The dual began at 184, where Penn State's Eric Bradley (Plaistow, N.H.) took on Michigan State's Joe Williams, only recently dropping out of the national rankings. Bradley, a returning All-American and ranked No. 1 in the nation, got the dual's first take down less than :30 in to the bout to go up 2-1 after a Williams escape. The two-time defending Big Ten champion followed it up with another takedown at the one-minute mark and rode Williams out for the remainder of the period to head to into the second period up 4-1 with over a minute's riding time. Bradley took down to begin the second, quickly escaped, and then took Williams down to take a commanding 7-2 lead after the Spartan's escape. Williams chose down to begin the third period and escaped after :32, but was taken down and let out by Bradley quickly as the Nittany Lion senior began working for bonus points. One more take down and a 3:08 riding time edge gave Bradley the 12-4 major victory and the Nittany Lions a 4-0 lead. Bradley improved to 4-0 on the year.
Penn State's other returning All-American, sophomore Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.) took the mat at 197 in the dual's next bout, facing Michigan State's Jeff Clemens. Davis, ranked No. 7 in the country, got an early take down to go up 2-1 after the Spartan senior escaped. The duo would battle evenly for the remainder of the period. Davis, up 2-1 heading into the second, took down to begin the period. Davis escaped, Clemens was hit with a second stall warning and Davis took him down again and rode him out to carry a 6-1 lead into the third. Clemens chose down to begin the final period, giving Davis a chance to work on top. Davis would get two back points and build up an insurmountable riding time edge as well. Clemens would avoid the major decision with a last second reversal, but Davis grabbed the 9-3 win and put Penn State up 7-0. Davis improved to 11-3 on the year.
In the heavyweight bout, Penn State senior Joel Edwards (Upper Darby, Pa.) faced Michigan State senior Max Lossen. No. 20 Edwards would fight off a strong Lossen shot and score his down a minute into the bout. Davis would ride Lossen out for the remainder of the period and carry a 2-0 lead with a 2:07 riding time edge into the second. Edwards began the second period down, escaped within seconds and immediately took Lossen down to up his lead to 5-1 after a Lossen escape. Another Edwards escape had the Nittany Lion up 7-1 heading into the final period. Lossen chose down to begin the final stanza and was let up by Edwards. Working for bonus points, Edwards would take down Lossen and let him up again to lead 9-3 with 1:07 left. Edwards took Lossen down one more time and rode the Spartan senior out to post an impressive 12-3 major. The victory put the Nittany Lions up 11-0 and improved Edwards' record to 11-2.
The dual headed back to the top of the line-up with Nittany Lion sophomore Tim Haas (Camp Hill, Pa.) took on one of the nation's best in Michigan State's Nick Simmons at 125. Simmons carried a No. 4 ranking into the bout. Simmons would set the tempo early but would not manage any points off of Haas until a powerful struggle where each wrestler nearly scored a take down resulted in a Simmons take down with :20 left. Up 2-0 to start the second, Simmons chose the top position to begin the next stanza. He would ride Haas for over a minute and get three near fall points as the period wound down and secure a pin with just two seconds left. Simmons' win tightened the team score to 11-6 in Penn State's favor and dropped Haas to 13-5 on the year.
Nittany Lion freshman Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.), ranked No. 9, took on Jeff Wimberly at 133. Strayer got the bout's first takedown with 1:13 left in the first and rode Wimberly out to carry a 2-0 lead and a 1:13 riding time edge entering the second. Strayer chose down to begin the second and quickly escaped to go up 3-0. The talented Nittany Lion freshman would notch another take down with :20 left and ride Wimberly out to a 5-0 lead heading into the final period. Wimberly chose neutral to begin the final period but was taken down by Strayer with 1:10 left. Wimberly would avoid the major with a reversal at the :35 mark, but Strayer would still post a resounding 9-2 win to put Penn State up 14-6. Strayer improved to 15-1 on the year.
The first of three bouts featuring two ranked opponents took place at 141, where No. 9 DeWitt Driscoll (Connellsville, Pa.) of Penn State took on Michigan State's Andy Simmons, ranked No. 4. The bigger of the two Spartan Simmons brothers would post the first takedown :30 into the first period. Driscoll, having been rid for the remainder of the period, would nearly pin Simmons as time ran out but could not quite flatten Simmons shoulders on a near reversal. Simmons, up 2-0 with over two-minutes riding time, chose down to begin the second. Simmons escaped :40 into the period and took Driscoll down and rode him out to take a 5-0 lead into the final period with a 2:45 riding time edge. Driscoll chose down to begin the third but would take 1:10 to escape. Simmons would fight off a number of Driscoll shot attempts to get away with a hard-fought 6-1 win between the two ranked grapplers. Michigan State crept to within 14-9 and Driscoll fell to 10-5.
