A Battle for the Books: Penn State vs. Oklahoma State
This Sunday at 4 p.m. the No. 1 Nittany Lions travel to Stillwater, OK for the biggest dual matchup college wrestling will see this season against No. 2 Oklahoma State. The two teams face off as a part of the 2017 NWCA Dual Championship Series.
Both teams are undefeated. Both teams have 10 ranked wrestlers in their lineups. All 10 Penn State’s wrestlers are ranked in the top ten. Nine out of 10 Cowboys are ranked in the top 10, according to Intermat rankings.
Penn State is coming off a double-win weekend over Maryland and Illinois. In the team’s last match against Maryland, the weight classes from 149 to 184 put up five pins in a row.
Oklahoma State is also coming off of two wins over Wyoming and Oklahoma. In both matchups the Cowboys only dropped one bout– 285, both times.
The young Nittany Lion line up, including seven underclassmen, will take on the Oklahoma State veterans, including up to four seniors and a junior. Although each individual matchup will be a good one, there are a few that stand out.
No. 1 junior and undefeated Zain Retherford will face No. 2 senior Anthony Collica. Collica has one loss this season. Last year, Retherford beat Collica 4-1 with riding time. Retherford will most likely come out on top again this year.
Another high profile matchup will be No. 7 freshman Mark Hall against No. 9 senior Kyle Crutchmer. The last time the two met was January in the final match of the Southern Scuffle tournament. Hall won 10-3 and proved he could wrestle with the best at a collegiate level. No doubt Crutchmer is out for revenge.
With Penn State’s usual bonus-point winners (Retherford, Nolf and Nickal) going up against tougher competition, the Lions may come up short with those extra points. The big advantage Oklahoma State will have to make up for some of the matches they might drop, is the bonus points that will come from No. 3 Kaid Brock at 133.
Last time, Penn State came out on top with a 29-18 win in Rec Hall on February 21, 2016. The last time the two teams met in Stillwater in 2015, the Cowboys won it 21-18.
The final score is bound to tight again this year.
Matchup Preview:
No. 1 PSU (13-0, 9-0 Big 10) vs. No. 2 OKST (14-0, 6-0 Big 12)
125: PSU #2 Nick Suriano Fr. (16-1) vs. OKST #11 Nick Piccininni Fr. (18-6)
133: PSU George Carpenter So. (1-11) OR Triston Law Fr. (0-2) vs. OKST #3 Kaid Brock Fr. (22-1)
141: PSU #10 Jimmy Gulibon Sr. (13-6) vs. OKST #1 Dean Heil Jr. (23-0)
149: PSU #1 Zain Retherford Jr. (18-0) vs. OKST #2 Anthony Collica Sr. (17-1)
157: PSU #1 Jason Nolf So. (18-0) vs. OKST #6 Joe Smith So. (8-3)
165: PSU #4 Vincenzo Joseph Fr. (13-3) vs. OKST #8 Chandler Rogers So. (17-4)
174: PSU #7 Mark Hall Fr. (23-2) vs. OKST #9 Kyle Crutchmer Sr. (15-4)
184: PSU #2 Bo Nickal So. (17-0) vs. OKST #4 Nolan Boyd Sr. (18-3)
197: PSU #9 Matt McCutcheon Jr. (14-3) vs. OKST #8 Preston Weigel So. (15-4)
285: PSU #3 Nick Nevills So. (15-2) vs. OKST #6 Austin Schafer Sr. (18-1) OR Tanner Allen So. (8-6) OR Derek White So. (17-8)
Both teams are undefeated. Both teams have 10 ranked wrestlers in their lineups. All 10 Penn State’s wrestlers are ranked in the top ten. Nine out of 10 Cowboys are ranked in the top 10, according to Intermat rankings.
Penn State is coming off a double-win weekend over Maryland and Illinois. In the team’s last match against Maryland, the weight classes from 149 to 184 put up five pins in a row.
Oklahoma State is also coming off of two wins over Wyoming and Oklahoma. In both matchups the Cowboys only dropped one bout– 285, both times.
The young Nittany Lion line up, including seven underclassmen, will take on the Oklahoma State veterans, including up to four seniors and a junior. Although each individual matchup will be a good one, there are a few that stand out.
No. 1 junior and undefeated Zain Retherford will face No. 2 senior Anthony Collica. Collica has one loss this season. Last year, Retherford beat Collica 4-1 with riding time. Retherford will most likely come out on top again this year.
Another high profile matchup will be No. 7 freshman Mark Hall against No. 9 senior Kyle Crutchmer. The last time the two met was January in the final match of the Southern Scuffle tournament. Hall won 10-3 and proved he could wrestle with the best at a collegiate level. No doubt Crutchmer is out for revenge.
With Penn State’s usual bonus-point winners (Retherford, Nolf and Nickal) going up against tougher competition, the Lions may come up short with those extra points. The big advantage Oklahoma State will have to make up for some of the matches they might drop, is the bonus points that will come from No. 3 Kaid Brock at 133.
Last time, Penn State came out on top with a 29-18 win in Rec Hall on February 21, 2016. The last time the two teams met in Stillwater in 2015, the Cowboys won it 21-18.
The final score is bound to tight again this year.
Matchup Preview:
No. 1 PSU (13-0, 9-0 Big 10) vs. No. 2 OKST (14-0, 6-0 Big 12)
125: PSU #2 Nick Suriano Fr. (16-1) vs. OKST #11 Nick Piccininni Fr. (18-6)
133: PSU George Carpenter So. (1-11) OR Triston Law Fr. (0-2) vs. OKST #3 Kaid Brock Fr. (22-1)
141: PSU #10 Jimmy Gulibon Sr. (13-6) vs. OKST #1 Dean Heil Jr. (23-0)
149: PSU #1 Zain Retherford Jr. (18-0) vs. OKST #2 Anthony Collica Sr. (17-1)
157: PSU #1 Jason Nolf So. (18-0) vs. OKST #6 Joe Smith So. (8-3)
165: PSU #4 Vincenzo Joseph Fr. (13-3) vs. OKST #8 Chandler Rogers So. (17-4)
174: PSU #7 Mark Hall Fr. (23-2) vs. OKST #9 Kyle Crutchmer Sr. (15-4)
184: PSU #2 Bo Nickal So. (17-0) vs. OKST #4 Nolan Boyd Sr. (18-3)
197: PSU #9 Matt McCutcheon Jr. (14-3) vs. OKST #8 Preston Weigel So. (15-4)
285: PSU #3 Nick Nevills So. (15-2) vs. OKST #6 Austin Schafer Sr. (18-1) OR Tanner Allen So. (8-6) OR Derek White So. (17-8)
