The match began at 197 in, perhaps, the evening's most anticipated match-up. Penn State's two-time All-American, Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.) met Ohio State All-American J.D. Bergman. Davis entered the bout ranked No. 3 nationally while Bergman was ranked No. 7. The two All-Americans spent the first two minutes feeling out the other's game plan. Bergman was working for more openings high on Davis' body while Davis was looking to shoot low. At the :30 mark, Bergman got a hold of Davis right leg and spent the half minute working to get Davis down. But as time wound down, Davis held off the move and, with two seconds left, spun around behind Bergman and got a takedown as the period ended to go up 2-0 after one period. Up 2-0, Davis chose down to start the second and spend the first :30 working on a reversal to go up 4-0. After a Bergman escape, Davis kept up his relentless offense and took Bergman down again, high on his torso. Using his strength, Davis proceeded to push Bergman over to his back. After less than :20 of work, Davis adjusted his weight and got a thrilling and convincing pin at the 4:18 mark. The win gave Penn State an early 6-0 lead and improved Davis to 17-1 on the year. Bergman fell to 15-5.
Nittany Lion senior Aaron Anspach (Columbia, Pa.) took on Buckeye Corey Morrison at heavyweight. Anspach, ranked No. 12, put together a dominating first period. Two takedowns in the first two minutes had the Penn State co-captain up 4-2 early. With :40 left, Anspach added another takedown and proceeded to put together a very nice ride, keeping control of Morrison for the remainder of the period to lead 6-2 with 1:10 in riding time after one period. Anspach chose down to start the second stanza and quickly escaped to a 7-2 lead. Anspach then countered a low Morrison shot on the edge of the mat for another takedown and went up 9-3 after a Morrison escape. After a reset, Anspach pushed Morrison backwards and got another takedown to increase his lead to 11-4 after two periods. Morrison chose down to start the third period but found the going tough as Anspach continued to dominate from the top position. Morrison did escape, but not until Anspach had a 2:25 riding time edge. Needing on more takedown to get a major decision, Anspach's relentless offense began to wear down Morrison. Anspach got another takedown at with less than a minute left to go up 13-5 with a riding time point guaranteed as well. The Nittany Lion senior would maintain control for the rest of the period and post a 14-5 major decision. Penn State went up 10-0 with the win and Anspach improved to 11-2. Morrison fell to 10-14.
At 125, Penn State's Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.) met Will Livingston of Ohio State. McKnight, ranked No. 5 in the country, got the first takedown of the bout at the 2:00 mark to go up 2-1 after a Livingston escape. Forty seconds later, McKnight added a second takedown and allowed Livingston up to lead 4-2. Livingston nearly took McKnight down with :25 left, but McKnight spun out of the near takedown and got in on Livingston himself. The Buckeye freshman fought off McKnight's efforts, however, and McKnight led 4-2 after one period. McKnight chose down to start the second period. Livingston put together a nice ride, working McKnight long enough to build up over a minutes worth of riding time. McKnight did escape with :06 left and, keeping hold of Livingston's wrist, held the Buckeye's hand down to the mat, spun around and got a takedown with :01 left. The quick move put McKnight up 7-2 after two periods. Livingston chose down to start the final period and quickly escaped to a 7-3 deficit. McKnight, beginning to get his offense going, got another takedown to up his lead to 9-3 with 1:38 left to wrestle. Livingston reversed McKnight to cut the lead to 10-5 after a McKnight escape. Livingston added another takedown with :01 left but the final flurry was not enough as McKnight posted a 10-8 decision (Livingston got a riding time point). The win put the Nittany Lions up 13-0 and improved McKnight's record to 17-2. Livingston fell to 13-11.
