Red-shirt freshman Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.) continued to come up big against big-time foes, picking up his fourth win of the year over a ranked wrestler by pinning No. 5 Chad Welch at 165 in the dual's most anticipated match-up.
The dual began at 125 where senior All-American Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), ranked No. 4, rolled over Ben Thornton en route to a 21-6 technical fall at the 3:53 mark. Senior All-American Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.), ranked No. 4 at 133, followed that up with a strong 8-3 decision over Luke Welch. Sophomore Kade Moss (South Jordan, Utah) got the nod at 141 and dominated Purdue senior Danny Sabatello in the third period to post an 11-3 major and put Penn State up 12-0.
Sophomore All-American Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 149, continued Penn State's bonus point show with the team's second technical fall. Retherford took care of Alex Griffin with a 17-1 tech fall at the 6:09 mark. Red-shirt freshman Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 3 at 157, closed out the first half with a third tech fall, using six takedown and two four-point turns to notch the 21-5 tech fall over Doug Welch at the 6:10 mark. Nolf's win put Penn State up 22-0 at intermission.
Rasheed stepped up at 165, taking on No. 5 Welch in one of the dual's most anticipated match-ups. Silencing a capacity crowd expecting a Boilermaker win, Rasheed set the early tempo and took a quick 2-0 lead. The Lion freshman then deftly worked his way into a cradle, locking up the Purdue senior and turning him for a first period pin at the 1:56 mark. Red-shirt freshman Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 1 at 174, continued Penn State's dominance with a 16-1 tech fall over Jacob Morrissey at the 4:58 mark, putting Penn State up 33-0 with three bouts remaining.
Junior Brian Brill (Lock Haven, Pa.) made his Penn State dual meet debut, stepping in at 184, and kept Penn State's perfect dual alive with a strong 11-78 decision over Purdue's Tanner Lynde. Senior All-American Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 1 at 197, made short work of senior Drake Stein, getting a first period fall at the 1:33 mark to put Penn State up 42-0. At heavyweight, true freshman Jan Johnson (Mohnton, Pa.) lost a tough 7-4 decision Purdue junior Tyler Kral, and the Lions walked away with a strong 42-3 win.
Penn State moves to 7-0 on the year, 2-0 in Big Ten action, while Purdue falls to 5-2, 0-1 in the conference. The Nittany Lions had seven bonus points, totaling 15 points off two pins, four techs and a major.
The Nittany Lions continue their road weekend at Indiana on Sunday, Jan. 10, at 1 p.m. in Bloomington. Penn State's next home meet will be on January 15 when the Nittany Lions host Nebraska at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall. With the remaining Rec Hall duals already at seated capacity, a limited number of Standing Room Only tickets (SROs) can be purchased for each of those duals as well. Rec Hall SROs may only be purchased by calling 1-800-NITTANY and are $15 per person. A limited number of tickets to Penn State's second BJC Dual, Feb. 5 vs. Ohio State, are available but disappearing fast. BJC Dual tickets are $16 for adults and $8 for youth (12-and-under) and can be purchased via www.GoPSUsports.com/accountmanager or by calling 1-800-NITTANY
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 2015-16 Penn State wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here.
Results:
125: #4 Nico Megaludis PSU tech fall Ben Thornton PUR, 21-6 (TF; 7:00) / 5-0
133: #4 Jordan Conaway PSU dec. Luke Welch PUR, 8-3 / 8-0
141: Kade Moss PSU maj. dec. Danny Sabatello PUR, 11-3 / 12-0
149: #1 Zain Retherford PSU tech fall Alex Griffin PUR, 17-1 (6:09) / 17-0
157: #3 Jason Nolf PSU tech fall Doug Welch PUR, 21-5 (6:10) / 22-0
165: Shakur Rasheed PSU pinned #5 Chad Welch PUR, WBF (1:56) / 28-0
174: #1 Bo Nickal PSU tech fall Tanner Lynde PUR, 16-1 (TF; 4:58) / 33-0
184: Brian Brill PSU dec. Tanner Lynde PUR, 11-7 / 36-0
197: #1 Morgan McIntosh PSU pinned Drake Stein PUR, WBF (1:33) / 42-0
285: Tyler Kral PUR dec. Jan Johnson PSU, 7-4 / 42-3
Attendance: 1,850
Records: Penn State 7-0, 2-0 B1G; Purdue 5-2, 0-1 B1G
Up Next for Penn State: at Indiana, Sunday, Jan. 10, 1 p.m.
