Before the final fireworks, head coach Cael Sanderson's crew bolted out to an early lead thanks to No. 2 Nico Megaludis (Murrsyville, Pa.) at 125. Megaludis rolled to a 19-6 major over Brenan Lyon and the Nittany Lions were up 4-0 early. Red-shirt freshman Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.) remained unbeaten in dual meets with a 7-2 win over Brandon Fifield at 133 and senior Bryan Pearsall (Lititz, Pa.) notched a 10-2 major over MSU's Nick Trimble to up Penn State's lead to 11-0. Senior James English (York, Pa.) was outstanding at 149, posting a 6-0 shut-out over MSU senior Dan Osterman. Classmate James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) then brought another sell-out crowd to its feet with a 6-4 win over No. 19 David Cheza of Michigan State. Vollrath's win sent Penn State into intermission with a 17-0 lead.
Two-time All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) continued Penn State's day with a first period pin, getting the fall at the 1:37 mark over Spartan Nick Proctor. Sophomore Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah), ranked No. 3 at 174, put on a takedown show in a 22-7 technical fall win over Jordan Wohlfert. Two-time All-American Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) matched teammate Taylor with a pin at the 1:37 mark as well, this one over MSU's John Rizqallah at 184. Three-time All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) posted a 13-4 major over Luke Jones at 197, leading to the night's capstone victory. Gingrich put the finishing touches on a 41-0 shut-out with a thrilling 5-3 win over No. 4 Michael McClure at heavyweight. Tied 1-1 late in the third period, Gingrich bored through on a high double, took McClure down and to his back for two near fall points, and walked away with a 5-3 win. The victory was Gingrich's second over a top-ten Big Ten foe to secure a shut-out (Gingrich also downed No. 8 Adam Chalfant of Indiana to secure PSU's shutout over the Hoosiers in December.
The Nittany Lions owned the dual, posting a 33-1 advantage in takedowns. The shut-out is Penn State's second of the year, both in Big Ten duals. The MSU blanking marks the first time in school history the team has notched two shut-outs in Big Ten dual meets in the same season. In two duals, Penn State is now 20-0, outscoring its conference foes 93-0 and collecting a 60-2 takedown advantage. Penn State moves to 5-0, 2-0 B1G, while Michigan State falls to 4-6, 0-3 B1G.
Penn State now preps for a busy Big Ten weekend. The Nittany Lions host Wisconsin on Friday, Jan. 18, at 7 p.m. Penn State then treks to Purdue for its first conference road dual on Sunday, Jan. 20, at 1 p.m. Penn State's full season of home duals is sold out but limited Standing Room Only tickets are available for select dual meets. For information on which duals have a limited number of SRO tickets available and to purchase tickets, fans can call 1-800-NITTANY or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office windows from 10 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at www.twitter.com/pennstateWREST and on Penn State Wrestling's facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling. The 2012-13 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
Results:
125: #2 Nico Megaludis PSU maj. dec. Brenan Lyon MSU, 19-6 4-0
133: Jordan Conaway PSU dec. Brandon Fifield MSU, 7-2 7-0
141: Bryan Pearsall PSU maj. dec. Nick Trimble MSU, 10-2 11-0
149: James English PSU dec. Dan Osterman MSU, 6-0 14-0
157: James Vollrath PSU dec. #19 David Cheza MSU, 6-4 17-0
165: #2 David Taylor PSU pinned Nick Proctor MSU, WBF (1:37) 23-0
174: #3 Matt Brown PSU tech fall Jordan Wohlfert MSU, 22-7 (TF; 6:17) 28-0
184: #1 Ed Ruth PSU pinned John Rizqallah MSU, WBF (1:37) 34-0
197: #3 Quentin Wright PSU maj. dec. Luke Jones MSU, 13-4 38-0
285: Jon Gingrich PSU dec. #4 Michael McClure MSU, 5-3 41-0
Attendance: 6,353
Records: Penn State 5-0, 2-0 Big Ten; Michigan State 4-6, 0-3 Big Ten
Up Next for Penn State: Home vs. Wisconsin, Friday, Jan. 18, 7 p.m. - Rec Hall
BOUT-BY-BOUT:
125: Sophomore All-American Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), ranked No. 2 at 125, took on Spartan junior Brenan Lyon. Megaludis wasted no time taking Lyon down, using a low double to take a 2-1 lead after cutting him loose. The Lion All-American added another takedown and cut to lead 4-2 at the 1:00 mark. Megaludis used a low single to gain control of Lyon's right ankle for a third takedown. This time, he rode Lyon out and carried a 6-2 lead with :43 riding time into the second period. Megaludis chose down to start the second stanza and burst out for a quick escape. He then used a low double to tack on a fourth takedown and led 9-2 midway through the period. Megaludis added two near fall points to lead 11-3 at the :30 mark, tacked on another takedown and led 13-3 with 2:00 riding time after two. Lyon chose down to start the third period and Megaludis cut him loose early. Megaludis tacked on two more takedowns, a stall point and 3:00 riding time to roll to the 19-6 major decision.