Penn State sophomore Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.), ranked No. 8 at 133, met Ohio State's T.J. Enright. After nearly three minutes of scoreless wrestling, Enright got on the board with just :07 left, getting a nice takedown to lead 2-0 after one period. Strayer chose down to begin the second period and quickly escaped to a 2-1 deficit. With renewed offensive vigor, Strayer began setting the tempo. Enright managed to block off each of Strayer's shots. Strayer, however, countered an Enright shot and, after working around from in front of the Buckeye, got his first takedown at the :32 mark to take a 3-2 lead. Strayer maintained control for the rest of the period to lead 3-2 after two periods. Enright chose down to start the third stanza and escaped to tie the bout at 3-3 with 1:51 left in the bout. After a scramble in the middle of the mat, Strayer got a takedown to take the lead and, using his back and legs, turned Enright over for two near fall points. With a riding time point added, Strayer got an 8-3 decision to put Penn State up 16-0. Strayer moved to 17-3 with the win while Enright fell to 8-4.
At 141, Nittany Lion junior Bryan Heller (Fair Haven, N.J.) took on Ohio State's J Jaggers. A wild scramble to start the bout saw Heller nearly take Jaggers to his back, then Jaggers nearly takedown Heller, ended in a stalemate. Still, the action set the tempo for the bout. Jaggers got in on Heller's right leg with 1:30 left and deftly turned the Lion junior to his back. After just a few seconds of work, Jaggers got the pin at the 2:05 mark. The six team points cut the Penn State lead to 16-6. Heller fell to 14-6 with the loss while Jaggers improved to 11-6.
The first of three straight freshmen in the Penn State line-up (and four overall) stepped onto the mat at 149 where red-shirt freshman Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) met Ohio State's Lance Palmer, who entered the bout ranked No. 16. Palmer set the early tempo of the bout but could not break through Vallimont's tough early defense. Palmer got the first takedown at the :31 mark but locked his hands in the process. Still, Palmer led 2-1 and continued to ride Vallimont for the rest of the period to hold that lead heading into the second period. Vallimont chose down to start the second period. Palmer got up high on Vallimont, however, and after :40 Vallimont was able to shake free of the ranked Buckeye and get a reversal to take a 3-2 lead. After the nice move, Vallimont proceeded to put together an exceptional ride, erasing over a minute's worth of riding time and riding Palmer out. Trailing 3-2, Palmer chose down to start the final period. Vallimont managed to maintain control long enough work up over a minute's worth of time himself. With :55 left, Vallimont nearly turned Palmer over and continued his strong work on top. Palmer scrambled from the bottom position but could not break free and the Nittany Lion red-shirt freshman posted an outstanding 4-2 upset win over the ranked Buckeye. The victory put Penn State up 19-6 and improved Vallimont's record to 13-7. Palmer fell to 17-11.
True freshman Bubba Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va.) met Ohio State's Jason Johnstone at 157. Jenkins wasted no time, getting a takedown less than :30 in to lead 2-1 after a Johnstone escape. Jenkins added another takedown to up his lead to 4-1 and put together enough of a ride to build up a 1:04 riding time edge before Johnstone escaped. The first-year grappler continued to set the tone for the remainder of the period and held the 4-2 lead after the first three minutes. Johnstone chose down to begin the second period and escaped after :30 of work. Jenkins countered a slight Johnstone shot and, after grabbing his left ankle, finished the nice move for a two-point takedown to lead 6-3. Johnstone, however, reversed the Lion freshman with :10 left to cut the lead to 6-5 after two periods. Jenkins chose down to begin the third period and escaped to a 7-5 lead. Jenkins also held 1:24 in riding time. Johnstone got in on Jenkins' right leg, but the Lion freshmen used outstanding strength to fight through the move and eventually work around for two points of his own. With just :40 left, Jenkins held a 9-5 lead and a guaranteed riding time point. Johnstone would escape before the bout ended, but Jenkins would post a convincing 10-6 win, his first in a Big Ten dual. The victory gave the Nittany Lions a 22-6 lead and improved Jenkins to 16-6 on the year. Johnstone fell to 13-12.
