Penn State claimed the Big Ten dual meet titleUNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- No. 1 Penn State (13-0, 9-0 B1G) swarmed over Maryland (2-14, 0-9 B1G) in the home dual finale for the Nittany Lions. Head coach Cael Sanderson's squad used five straight pins to post the 45-6 victory over the visiting Terrapins. The win clinched the 2017 Big Ten Regular Season (dual meet) Championship for Penn State, the fourth for the Nittany Lions. Penn State won the regular season title outright.
Penn State's young line-up won nine of ten bouts in front of a sold out Rec Hall crowd. The crowd of 6,661 marks the 35th straight Rec Hall sell-out and is the highest Rec Hall attendance mark of the year. Penn State has sold out 38 of its last 40 home events, including three of five in the 16,000-seat Bryce Jordan Center. The win was also Penn State's 30th straight dual meet victory.
The dual began at 125. True freshman Nick Suriano (Paramus, N.J.), ranked No. 1 at 125, rolled up 10 takedowns to post a 23-8 technical fall over Michael Beck at the 6:41 mark. Red-shirt freshman Triston Law (Windber, Pa.) got the call at 133 but was pinned by Maryland senior Billy Rappo at the 4:445 mark to give the Terrapins a brief 6-5 lead. Senior Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), ranked No. 11 at 141 and wrestling in his final Rec Hall dual meet, posted a strong 9-4 decision over Ryan Diehl to put Penn State back on top 8-6.
Junior Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 149, pushed Penn State out to a 14-6 lead by pinning Maryland's Adam Whitesell at the 3:17 mark. The fall was Retherford's second of the weekend and 13th of the year. Sophomore Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 157, followed Retherford's pin up with one of his own. Nolf pinned Maryland's Adam Whitesell at the 1:37 mark and sent Penn State into the halftime break with a 20-6 lead. The fall was Nolf's 11th of the year.
Red-shirt freshman Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 4 at 165, continued Penn State's pin parade coming out of the locker room. He pinned Maryland's Patrick Gerish at the 3:58 mark to put Penn State up 26-6. True freshman Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), ranked No. 7 at 174, made it four falls in a row, pinning Josh Ugalde at the 1:14 mark to give the Nittany Lions a 32-6 lead.
Sophomore Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 2 at 184, kept pace with those in front of him, using a lightning quick throw to pin Idris White at the 2:08 mark, Penn State's fifth straight fall. The fall was Nickal's 12th of the year. Junior Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), ranked No. 9 at 197, picked up a 5-3 decision over David-Brian Whisler to give the Lions a 41-6 lead. Sophomore Nick Nevills (Clovis, Calif.), ranked No. 3 at 285, closed out the dual meet with a dominant 10-1 major over Youssif Hemida, controlling the action and finishing with 5:26 in riding time. The victory set the final dual margin at 45-6.
The Nittany Lions continued to dominate their completion, staying unbeaten and winning each dual meet so far by 15 points (26-11 at Iowa) or more. Penn State posted a gaudy a 33-3 takedown margin, including giving up no takedowns in the last two periods. The Nittany Lions picked up 18 bonus points off five pins (Retherford, Nolf, Joseph, Hall, Nickal consecutively), a tech fall (Suriano) and a major (Nevills).
Retherford is 18-0 with 13 pins, a forfeit, two techs and a major. Nolf is 18-0 with 11 pins, a major and five techs. Nickal is 17-0 with 12 pins and three majors this season. The Nittany Lions are now 13-0, 9-0 in the Big Ten, and winners of 30 straight duals. Maryland falls to 2-14, 0-8 in the conference.
The Nittany Lions will now await word of their match-up in the NWCA Dual Championship Series, set for Sunday, February 19. The top eight Big Ten teams in the final NWCA Coaches Dual Meet Rankings will visit the top eight non-Big Ten teams with the one vs. one match-up winner declared the NWCA Dual Meet Champion for 2017. Penn State won last year's NWCA dual crown with a win over Oklahoma State in Rec Hall. The announcement could come as early as this evening (Sunday, Feb. 12).
Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at @pennstateWREST, on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest. The 2016-17 Penn State wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here.
