UNIVERSITY PARK — If the Penn State wrestling team keeps accumulating hardware at this rate, the university might need to add a wing to Rec Hall to house it all.
The No. 1 Nittany Lions added another trophy to its season-long haul Feb. 21, winning the inaugural NWCA National Dual Championship Series title in front of 6,575 fans in a sold-out Rec Hall.
The Nittany Lions (16-0) won six of 10 bouts to beat No. 3 Oklahoma State, 29-18. Penn State had already won the Southern Scuffle crown, as well as a share of the Big Ten regular-season championship it shared with Iowa.
“I think overall we wrestled pretty good. I think that’s a good team, a solid team, obviously,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said. “When you’re wrestling for the dual championship, you’re going to wrestle a good team. You go up and down the lineup and we wrestled pretty well.”
Oklahoma State had to deal with less-than-ideal travel arrangements and the sudden death of the father of two of their wrestlers on Feb. 20. The Cowboys flew in two Lear jets and arrived in State College just an hour and a half before weigh-ins.
Cowboy coach John Smith, though, said his depleted lineup was the problem. His son, promising 157-pounder Joe Smith, was left behind in Stillwater with an injury. And, starting 174-pounder Chandler Rogers, whose father, Bill, died, stayed behind, too. Penn State recognized the elder Rogers with a moment of silence before the match.
“We kind of knew that with the lineup we were bringing, it was going to be really tough. If you can’t bring your best lineup, you’re immediately working from behind,” he said.
“I’m a little disappointed in the pins. We should do a better job, regardless of who’s out there. Getting pinned is a pride issue. We gave three up? It’s been a long time since we’ve given three pins up.”
Penn State got pins from Nico Megaludis (125), Jason Nolf (157) and Morgan McIntosh (197). Bo Nickal (174) won by technical fall and Jordan Conaway (133) and Zain Retherford (149) won by decision.
The match featured six of the nation’s 10 top-ranked wrestlers — four for the Nittany Lions and two for the Cowboys — but Penn State erased any potential drama with a lightning-quick start. The Nittany Lions roared out to an 18-3 lead by intermission, winning two matches by fall and earning another two wins by decision.
At 125, No. 4 Nico Megaludis led No. 6 Eddie Klimara 4-1 in the second period. He was in on another takedown, trying to come out the backdoor, when he sat in, trapping Klimara’s shoulders on the mat for a neutral-position fall at the 3:58 mark.
It provided a nice bookend to his career, as he started his Rec Hall career with a pin, too.
“I don’t like to show emotion, but I guess I did a little bit. It’s Rec Hall, man, my last match. It’s pretty cool. I haven’t been the biggest pinner in the world. My first match here my freshman year against Bloomsburg I pinned the kid and then to go out like this, that was special,” Megaludis said.
No. 5 Jordan Conaway used three takedowns, an escape and riding-time point for 2:03 in advantage in an 8-4 win over Gary Wayne Harding at 133 to end his Rec Hall career.
“It’s been awesome,” Conaway said. “I wasn’t a huge recruit. I walked on, so it was definitely cool to be part of this program.”
Oklahoma State broke through with a win at 141. Top-ranked Cowboy Dean Heil was tied with Jimmy Gulibon, 2-2, through two periods but scored a flurry of points — two takedowns, two escapes and a riding-time point — in the third for a 9-5 decision.
At 149, No. 1 Zain Retherford was held at arm’s length most of the match by No. 12 Anthony Collica. Retherford did just enough — a takedown, escape and riding-time point — for a 4-1 decision.
An anticipated showdown at 157 between Penn State’s top-ranked Jason Nolf and No. 8 Smith, never materialized. Instead, Nolf rolled up 10 takedowns on his way to a 21-8 lead before catching Ryan Blees in a standing near cradle, taking him to his back and planting him there for a fall in 6:32.
Oklahoma State won three of the final five bouts but the die had been cast. No. 1 165-pounder Alex Dieringer, the two-time defending NCAA champion, rolled up a 17-2 technical fall over Geno Morelli. Nolan Boyd won by injury default over Matt McCutcheon at 184 after McCutcheon twice had his injured knee tweaked. And, at 285, No. 5 Austin Marsden majored Jan Johnson, 18-6.
Johnson was subbing for Nick Nevills who went 4-0 and won the U.S. Collegiate Open Title in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Penn State’s final two wins came at 174 and 197. Top-ranked Bo Nickal won by a 17-2 technical fall at 174 over Cowboy backup 157-pounder Hestin Lamons. And, at 197, top-ranked Morgan McIntosh locked up a near cradle on Andrew Marsden and recorded a fall in 1:59.
McIntosh admitted he was angry after seeing McCutcheon have his injured knee torqued twice.
“I don’t get angry very easily, but that happened and I was so mad. I was like, ‘I’ve got to wrestle,’” McIntosh said.
“He’s one of my best buds and I hate to see him get hurt like that, but at the same time you have to take care of your business. I was so mad and a couple guys came up to me and said, ‘Go get this kid’ in not-so-nice words.”
Penn State now has two weeks to prepare for the Big Ten Championships on Saturday, March 5, and Sunday, March 6, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.
“This is a big deal to us,” Sanderson said. “We want to win the dual championship, but it’s more about getting ready as move forward from here.”
No. 1 Penn State 29
No. 3 Oklahoma State 18
(Feb. 21 at University Park)
125: No. 4 Nico Megaludis, PSU, pinned No. 6 Eddie Klimara, 3:58.
133: No. 5 Jordan Conaway, PSU, dec. Gary Wayne Harding, 8-4.
141: No. 1 Dean Heil, OSU, dec. Jimmy Gulibon, 9-5.
149: No. 1 Zain Retherford, PSU, dec. No. 12 Anthony Collica, 4-1.
157: No. 1 Jason Nolf, PSU, pinned Ryan Blees, 6:32.
165: No. 1 Alex Dieringer, OSU, won by tech. fall over Geno Morelli, 17-2 (4:36).
174: No. 1 Bo Nickal, PSU, won by tech. fall over Hestin Lamons, 17-2 (4:39).
184: No. 13 Nolan Boyd, OSU, won by inj. def. over No. 6 Matt McCutcheon, 3:38.
197: No. 1 Morgan McIntosh, PSU, pinned Andrew Marsden, 1:59.
285: No. 5 Austin Marsden, OSU, maj. dec. Jan Johnson, 18-6.
Referees: Nate Chapman, Jim Rivello.
Attendance: 6,575.
Takedowns: Oklahoma State 14; Penn State 23.
Records: Oklahoma State 13-3; Penn State 16-0.
Next match: Penn State at Big Ten Championships, Saturday, March 5, and Sunday, March 6, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, Iowa.