At 149, two more ranked wrestlers would meet as Penn State senior James Woodall (Dupont, Pa.) ranked No. 10, faced No. 15 Darren McKnight. With the Spartans trying to find their way back into the dual, Woodall would get out to an early 2-1 lead with the bout's first take down. Another hard-fought take down gave Woodall a 4-2 lead after a second McKnight escape with :20 left in the first. Woodall would nearly score a third take down as the first period ended but time expired. Woodall chose down to start the second and escaped within seconds to a 5-2 lead. The duo would fight off each other's attempts for the remainder of the second period and McKnight chose down to begin the third, trailing 5-2. McKnight quickly escaped to cut the heated bout to 5-3. Woodall would fight off a late McKnight shot at tying the bout to get another takedown of his own and post an impressive 7-3 win. The victory upped the Nittany Lion lead to 17-9 and improved Woodall to 6-2 on the year.
Nittany Lion junior Nathan Galloway (State College, Pa.) carried a No. 14 ranking into his 157-pound match-up with Spartan Tony Greathouse, also a junior. After a thrilling takedown, Galloway would quickly plant Greathouse and fight for a pin at the 1:46 mark. The pin, Galloway's second of the year and the 11th of his career, put Penn State up 23-9, clinched the dual, and improved Galloway's record to 10-7.
True freshman David Erwin (Urbana, Ohio), ranked No. 11 at 165, took on MSU's Greg Goidosik in the next bout. Erwin continued his impressive rookie campaign with two quick takedowns to go up 4-2 halfway through the first. Dictating the flow of the bout, Erwin scored another take down and had a 6-3 lead heading into the second period. Goidosik chose down to begin the second and escaped to inch within two, 6-4. Erwin, however, would continue to dominate the bout and go up 8-5 with yet another take down. Erwin began the third in the down position and reversed Goidosik. Erwin would dominate the remainder of the bout and post a thorough 15-7 major decision to put the Lions up 27-9 and up his freshman mark to 19-4.
Nittany Lion junior James Yonushonis (Philipsburg, Pa.), ranked No. 13 in the nation, faced Michigan State's R.J. Boudro, ranked No. 7, at 174 in the night's final bout. Boudro posted the first take down of the bout with :55 seconds left in the first, but Yonushonis quickly escaped to a 2-1 deficit, which is how the first period would end. Yonushonis chose down to start the second and knotted the score with an escape less than ten seconds in. Neither nationally ranked wrestler would manage a take down until Boudro would get Yonushonis on the edge of the mat as the second period ended. Boudro, up 4-2 heading into the third, chose down to start the evening's final period. His escape would increase his lead to 5-2. Yonushonis would pressure Boudro for the remainder of the period, but the talented Spartan senior would hold off the Lion junior and escape with a hard fought 5-2 win. Penn State still posted the impressive 27-12 win while Yonushonis fell to 13-4.
Penn State is now 9-2 on the year, 1-2 in Big Ten action. Michigan State falls to 2-4, 0-1. The Nittany Lions have won six straight duals, five over ranked teams, by a combined score of 164-52 (winning 45 of 60 bouts)
Penn State hosts No. 2 Minnesota on in a 1 p.m. tilt in Rec Hall. The dual will be a CSTV national live-to-tape telecast. Single match tickets can be purchased by visiting the BJC Ticket Center or by calling 814-865-5555 or 800-863-3336. Prices are $5 for adults and $3 for youth and senior citizens. All tickets are available at the door the day of the event as well.
#10 Penn State 27, #18 Michigan State 12
January 27, 2006 - Rec Hall - State College, Pa.
184: #1 Eric Bradley PSU maj. dec. Joe Williams MSU, 12-4 4-0
197: #7 Phil Davis PSU dec. Jeff Clemens MSU, 9-3 7-0
HWT: #20 Joel Edwards maj. dec. Max Lossen MSU, 12-3 11-0
125: #4 Nick Simmons MSU pinned Tim Haas PSU, WBF 4:58 11-6
133: #9 Jake Strayer PSU dec. Jeff Wimberly MSU, 9-2 14-6
141: #4 Andy Simmons MSU dec. #9 DeWitt Driscoll PSU, 6-1 14-9
149: #10 James Woodall PSU dec. #15 Darren McKnight MSU, 7-3 17-9
157: #14 Nathan Galloway PSU pinned Tony Greathouse MSU, WBF 1:46 23-9
165: #11 David Erwin PSU maj. dec. Greg Goidosik MSU, 15-7 27-9
174: #7 R.J. Boudro MSU dec. #13 James Yonushonis PSU, 5-2 27-12
Attendance: 2,974
Records: Penn State 9-2, 1-2 Big Ten; Michigan State 2-4, 0-1 Big Ten
Up Next for PSU: Home vs. No. 1 Minnesota, Sunday, January 29, 2006
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