At 165, true freshman Dave Rella (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) met No. 16 Chris Vondruska of Ohio State. Rella had the first scoring attempt, getting in on a high single leg at the edge of the mat. But Vondruska fought off Rella's effort to force a reset at the 1:45 mark. Rella continued to set the offensive tempo, forcing the ranked Buckeye wrestler to the edge of the mat and forcing a first stall warning at the :49 mark. The first period ended scoreless and Vondruska chose down to begin the middle stanza. The Buckeye graduate student quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. Rella's constant offensive pressure forced Vondruska into a second stall call, tying the bout up at 1-1 with :50 left in the second period. Tied at 1-1 after two periods, Rella chose down to start the final stanza. After Vondruska nearly turned Rella, the Lion true freshman escaped to a 2-1 lead with 1:25 left to wrestle. With :45 left, Vondruska quickly spun around Rella on the edge of the mat to get the bout's first takedown and take a 3-2 lead. With :35 left, Rella needed an escape to tie the bout and sent the action into a sudden victory period. But the veteran Buckeye grappler managed to ride Rella out and, with a riding time point, post a hard-fought 4-2 win. The decision cut the substantial Nittany Lion lead to 22-9 and improved Vondruska to 21-8 on the year. Rella fell to 18-7.
Nittany Lion All-American James Yonushonis (Philipsburg, Pa.), ranked No. 7 at 174, met Buckeye Tommy Priestley in the next bout. Wasting no time, Yonushonis got an initial takedown just seconds in to lead 2-1 early. The senior added three more takedowns, including one at the buzzer, to lead 8-3 after one period. Priestly chose down to start the second stanza, only to have Yonushonis maintain control long enough to build up a sizeable riding time edge. Working well on to, Yonushonis held Priestley down until the :30 mark, building up a 2:01 riding time edge. With :10 left, Yonushonis got in on Priestley's left leg and finished the move with a strong takedown to lead 10-4 after two periods. Holding the lead and a solid time edge, Yonushonis chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to an 11-4 lead. Working towards a major, Yonushonis got a takedown with :20 left to go up 13-4. With the bonus point, Yonushonis got the 14-4 major to put Penn State up 26-9 and improve his record to 23-3. Priestley fell to 2-3.
The evening's final match-up featured Penn State red-shirt freshman Mike Ward (Mayfield, Ohio) taking on OSU freshman Mike Pucillo, who entered the bout ranked No. 3 in the country. Ward and Pucillo wrestled evenly throughout the entire first period, with the Nittany Lion wrestler grappling the No. 3-ranked Buckeye to a 0-0 tie after three minutes. Pucillo chose down to start the third period. After a stall warning on Ward, Pucillo did escape to take a 1-0 lead with 1:50 to wrestle. Each wrestler had a chance to score in the second period, but neither man could break through the other's defense and Pucillo held a 1-0 lead after two. Ward chose down to start the second and quickly escaped to a 1-1 tie with 1:41 left. Ward, already hit with a stall warning, needed to take shots to avoid giving up the penalty point. Doing just that, Ward put together a nice series of shots but could not score on the undefeated Buckeye grappler. With :45 left, Pucillo broke through Ward's tough defense and got the bout's only takedown. The two point move was enough to give Pucillo a hard fought 3-1 win and keep him undefeated at 14-0 on the year. Ward fell to 14-10. Still, Penn State posted a convincing 26-12 win.
The Nittany Lions won seven of the ten bouts and won the war of bonus points 5-3. The Lions dominated the Buckeyes throughout the match, posting 25 takedowns to OSU's 5 as well. The win improves Penn State to 10-4 overall, 1-2 in Big Ten action. Ohio State falls to 5-4, 1-1 in the Big Ten.
The Nittany Lions host No. 11 Illinois Sunday at 1 p.m. in Rec Hall. Penn State then returns to action next weekend when it hosts its final two dual meets of the season. The Nittany Lions welcome No. 9 Northwestern on Friday night, Feb.2, for a 7 p.m. dual. Penn State then hosts No. 5 Iowa on Sunday, Feb. 4, at 12 p.m. in a FSN-Pittsburgh/WWCP-TV live broadcast. Single-match tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling the Penn State ticket office at 814-863-1000 or 800-833-5533 for more information. Fans can also get tickets at GoPSUsports.com. Single dual prices are $5 per event for adults and $3 per event for youth. All of Penn State's matches can be heard on GoPSUsports.com and in the State College area on WBLF 970 AM.
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