Results:
125: #2 Nick Suriano PSU tech fall Michael Beck MD, 23-8 (TF; 6:41) / 5-0
133: Billy Rappo MD pinned Triston Law PSU, WBF (4:45) / 5-6
141: #11 Jimmy Gulibon PSU dec. Ryan Diehl MD, 9-4 / 8-6
149: #1 Zain Retherford PSU pinned Adam Whitesell MD, WBF (3:17) / 14-6
157: #1 Jason Nolf PSU pinned Justin Alexander MD, WBF (1:27) / 20-6
165: #4 Vincenzo Joseph PSU pinned Patrick Gerish MD, WBF (3:58) / 26-6
174: #7 Mark Hall PSU pinned Josh Ugalde MD, WBF (1:14) / 32-6
184: #2 Bo Nickal PSU pinned Idris White MD, WBF (2:08) / 38-6
197: #9 Matt McCutcheon PSU dec. David-Brian Whisler MD, 5-3 / 41-6
285: #3 Nick Nevills PSU maj. dec. Youssif Hemida MD, 10-1 / 45-6
Attendance: 6,661 (35th straight Rec Hall sell-out)
Records: Penn State 13-0, 9-0 B1G; Maryland 2-14, 0-9
Up Next for Penn State: at non-Big Ten opponent, NWCA Dual Championship Series, Sunday, Feb. 19.
BOUT-BY-BOUT:
125: True freshman Nick Suriano (Paramus, N.J.), ranked No. 2 at 125, faced off against junior Michael Beck. Suriano forced Beck's shoulders down for an early takedown and cut, opening up a 2-1 lead in the first :40 seconds. He tacked on a second takedown just seconds later and led 4-2 with 2:00 left in the opening stanza. Continuing a torrid offensive pace, Suriano added two more takedowns and worked his riding time up to 1:11 before cutting Beck again to an 8-4 lead. He forced Beck into a stall and then quickly blew through a high double for a final takedown to lead 10-4 with 1:31 in riding time after one period. Suriano chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to an 11-4 lead. He picked up two more takedowns before working leg control into a turn and two back points. Leading 17-5, Suriano rode Beck out and carried that lead, with 2:45 in riding time, into the third period. Beck chose down to start the third period and Suriano cut him loose to a 17-6 score. The Lion freshman then took the junior down three more times to post the 23-8 tech fall at the 6:41 mark.
133: Red-shirt freshman Triston Law (Windber, Pa.) met senior Billy Rappo at 133. Law got in on an early single and opened up a 2-0 lead with a takedown at the 2:23 mark. Rappo escaped quickly to a 2-1 score and then worked control in the middle of the mat to his first takedown to take a 3-2 lead with 1:30 on the clock. Law could not break free of a strong Rappo ride, picking up a first stall warning as Rappo rode him out. Leading 3-2 w/ 1:27 in time, Rappo chose down to start the second period. Law controlled the action in the top position, working the riding time edge down below 1:00 and then continuing to work for back points. Rappo was able to keep his stomach parallel to the mat and force two resets before escaping to a 4-2 score with :55 on the clock. Rappo worked a high double into a scramble that ended with a pin at the 4:45 mark.
141: Senior Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), ranked No. 11 at 141, took on Ryan Diehl. Gulibon worked in the middle of the mat early, forcing Diehl backwards with a number of slight shots. Diehl countered a low Gulibon shot for the bout's first takedown at the 1:17 mark to open up an early 2-0 lead. Gulibon escaped to a 2-1 score with :50 left and quickly turned into the Terrapin. The Lion senior turned a high inside single into a takedown and a 3-2 lead with :18 left in the period. Leading 3-2, Gulibon chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 4-2 lead. He fought off Diehl head control with 1:30 on the clock and turned a low single into a scramble and a takedown at the 1:02 mark to open up a 6-2 lead. Gulibon rode Diehl out and led 6-2 with :52 in riding time after two periods. Diehl chose down to start the third period and Gulibon maintained control until the 1:31 mark before cutting the Terrapin loose to a 6-3 score. The Lion senior chased Diehl down for third takedown and an 8-4 lead, cutting him loose with :13 left. Gulibon posted the 9-4 decision with 1:30 in riding time.
149: Junior Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 149, met Adam Whitesell. Retherford took Whitesell down just ten seconds in and then turned him for four quick back points to lead 6-0 less than :40 into the bout. Retherford maintained control for over 1:00, trying to tilt the Terrapin before Whitesell escaped to a 6-1 score. Retherford countered a quick Whitesell shot, took him down and cut him, then added another quick takedown to lead 10-2. The Lion junior rode Whitesell out to lead 10-2 with 2:25 in time after one period. Retherford chose down to start the second period, escaped, and then blew through a shot for another takedown just :10 into the period. He quickly locked Whitesell up on his shoulders and got the fall at the 3:17 mark.
