 1-7, 0-3
Next match: Penn State at Illinois, 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan 23.