133: Red-shirt freshman Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.) faced off against Michigan State's Brandon Fifield at 133. Conaway fought off a quick Fifield shot and countered for a takedown of his own and an early lead. The freshman nearly turned Fifield for back points but the Spartan was able to keep the count to a one count and Conaway's lead held firm at 2-0 at the 1:00 mark. Conaway put together a strong ride out and carried that lead, plus 1:53 riding time, into the second. Conaway chose down to start the second period and worked his way to a reversal and a 4-0 lead with :45 on the clock. Another ride out and Conaway lead 4-0 with 1:31 RT after two. Fifield took down to start the third period and Conaway immediately began looking for a chance to turn the Spartan wrestler. Conway maintained control long enough to clinch a riding time point before Fifield escaped. Fifield shot low on Conaway, forcing a scramble that worked the clock down to :42 before a stalemate ended the action. Conaway tacked on another takedown and, with the riding time point, rolled to a 7-2 win. Conaway remained undefeated in dual meet action.
141: Senior Bryan Pearsall (Lititz, Pa.) met MSU freshman Nick Trimble at 141. Pearsall notched the first takedown of the match, turning an early shot into a scramble and a 2-0 lead at the 2:00 mark. The Lion senior put together a strong ride, maintaining control and looking for a chance to turn Trimble in the process. Pearsall turned Trimble at the end of the period and led 5-0 with over 2:00 riding time after the opening period. Pearsall chose down to start the second stanza and quickly escaped to a 6-0 lead. Pearsall then picked up one more takedown and led 8-0 heading into the third. Trimble chose down to start the third period and reversed Pearsall to cut the lead to 8-2. But Pearsall had a riding time point clinched and then escaped to a 9-2 lead. Pearsall then fought off a late Trimble shot to kill the clock. With 2:18 riding time, Pearsall posted the 10-2 major and put Penn State up 11-0 in the dual.
149: Nittany Lion senior James English (York, Pa.) took on Spartan senior Dan Osterman at 149. English countered an early Osterman shot and led 2-0 at the 1:17 mark. The York native then put together a strong ride, building up over 1:00 riding time while working for a chance to turn Osterman. English's ride out gave the Nittany Lion a 2-0 lead with 1:17 riding time after the first period. English chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 3-0 lead. The duo then traded shots for the remainder of the period with neither man finding an opening to score. Trailing 3-0, Osterman chose neutral to start the third. English nearly scored out of the gates but Osterman was able to fight the shot off. The Lion senior continued to pressure Osterman and then countered an Osterman shot for a final, bout clinching takedown. With 1:08 in riding time, English posted the convincing 6-0 decision.
157: Penn State junior James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) battled No. 19 David Cheza in a key bout at 157. Cheza had the first chance to open up the scoring with a high single :30 in. But Vollrath was able to work his way out of trouble and keep the bout scoreless early on. Vollrath then worked in on a single leg, but Cheza was able to counter and open up the scoring to take a 2-1 lead after a quick Vollrath escape. Leading by one, Cheza told down to start the second period. Vollrath maintained control for :30 before the ranked Spartan escaped to a 3-1 lead. With 1:10 on the clock, Vollrath worked in on a high single and finished off the takedown to tie the bout at 3-3. Cheza quickly escaped to lead 4-3 with :45 on the clock. Trailing by one, Vollrath chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 4-4 tie. The duo battled evenly for the next minute-plus, the score still tied at 4-4. With :20 left, Vollrath turned a low single into a bout clinching takedown and brought the Penn State crowd to its feet with a 6-4 win over the ranked Cheza.