157: Sophomore Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 157, battled Justin Alexander. Nolf instigated an early scramble, fought off an Alexander counter attempt, and picked up the bout's first takedown at the 2:20 mark to lead 2-0. Alexander escaped to a 2-1 score and Nolf quickly took him down, turned him to his back and picked up the pin at the 1:27 mark.
165: Red-shirt freshman Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 4 at 165, faced off against Patrick Gerish. Joseph forced an early scramble, nearly taking the Terrapin down. Gerish countered for a near takedown of his own and then Joseph scrambled his way to a stalemate at the 2:10 mark. Joseph roared through a shot at the reset to take a 2-0 lead shortly thereafter. The Lion freshman cut Gerish loose and quickly took him down again to lead 4-1 midway through the opening period. Gerish got hit for a first stall and Joseph cut him loose to a 4-2 score. Joseph picked up a point on a second stall and then turned a high single into a takedown and a 7-2 lead with :20 left. He finished the period on top to lead by five with 1:37 in riding time. Joseph chose down to start the second, quickly escaped and then took Gerish down again. He cut the Terrapin loose, picked up another takedown and then locked up a cradle for a pin at the 3:58 mark.
174: True freshman Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), ranked No. 7 at 174, met Josh Ugalde. The Lion freshman picked up a quick takedown to open up a -20 lead. He then used leg control to turn the Terrapin to his back for four near fall points and a 6-0 lead. After a quick reset, Hall locked up a cradle and grabbed Penn State's fourth straight pin, this one at the 1:14 mark.
184: Sophomore Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 2 at 184, battled Idris White. Nickal turned a high double into a scramble early but White was able to stabilize and keep the action neutral early on. Nickal continued to press, nearly turning an ankle pick into a lead. White stayed neutral but Nickal then countered a low White shot to lead 2-1 after cutting the Terrapin loose midway through the period. Nickal used a high single to open up a 4-2 lead and then tacked on one more takedown. This time, Nickal let up just enough for White to get to his feet and then turned him to his back with a lightning quick move, picking up Penn State's fifth pin in a row at the 2:08 mark.
197: Junior Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), ranked No. 9 at 197, faced off against freshman David-Brian Whisler. McCutcheon forced Whisler to play defense over the first minute-plus, forcing the Terrapin into a stall warning in the process. Whisler took a 2-1 lead with a quick shot and takedown with :20 on the clock and carried that one point lead into the second period. McCutcheon chose down to start the second period quickly escaped to a 2-2 tie. The McCutcheon turned a high single into a scramble in front of the scorer's table. He worked his way into control of Whisler but the duo rolled out of bounds, forcing a reset with 1:00 on the clock. Tied 2-2, Whisler chose down to start the third period. McCutcheon was strong on top, breaking the Terrapin down flat and working for a turn on top. McCutcheon built his riding time up to :48 when a dangerous hold forced a reset. The Loin junior managed to push his time edge to 1:00 before Whisler escaped to a 3-2 lead. McCutcheon rallied on a low single for a takedown to lead 4-3 with :30 left and finished the bout on top for a 5-3 win with 1:31 in time.
285: Sophomore Nick Nevills (Clovis, Calif.), ranked No. 3 at 285, took on sophomore Youssif Hemida. Nickal scored quickly, turning a low single into a scramble and a takedown at the 2:26 mark. The Lion sophomore then dominated action on top, building up over 1:00 in riding time while trying to turn Hemida for back points. The Terrapin fought off Nevills' turn attempts but the Lion sophomore maintained offensive control, forcing Hemida into a first stall warning. Nevills broke Hemida down for the rest of the period and led 2-0 with 2: 26 in time after 3:00 of wrestling. Nevills chose down to start the second period, quickly escaped and then took Hemida down for a 5-0 lead with 1:40 on the clock. A second stall put Nevills up 6-0 and action resumed with Nevills in offensive control. Nevills maintained control for the rest of the period and led 6-0 with a clinched riding time point (4:04 in time). Hemida chose down to start the third period and Nevills continued to punish the Terrapin on top. Nevills picked up another point on a third stall to lead 7-1. Nevills cut Hemida loose then connected on a low single. Nevills picked up the takedown with :20 and rode Hemida out to post a 10-1 major with 5:26 in time.
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