BOUT-BY-BOUT:
125: Senior All-American Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), ranked No. 4 at 125, took on Ben Thornton. Megaludis quickly got in on a low single and scored to take a 2-0 lead out of the gates. Thornton escaped and gained control of Megaludis briefly but the Lion was able to force a stalemate leading 2-1. Nico forced Thornton's shoulders to the mat and worked his way around for a second takedown and then put together a strong ride, building up over a minute in riding time and picking up another point on two stall warnings. The ride out allowed the Lion senior to lead 5-1 with 1:46 in time after one period. Nico chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 6-1 lead. He then used a quick ankle pick to up his lead to 8-1 at the 1:30 mark. Megaludis cut Thornton and quickly took him down again, jumping over his shoulders for a 10-2 lead. Leading 11-3 after another stall point and a Thornton escape, Megaludis finished off the second period with another takedown, a stall point and a ride out to lead 14-3 with 2:42 in riding time. Thornton chose down to start the third and escaped, only to be quickly taken down by Megaludis again. The Lion senior added two more takedowns and a ride out to post the 21-6 technical fall at the 7:00 mark.
133: Senior All-American Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.), ranked No. 4 at 133, met Purdue's Luke Welch. Conaway took Welch down quickly to lead 2-0 with just over a minute gone in the opening period and then controlled the action from the top position for over a minute before Welch escaped to a 2-1 score. Conaway carried that lead into the second period. Conaway chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 3-1 lead. He then turned a brief scramble into a takedown and 5-1 lead with 1:00 left in the middle stanza. He rode Welch out and led 5-1 with 2:02 in riding time after two periods. Welch chose down to start the third stanza and Conaway continued to dominate from the top position. Conway clinched the riding time point and then cut Welch loose to a 5-2 score with 1:00 on the clock. Conaway turned a low single into another takedown and cut to lead 7-3 with :30. He then quickly used a head outside single to force a scramble but could not notch the major clinching takedown and posted the 8-3 win with 3:07 in time.
141: Sophomore Kade Moss (South Jordan, Utah) faced off against Purdue's Danny Sabatello at 141. Moss battled the Purdue senior evenly for the first half of the opening period, fighting off one solid Sabatello shot in the process. Moss stepped in on a Sabatello shot at the 1:00 mark, forcing a stalemate and a reset with the score still 0-0. Moss nearly connected on a single leg but Sabatello fought it off and then notched the period's lone takedown at the :27 mark to lead 2-0 after one period. Moss chose neutral to start the second period and then gave up a first stall warning. He fought off a Sabatello body lock and then used his own lock and throw to put Sabatello to the mat to tie the bout at 2-2 with just under a minute left in the middle stanza. Moss rode Sabatello out to send the bout to the third tied 2-2. Sabatello chose neutral to start the third period and Moss made the Boilermaker pay with a body lock and throw for six points on the takedown and four point near fall. Moss dominated the action from the top long enough to build up over 1:00 in riding time. Sabatello escaped off a reset to an 8-3 score with :38 on the clock. Moss countered a Sabatello throw attempt for another takedown to lead 10-3. With the riding time point clinched, Moss rode the Boiler out to post the 11-3 major with 1:33 in riding time.
149: Sophomore All-American Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 149, met Purdue's Alex Griffin. Retherford quickly took Griffin down for a 2-0 early before action was stopped for blood time. Retherford built up a solid riding time edge before cutting him to a 2-1 score. The Lion sophomore picked up a second takedown on the edge of the mat and then worked his riding time advantage up to 2:10 with a ride out and led 4-1 after one. Retherford chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 5-1 lead. Retherford drove through a double leg takedown to up his lead to 7-1 with 1:15 left in the period. He then turned the Boilermaker for four near fall points and an 11-1 lead with :25 on the clock. Retherford led 11-1 with a clinched bonus point after two and Griffin chose neutral to start the third. Retherford quickly took him down for a 13-1 lead and then turned Griffin for four final back points to post the 17-1 technical fall at the 6:09 mark.