165: Two-time All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), ranked No. 2 at 165, met Michigan State's Nick Proctor. Taylor quickly opened up a 4-1 lead with a takedown and two nearfall points. After the escape, Taylor notched another takedown and led 6-1 just over a minute in. Taylor cut Proctor loose again, worked into a takedown and then ended the match. Taylor worked into a cradle and got the first period pin at the 1:37 mark and put Penn State up 23-0.
174: Sophomore Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah), ranked No. 3 at 174, took on Spartan freshman Jordan Wohlfert. Brown wasted no time opening up an early lead, using a low double on the edge of the mat to take Wohlfert down and lead 2-0. Brown then put together a dominating ride, building up :57 in riding time before cutting Wohlfert loose. But less than :05 after cutting him, Brown worked his way around for another takedown and a 4-2 lead. Brown notched a third takedown and led 6-3 after a Wohlfert escape at the 1:10 mark. A fourth takedown put Brown up 8-4. Another takedown for the Nittany Lion and Brown led 10-4 with more than 2:00 riding time after a furious first period. Wohlfert took down to start the second stanza and escaped to a 10-5 deficit. He took a single leg but Brown quickly countered and turned the Spartan to his back for a takedown and three near fall points to lead 15-5 at the 1:09 mark. Brown cut Wohlfert loose with :30 left and tacked on another takedown as the period ended to lead 17-6 with 3:24 in riding time. Brown chose down to start the third period and escaped to an 18-6 lead. With the riding time point clinched, Brown added another takedown with 1:15 on the clock to up his lead to 20-6. One more cut and Brown ended the match with another takedown, getting the 22-7 technical fall at the 6:17 mark.
184: Two-time All-American Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 184, faced Michigan State sophomore John Rizqallah. Ruth scrambled his way to an early takedown and led 2-0 at the 2:10 mark. Ruth began working for a chance to finish off a cradle and hit the mark. After a brief ride, Ruth worked his way into his patented pinning move and got the fall at the 1:37 mark, putting Penn State up 34-0.
197: Three-time All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.), ranked No. 3 at 197, battled Luke Jones. Wright got the first takedown early, taking a 2-0 lead on the edge of the mat. Jones worked his way to an escape and action moved to the center circle with the Nittany Lion senior up 2-1. Wright countered a Jones single leg and picked up his second takedown with 1:40 left in the opening period. Two near fall points later and Wright led 6-1 with :45 on the clock. After a Jones escape, Wright used a high shot to force the Spartan to the mat for another takedown to lead 8-2 with 1:31 riding time after one period. Wright chose down to start the second period and steadily worked his way to a reversal and a 10-2 lead. Jones escaped to a 10-3 deficit before the period ended but Wright had 1:20 in riding time. Jones chose down to start the third period and Wright cut him loose to a 10-4 score. Wright blasted through a high double to up his lead to 12-4 with :45 on the clock. After clinching the riding time point, Wright then rode Jones out to roll to the 13-4 major decision (with 2:13 in time).
285: Sophomore Jon Gingrich (Wingate, Pa.) took to the mat to face off with No. 4 Michael McClure of Michigan State, who carried a 20-1 record into the dual (an MSU best). Gingrich and McClure battled through an even first minute, with the Lion sophomore forcing McClure to the edge of the mat early on. McClure took a high single at the 1:30 mark but Gingrich stepped back out of trouble and kept the bout scoreless. Tied 0-0 after one period, Gingrich chose down to start the second period. He quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead action returned to the center circle. McClure took his second shot of the match at the 1:00 mark and Gingrich was called for stalling. With Gingrich leading 1-0, McClure took down to start the final stanza. A quick MSU escape and the bout was tied again, this time at 1-1. Gingrich then brought the crowd to its feet by blowing through a high double for a takedown and two near fall points to lead 5-1 at the :50 mark. McClure managed an escape but Gingrich's fast offense was all the Lion needed. With a stall point to McClure, Gingrich thrilled the 6,300 plus with a 5-3 win over the fourth-ranked Spartan.
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