No. 4 Nittany Lions Top No. 9 Lehigh, 30-10 in BJC Dual
In the usual BJC dual fashion, the lights were down low and bright spotlights shone on the wrestling mat in the middle of the floor. Fog crowded the entryway as the Nittany Lions jogged out one by one and took their place on the mat.
Penn State moved to 3-0 this weekend with a 30-10 victory over #9 Lehigh in front of a 15,424-person crowd. It was the 8th largest attended wrestling dual in NCAA history.
The Nittany Lions took seven out of ten bouts, including two pins (Zain Retherford and Bo Nickal), a tech fall (Jason Nolf) and a major decision (Matt McCutcheon).
The afternoon kicked off with one of the few anticipated matchups of the day. True freshman #6 Nick Suriano faced Lehigh’s #4 Darian Cruz. The first period ended scoreless and Suriano took the reigns in the second period. Suriano chose down to start, escaped, scored a takedown and turned Cruz for back points. He worked hard for the pin, but couldn’t secure and ran out of time in the second. At 7-0, Cruz stepped up his defense in the third and held off Suriano to an exciting 7-0 decision win.
Senior #12 Jimmy Gulibon came close in his matchup with Lehigh’s #3 Randy Cruz in another anticipated bout of the day. Stalemate after stalemate was called until about half way through the second. Gulibon maintained control on top for 52 seconds and then another stalemate. After the reset, Cruz pulls off a textbook elevator for the reversal and rides out the remainder for the second period. Gulibon chose neutral to start the third. With 30 seconds left, went for a high single and forced a scramble. It was close, but Cruz was able to hold him off and time ran out to end the match at 2-0, Cruz.
Sophomore #7 Nick Nevills also had a strong win over Lehigh’s senior heavyweight #11 Ben Haas. Haas topped Nevills in size, but Nevills counteracted in technique and endurance. The 8-4 was big for the Nittany Lion.
This week, the Nittany Lions remain in Happy Valley, but return to Rec Hall on Sunday, Dec. 11 to take on Binghamton at 2 p.m.
BOUT BY BOUT:
125: PSU #6 Nick Suriano dec. LEH #4 Darian Cruz, 7-0
133: LEH Scott Parker maj. dec. PSU #12 Jered Cortez, 12-4
141: LEH #3 Randy Cruz dec. PSU #15 Jimmy Gulibon, 2-0
149: PSU #1 Zain Retherford pinned LEH #9 Laike Gardner, WBF (3:55)
157: PSU #1 Jason Nolf tech fall LEH Kent Lane, 25-9 (TF; 6:39)
165: PSU #10 Vincenzo Joseph dec. LEH Drew Longo, 10-5
174: LEH #19 Ryan Preisch dec. PSU #12 Shakur Rasheed, 6-3
184: PSU #3 Bo Nickal pinned LEH Kyle Gentile, WBF (2:35)
197: PSU #13 Matt McCutcheon maj. dec. LEH Ben Haas, 12-2
285: PSU #7 Nick Nevills dec. LEH #11 Doug Vollaro, 8-4
Penn State moved to 3-0 this weekend with a 30-10 victory over #9 Lehigh in front of a 15,424-person crowd. It was the 8th largest attended wrestling dual in NCAA history.
The Nittany Lions took seven out of ten bouts, including two pins (Zain Retherford and Bo Nickal), a tech fall (Jason Nolf) and a major decision (Matt McCutcheon).
The afternoon kicked off with one of the few anticipated matchups of the day. True freshman #6 Nick Suriano faced Lehigh’s #4 Darian Cruz. The first period ended scoreless and Suriano took the reigns in the second period. Suriano chose down to start, escaped, scored a takedown and turned Cruz for back points. He worked hard for the pin, but couldn’t secure and ran out of time in the second. At 7-0, Cruz stepped up his defense in the third and held off Suriano to an exciting 7-0 decision win.
Senior #12 Jimmy Gulibon came close in his matchup with Lehigh’s #3 Randy Cruz in another anticipated bout of the day. Stalemate after stalemate was called until about half way through the second. Gulibon maintained control on top for 52 seconds and then another stalemate. After the reset, Cruz pulls off a textbook elevator for the reversal and rides out the remainder for the second period. Gulibon chose neutral to start the third. With 30 seconds left, went for a high single and forced a scramble. It was close, but Cruz was able to hold him off and time ran out to end the match at 2-0, Cruz.
Sophomore #7 Nick Nevills also had a strong win over Lehigh’s senior heavyweight #11 Ben Haas. Haas topped Nevills in size, but Nevills counteracted in technique and endurance. The 8-4 was big for the Nittany Lion.
This week, the Nittany Lions remain in Happy Valley, but return to Rec Hall on Sunday, Dec. 11 to take on Binghamton at 2 p.m.
BOUT BY BOUT:
125: PSU #6 Nick Suriano dec. LEH #4 Darian Cruz, 7-0
133: LEH Scott Parker maj. dec. PSU #12 Jered Cortez, 12-4
141: LEH #3 Randy Cruz dec. PSU #15 Jimmy Gulibon, 2-0
149: PSU #1 Zain Retherford pinned LEH #9 Laike Gardner, WBF (3:55)
157: PSU #1 Jason Nolf tech fall LEH Kent Lane, 25-9 (TF; 6:39)
165: PSU #10 Vincenzo Joseph dec. LEH Drew Longo, 10-5
174: LEH #19 Ryan Preisch dec. PSU #12 Shakur Rasheed, 6-3
184: PSU #3 Bo Nickal pinned LEH Kyle Gentile, WBF (2:35)
197: PSU #13 Matt McCutcheon maj. dec. LEH Ben Haas, 12-2
285: PSU #7 Nick Nevills dec. LEH #11 Doug Vollaro, 8-4
