Sunday Showdown
Finishing the weekend the way it started, Penn State returned to Happy Valley with another win tacked on to their record- 13-0, 7-0 in the conference. PSU handed Michigan their first loss in the Big Ten after taking control in eight of the ten bouts.
Cael Sanderson continues to wow his fans with the depth of his team. With Nico Megaludis out for the weekend because of sickness, Jordan Conaway had no problem stepping in and winning both of his bouts this weekend against Michigan and Michigan State. Also, with heavyweight Jimmy Lawson out with a knee injury, Jon Gingrich held his ground against Michigan’s No. 2 Adam Coon.
This is a huge aspect as to why Penn State wrestling is so successful. Even with injury and last minute surprises to the line up, they will always have a solid team that will put up a hard fight against any ranked opponent.
Penn State’s 165, 174, and 184 wrestlers played a huge part in their win against Michigan. They put up three technical falls in a row and set the tone for the rest of the team.
125: PSU Jordan Conaway WBD MICH Conor Youtsey, 9-4
133: PSU Jimmy Gulibon PSU maj. dec. MICH Rossi Bruno, 9-0
141: PSU Zain Retherford PSU WBD MICH Steve Dutton, 7-1
149: MICH Eric Grajales pinned PSU Andrew Alton, (6:56)
157: PSU Dylan Alton WBD MICH Brian Murphy, 3-1
165: PSU David Taylor tech fall MICH Dan Yates, 17-2
174: PSU Matt Brown tech fall MICH Collin Zeerip, 21-6
184: PSU Ed Ruth tech fall MICH Domenic Abounader, 17-2
197: PSU Morgan McIntosh maj. dec. MICH Chris Heald, 17-7
285: MICH Adam Coon WBD PSU Jon Gingrich, 2-1
The closest scoring and most nail-biting bout of the day was No. 4 Dylan Alton’s extended match up with Michigan’s No. 14 Brian Murphy.
The match started off slow; Alton took a shot at Murphy’s right ankle but couldn’t finish the takedown, providing the most action in the first. The second period began scoreless and Alton chose down to start. A Murphy escape gave him the lead at 1-0. After the escape, neither wrestler let their defensive guard down; takedown attempts on both ends were shot down. Alton chose down to start the third and earned a quick escape to tie 1-1. Solid defense continued until the one-minute mark when Alton took a low shot, Murphy scrambled and just barely got out of the takedown. Tied at 1-1, the bout continued into a tiebreaker. Alton chose down and almost reversed Murphy, but Murphy was able to keep control. Then Murphy tried to takedown Alton and mimicked the reverse, but the official waved off the reversal call. Michigan called for video review, but still didn’t get the call. The clock was reset to :08, the score still at 1-1, and Alton chose down. Unable to wriggle an escape, Alton and Murphy went to a second tiebreaker period. This time Alton was quick to gain control and was successful with the takedown :20 into the extra minute. The 3-1 victory was huge.
On the road again this weekend. The Nittany Lions will travel to Minneapolis to face off against Minnesota on Sunday February 9th at 2 p.m. Coverage will be provided by the Big Ten Network.
Cael Sanderson continues to wow his fans with the depth of his team. With Nico Megaludis out for the weekend because of sickness, Jordan Conaway had no problem stepping in and winning both of his bouts this weekend against Michigan and Michigan State. Also, with heavyweight Jimmy Lawson out with a knee injury, Jon Gingrich held his ground against Michigan’s No. 2 Adam Coon.
This is a huge aspect as to why Penn State wrestling is so successful. Even with injury and last minute surprises to the line up, they will always have a solid team that will put up a hard fight against any ranked opponent.
Penn State’s 165, 174, and 184 wrestlers played a huge part in their win against Michigan. They put up three technical falls in a row and set the tone for the rest of the team.
125: PSU Jordan Conaway WBD MICH Conor Youtsey, 9-4
133: PSU Jimmy Gulibon PSU maj. dec. MICH Rossi Bruno, 9-0
141: PSU Zain Retherford PSU WBD MICH Steve Dutton, 7-1
149: MICH Eric Grajales pinned PSU Andrew Alton, (6:56)
157: PSU Dylan Alton WBD MICH Brian Murphy, 3-1
165: PSU David Taylor tech fall MICH Dan Yates, 17-2
174: PSU Matt Brown tech fall MICH Collin Zeerip, 21-6
184: PSU Ed Ruth tech fall MICH Domenic Abounader, 17-2
197: PSU Morgan McIntosh maj. dec. MICH Chris Heald, 17-7
285: MICH Adam Coon WBD PSU Jon Gingrich, 2-1
The closest scoring and most nail-biting bout of the day was No. 4 Dylan Alton’s extended match up with Michigan’s No. 14 Brian Murphy.
The match started off slow; Alton took a shot at Murphy’s right ankle but couldn’t finish the takedown, providing the most action in the first. The second period began scoreless and Alton chose down to start. A Murphy escape gave him the lead at 1-0. After the escape, neither wrestler let their defensive guard down; takedown attempts on both ends were shot down. Alton chose down to start the third and earned a quick escape to tie 1-1. Solid defense continued until the one-minute mark when Alton took a low shot, Murphy scrambled and just barely got out of the takedown. Tied at 1-1, the bout continued into a tiebreaker. Alton chose down and almost reversed Murphy, but Murphy was able to keep control. Then Murphy tried to takedown Alton and mimicked the reverse, but the official waved off the reversal call. Michigan called for video review, but still didn’t get the call. The clock was reset to :08, the score still at 1-1, and Alton chose down. Unable to wriggle an escape, Alton and Murphy went to a second tiebreaker period. This time Alton was quick to gain control and was successful with the takedown :20 into the extra minute. The 3-1 victory was huge.
On the road again this weekend. The Nittany Lions will travel to Minneapolis to face off against Minnesota on Sunday February 9th at 2 p.m. Coverage will be provided by the Big Ten Network.