157: Red-shirt freshman Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 3 at 157, met Boilermaker senior Doug Welch. The duo battled evenly for the first minute plus. With action bogging down at the 1:21 mark, Nolf blazed through a low double leg for the opening takedown off a reset and then cut Welch loose quickly to a 2-1 score. He added a second takedown just seconds later and cut Welch loose to a 4-2 score. Nolf got back in on Welch's legs but could not finish off the takedown and led 4-2 with :32 in time after one. Nolf chose down to start the second stanza steadily worked his way to his feet and an escape for a 5-2 lead with 1:40 on the clock. Nolf forced a stall warning and then zipped behind Welch for another takedown and a 7-2 lead with 1:00 left to wrestle. He turned Welch for four back points to lead 11-2 with 1:14 in time after two. Welch chose down to start the third period and escaped to an 11-3 score. Nolf scored quickly on a double leg takedown to up his lead to 13-3 with 1:45 on the clock. He cut Welch loose and then added two more takedowns before turning Welch for four back point to post the 21-5 tech fall at the 6:10 mark.
165: Red-shirt freshman Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.) took on No. 5 Chad Welch of Purdue at 165 in one of the dual's most anticipated match-ups. Rasheed got in on an early shot, forcing a scramble that nearly ended in a Lion takedown. But the Midlands champion was able to force a stalemate at the 2:15 mark. Rasheed used a strong low double to open up a 2-0 lead at the 1:44 mark. He then steadily worked his way into a cradle, locking it up and working the fifth-ranked Welch to his back. A quick adjustment led to Rasheed getting the quick first period pin at the 1:56 mark, notching his fourth win over a ranked wrestler.
174: Red-shirt freshman Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 1 at 174, faced off against Jacob Morrissey. N Nickal scored quickly, taking Morrissey down for a an early lead. He then steadily worked in to control of a power half. He nearly gave up an escape, regained control on the edge of the mat and picked up four back points before action moved out of bounds. Morrissey escaped to a 6-1 score off a reset with :40 on the clock. Nickal, however, continued to pour on the offense. He used a solid high single for another takedown and led 8-1 after one period. Nickal chose down to start the second period and deftly rolled his way into a reversal to up his lead to 10-1. Nickal tacked on two more near fall points to lead 12-1, reset himself and picked up the final four point turn to post the 16-1 tech fall at the 4:58 mark.
184: Junior Brian Brill (Lock Haven, Pa.) made his dual meet debut at 184 and met junior Tanner Lynde. Brill shot first, forced a scramble that had both men nearly score, and then finished off the move for himself to open up a 2-0 lead at the 2:43 mark. Brill controlled the action from the top position, building up a riding time edge and then turning the Boilermaker for two back points and a 4-0 lead. Lynde reversed the Lion with just :20 on the clock and Brill led 4-2 after one period. He chose down to start the second stanza and steadily worked his way to an escape and a 5-2 lead with 2:09 in riding time. Lynde cut the lead to 5-4 with a takedown on the edge of the mat with :35 left in the middle period. Brill answered with his own reversal and then rode Lynde out to lead 7-4 lead with 2:15 in riding time. Lynde chose down to start the third period. Lynde escaped and then quickly took Brill down to tie the match a 7-7 but Brill had the time edge. Lynde cut Brill loose and Brill made him pay, working his way around for a takedown to up his lead to 10-7 with :50 on the clock. With the riding time point clinched, Brill dominated action from the top and, with the riding time point, posted the 11-7 win to keep Penn State's shut-out intact.
197: Senior All-American Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 1 at 197, took on senior Drake Stein. McIntosh scored quickly, taking Stein down at the 2:12 mark to lead 2-1 early. He quickly added a second and then turned Stein for back points. Stein put up a brief fight, but McIntosh got the quick first period pin, getting the fall at the 1:33 mark.
285: True freshman Jan Johnson (Mohnton, Pa.) met Purdue's Tyler Kral. Kral got the bout's first takedown to lead 2-0 early. He then controlled Johnson from the top position, building up over a minute's worth of riding time. Johnson worked hard to escape but Kral was able to maintain his top position until the Lion freshman reversed the junior to tie the bout at 2-2. Kral escaped to a 3-2 lead and action resumed with :30 on the clock. Trailing 3-2, Johnson chose down to start the second period. Kral was able to control action long enough to build up over 2:00 in riding time and a reset was called at the 1:24 mark. Kral was called for stalling once before Johnson escaped to a 3-3 tie, with Kral owning 2:52 in riding time. Tied 3-3, Kral chose down to start the third period and escaped to a 4-3 lead with a clinched riding time point. Johnson shot low but Kral countered and picked up a takedown to lead 6-3 at the 1:30 mark. Johnson escaped to a 6-4 score and then got in on a low single. But Kral forced a scramble and action moved out of bounds with :04 on the clock. Kral posted the 7-4 win with 3:14 in riding time.
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