The Rivalry Continues: No. 1 Penn State takes on No. 4 Ohio State
Today Penn State travels to Columbus, Ohio for the second-most anticipated match this season.
No. 1 Penn State is coming off a 45-3 win over Northwestern and No. 4 Ohio State will be looking to bounce back from its first loss to No. 3 Iowa, 21-13.
Penn State brings ten ranked wrestlers, nine out of ten ranked in the top ten in each weight class. Ohio State brings eight ranked wrestlers, six of which are in the top ten.
The matchups to watch will come mostly towards the end, assuming the match will start at 125. The first will be No. 11 Gulibon vs. No. 15 Pletcher. The two come from western Pennsylvania about ten minutes apart from each other. As a senior, Gulibon has the experience, but Pletcher has the better record in his freshman season.
The next big matchup will come at 174. Freshman No. 7 Mark Hall will face the ultimate test against No. 1 junior Bo Jordan. Hall got the nod to start in the Penn State lineup against Iowa. His notable high school career has had everyone talking about him, but he seems to be adjusting to the collegiate atmosphere and competition. Jordan is favored by decision, but you never know.
The 184, 197 and 285 matchups should all be good. Undefeated No. 2 sophomore Bo Nickal faces OSU’s No. 10 sophomore Myles Martin. Nickal needs to be on his game to beat Martin on his home turf. No surprise Nickal is favored; he just needs to do what he does best.
Next up No. 9 junior Matt McCutcheon faces No. 4 freshman Kollin Moore. Both have two losses each, but McCutcheon needs to hold off Moore’s first period attacks if he wants to win this one. Moore shoots quick and early to get the advantage and McCutcheon needs to up his defense to throw off this routine.
Last but not least, the heavyweights. Many times we see spectators packing up to leave when the heavyweight bout starts, but this one, they’ll want to stick around for. In 2016, No. 1 junior Kyle Snyder won a Big Ten title, NCAA title, World Championship title and an Olympic gold medal. He is the youngest Olympic wrestling champion in U.S. history. Needless to say, No. 3 sophomore Nick Nevills is in for a tall task. This matchup will be the highlight of the night.
Tune in to the Big Ten Network at 6 p.m. tonight to catch all the action live.
Matchup Preview:
#1 PSU (10-0) vs. #4 OSU (8-1)
125: PSU #2 Nick Suriano (13-1) vs. OSU #18 Jose Rodriguez (11-5)
133: PSU George Carpenter (1-8) OR Triston Law (0-1) vs. OSU #1 Nathan Tomasello (11-0)
141: PSU #11 Jimmy Gulibon (10-6) vs. OSU #15 Luke Pletcher (21-2)
149: PSU #1 Zain Retherford (15-0) vs. OSU #5 Micah Jordan (21-1)
157: PSU #1 Jason Nolf (15-0) vs. OSU Jake Ryan (10-8)
165: PSU #4 Vincenzo Joseph (11-2) vs. OSU Cody Burcher (14-8)
174: PSU #7 Mark Hall (20-2) vs. OSU #1 Bo Jordan (9-0)
184: PSU #2 Bo Nickal (14-0) vs. OSU #10 Myles Martin (20-4)
197: PSU #9 Matt McCutcheon (12-2) vs. OSU #4 Kollin Moore (20-2)
285: PSU #3 Nick Nevills (13-1) vs. OSU #1 Kyle Snyder (6-0)
No. 1 Penn State is coming off a 45-3 win over Northwestern and No. 4 Ohio State will be looking to bounce back from its first loss to No. 3 Iowa, 21-13.
Penn State brings ten ranked wrestlers, nine out of ten ranked in the top ten in each weight class. Ohio State brings eight ranked wrestlers, six of which are in the top ten.
The matchups to watch will come mostly towards the end, assuming the match will start at 125. The first will be No. 11 Gulibon vs. No. 15 Pletcher. The two come from western Pennsylvania about ten minutes apart from each other. As a senior, Gulibon has the experience, but Pletcher has the better record in his freshman season.
The next big matchup will come at 174. Freshman No. 7 Mark Hall will face the ultimate test against No. 1 junior Bo Jordan. Hall got the nod to start in the Penn State lineup against Iowa. His notable high school career has had everyone talking about him, but he seems to be adjusting to the collegiate atmosphere and competition. Jordan is favored by decision, but you never know.
The 184, 197 and 285 matchups should all be good. Undefeated No. 2 sophomore Bo Nickal faces OSU’s No. 10 sophomore Myles Martin. Nickal needs to be on his game to beat Martin on his home turf. No surprise Nickal is favored; he just needs to do what he does best.
Next up No. 9 junior Matt McCutcheon faces No. 4 freshman Kollin Moore. Both have two losses each, but McCutcheon needs to hold off Moore’s first period attacks if he wants to win this one. Moore shoots quick and early to get the advantage and McCutcheon needs to up his defense to throw off this routine.
Last but not least, the heavyweights. Many times we see spectators packing up to leave when the heavyweight bout starts, but this one, they’ll want to stick around for. In 2016, No. 1 junior Kyle Snyder won a Big Ten title, NCAA title, World Championship title and an Olympic gold medal. He is the youngest Olympic wrestling champion in U.S. history. Needless to say, No. 3 sophomore Nick Nevills is in for a tall task. This matchup will be the highlight of the night.
Tune in to the Big Ten Network at 6 p.m. tonight to catch all the action live.
Matchup Preview:
#1 PSU (10-0) vs. #4 OSU (8-1)
125: PSU #2 Nick Suriano (13-1) vs. OSU #18 Jose Rodriguez (11-5)
133: PSU George Carpenter (1-8) OR Triston Law (0-1) vs. OSU #1 Nathan Tomasello (11-0)
141: PSU #11 Jimmy Gulibon (10-6) vs. OSU #15 Luke Pletcher (21-2)
149: PSU #1 Zain Retherford (15-0) vs. OSU #5 Micah Jordan (21-1)
157: PSU #1 Jason Nolf (15-0) vs. OSU Jake Ryan (10-8)
165: PSU #4 Vincenzo Joseph (11-2) vs. OSU Cody Burcher (14-8)
174: PSU #7 Mark Hall (20-2) vs. OSU #1 Bo Jordan (9-0)
184: PSU #2 Bo Nickal (14-0) vs. OSU #10 Myles Martin (20-4)
197: PSU #9 Matt McCutcheon (12-2) vs. OSU #4 Kollin Moore (20-2)
285: PSU #3 Nick Nevills (13-1) vs. OSU #1 Kyle Snyder (6-0)
