No. 1 Penn State starts season with shutout over Lock Haven
The much-anticipated 2015-16 Penn State wrestling season has officially begun. On Friday evening, the Nittany Lions wowed a sold out Rec Hall crowd as the team shutout Lock Haven 50-0.
Included in the 10 for 10 matches, were three pins and two tech falls. Back from his red-shirt season, senior No. 2 Nico Megaludis started off the match with a pin in 6:07 minutes over Lock Haven’s redshirt sophomore Jake Field.
Next up, senior No. 8 Jordan Conaway worked for a tech fall in 7:00 over redshirt senior Bobby Rehm. Senior No. 2 Jimmy Gulibon was the only Nittany Lion to face a ranked opponent in the match and defeated Lock Haven’s No. 12 133-pounder Dan Neff.
Sophomore No. 2 Zain Retherford and redshirt freshman No. 6 Jason Nolf closed the first half of the match with back-to-back pins– Retherford in 2:15 minutes at 149 lbs. and Nolf in 2:42 minutes at 165 lbs.
After the break freshman Shakur Rasheed made his collegiate debut at 165. He scored a takedown before his opponent took an injury default to give Rasheed the win. Redshirt freshman No. 14 Bo Nickal claimed the other tech fall of the evening in 7:00 minutes over Lock Haven’s redshirt junior Tyler Wood.
At 184 lbs., junior No. 14 Matt McCutcheon rounded out the trio with a pin in 5:56 minutes. Senior Morgan McIntosh started the season with a major decision and newcomer heavyweight Jan Johnson finished off the shutout with a close 3-2 over Lock Haven’s redshirt senior Phil Sprenkle.
Johnson joined the team in October. He is on Penn State’s football roster as a redshirt this year, but coach Cael Sanderson was desperate for a heavyweight to level out his solid roster. Johnson was a two-time Class AAA PIAA Champion at 197 lbs. in high school where he also played on the football team. It looks like he made the cut.
The first period of Johnson’s match ended scoreless. He chose down to start the second and managed to get one escape and limited Emerick’s riding time to 28 seconds. Johnson then worked a low single for a takedown and Emerick got an escape. They went into the third with a score of 3-1. Emerick chose down to start and quickly escaped. Johnson battled to the final exciting seconds of the match and posted his first thrilling collegiate wrestling win with a score of 3-2.
BOUT BY BOUT:
125: PSU #2 Megaludis pinned LHU Jake Field, WBF (6:07)
133: PSU #8 Conaway tech fall LHU Bobby Rehm, 19-4 (TF; 7:00)
141: PSU #2 Gulibon dec. LHU #12 Dan Neff, 3-1
149: PSU #2 Retherford pinned LHU Kyle Hammond, WBF (2:15)
157: PSU #6 Nolf pinned LHU Aaron McKinney. WBF (2:42)
165: PSU Rasheed inj. def. LHU Dillon Gavlock LHU, inj. def. :35 (up 2-0)
174: PSU #14 Nickal tech fall LHU Tyler Wood, 21-6 (TF; 7:00)
184: PSU #14 McCutcheon pinned LHU Tristan Sponseller, WBF 5:56
197: PSU #1 McIntosh maj. dec. LHU Phil Sprenkle, 13-2
285: PSU Johnson PSU dec. LHU Brad Emerick, 3-2
Included in the 10 for 10 matches, were three pins and two tech falls. Back from his red-shirt season, senior No. 2 Nico Megaludis started off the match with a pin in 6:07 minutes over Lock Haven’s redshirt sophomore Jake Field.
Next up, senior No. 8 Jordan Conaway worked for a tech fall in 7:00 over redshirt senior Bobby Rehm. Senior No. 2 Jimmy Gulibon was the only Nittany Lion to face a ranked opponent in the match and defeated Lock Haven’s No. 12 133-pounder Dan Neff.
Sophomore No. 2 Zain Retherford and redshirt freshman No. 6 Jason Nolf closed the first half of the match with back-to-back pins– Retherford in 2:15 minutes at 149 lbs. and Nolf in 2:42 minutes at 165 lbs.
After the break freshman Shakur Rasheed made his collegiate debut at 165. He scored a takedown before his opponent took an injury default to give Rasheed the win. Redshirt freshman No. 14 Bo Nickal claimed the other tech fall of the evening in 7:00 minutes over Lock Haven’s redshirt junior Tyler Wood.
At 184 lbs., junior No. 14 Matt McCutcheon rounded out the trio with a pin in 5:56 minutes. Senior Morgan McIntosh started the season with a major decision and newcomer heavyweight Jan Johnson finished off the shutout with a close 3-2 over Lock Haven’s redshirt senior Phil Sprenkle.
Johnson joined the team in October. He is on Penn State’s football roster as a redshirt this year, but coach Cael Sanderson was desperate for a heavyweight to level out his solid roster. Johnson was a two-time Class AAA PIAA Champion at 197 lbs. in high school where he also played on the football team. It looks like he made the cut.
The first period of Johnson’s match ended scoreless. He chose down to start the second and managed to get one escape and limited Emerick’s riding time to 28 seconds. Johnson then worked a low single for a takedown and Emerick got an escape. They went into the third with a score of 3-1. Emerick chose down to start and quickly escaped. Johnson battled to the final exciting seconds of the match and posted his first thrilling collegiate wrestling win with a score of 3-2.
BOUT BY BOUT:
125: PSU #2 Megaludis pinned LHU Jake Field, WBF (6:07)
133: PSU #8 Conaway tech fall LHU Bobby Rehm, 19-4 (TF; 7:00)
141: PSU #2 Gulibon dec. LHU #12 Dan Neff, 3-1
149: PSU #2 Retherford pinned LHU Kyle Hammond, WBF (2:15)
157: PSU #6 Nolf pinned LHU Aaron McKinney. WBF (2:42)
165: PSU Rasheed inj. def. LHU Dillon Gavlock LHU, inj. def. :35 (up 2-0)
174: PSU #14 Nickal tech fall LHU Tyler Wood, 21-6 (TF; 7:00)
184: PSU #14 McCutcheon pinned LHU Tristan Sponseller, WBF 5:56
197: PSU #1 McIntosh maj. dec. LHU Phil Sprenkle, 13-2
285: PSU Johnson PSU dec. LHU Brad Emerick, 3-2
