McLean had two chances this weekend to gain retribution for pinfall losses earlier in the season. He accomplished step one on Friday night, defeating Nebraska's No. 16 Tucker Lane and came through on the second step with his 5-2 defeat of Sheaffer on Sunday.
"At the beginning of the year, I was trying really hard to get in my grove," McLean said. "I was a little overanxious and put myself in bad positions. The last couple of weeks, I have stayed in my position and proved to myself that I can compete with the best in the country."
Penn's senior heavyweight was aggressive from the start, taking the majority of the shots in the first period. None were able to score, however, and McLean entered the second period with the score at 0-0.
In the second, McLean started on top and scored immediately with a two-point nearfall. He turned Sheaffer with a crossface cradle, almost earning a pin before Sheaffer rolled over. Sheaffer managed an escape in the second to bring the gap to 2-1 entering the final period. In the third, starting from bottom, McLean escaped with 1:07 to go in the bout. He then shot one more time, rounding to Sheaffers back for two points. Sheaffer did escape with 33 ticks on the clock, but his comeback stalled at that point, securing the win for the McLean.
Gabriel Burak added another solid win for Penn, earning a major decision victory over Phil Sorrentino at 157 pounds. Filling in for injured Matt Dragon, Burak scored an early takedown and then three backpoints for a 5-0 lead after one. Starting neutral in period two, Burak again scored with a takedown, extending his lead. A takedown to start the third period added to Burak's lead and a late reversal from Sorrentino was too late to stop the major as Burak had 3:50 in riding time.
No. 10 Cesar Grajales started the dual, defeating Mark Powell at 149 pounds, 8-3. After Burak's win at 157 gave Penn a 7-0 lead, Ethan Headlee got Pitt on the board with a 6-1 decision over Andrew Coles at 165. Scott Giffin then won a major decision of his own at 174 pounds for Penn, defeating Karl Deciantis, 11-2. At 184, Cory Beaver moved up a weight for Penn, but could not hold off Zac Thomusseit, falling via a major, 11-1.
At 197, Thomas Shovlin needed riding time to defeat Matt Wilps, 5-4. A late second stalling call on Shovlin tied the match, but his 2:20 of advantage time proved the difference.
After McLean's win put Penn in control of the dual, No. 12 Rollie Peterkin iced the win for Penn with a 2-0 victory in a tiebreaker over Chris Albright. The match was an exciting one, with the lightweights shooting and defending throughout regulation and sudden victory. Peterkin managed a reversal in the second tiebreaker for the win.
With the Quakers up by 13 with two bouts to go, Pitts wins from No. 17 Jimmy Conroy (4-1 over Bryan Ortenzio at 133) and No. 10 Tyler Naumann (Fall over Kack Kemmerer at 6:50 at 141) only served to close the gap.
Penn is back in action on Jan. 31 against Hofstra at 1 p.m. in The Palestra.
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