Penn State dominates Illinois, 34-7
On Friday night, the Lions brought in the biggest crowd that Rec Hall has seen this season for their showdown with Illinois.
Penn State won eight out of ten bouts including three major decisions, two tech falls and one pin. No. 1 junior Zain Retherford notched the pin for his 12th fall this season.
The featured matchup of the day was at 165. Illinois’ two-time NCAA champion No. 1 Isaiah Martinez and Penn State redshirt freshman No. 4 Vincenzo Joseph took to the mat. Martinez scored the first takedown and Joseph escaped to make it 2-1 with 50 seconds left in the first. Joseph worked on a high single, which Martinez countered and almost scored again. Joseph was able to force a stalemate and that ended the first period. Martinez chose down to start the second and escaped to lead 3-1. The two shot back and forth but no more points in the second. Joseph was down to start the third and got the escape closing in on Martinez, 3-2. Joseph went on defense. He turned a Martinez high single attempt into a scramble that ended in a stalemate with :09 left. Joseph took one last shot at Martinez towards the edge of the mat. He nearly got the takedown for the win, but Martinez countered the attempt to win the bout 5-2.
The two will see each other again in the upcoming weeks in championship tournaments.
Freshman Mark Hall followed Joseph with a tech fall at 174. He walked off the mat throwing his arms in the air and pumping up the crowd. Since his mid-to-late season start, he’s been acclimating quickly to dual meet matchups.
Retherford, Nolf and Nickal remain undefeated this season. Penn State’s perfect record leaves them one match away from claiming the Big Ten crown. With a win over Maryland on Sunday, they will sit atop the Big Ten alone.
BOUT BY BOUT:
125: PSU #2 Nick Suriano maj. dec. ILL Travis Piotrowski, 17-6
133: ILL #6 Zane Richards maj. dec. PSU George Carpenter, 19-7
141: PSU #11 Jimmy Gulibon maj. dec. ILL Mousa Jodeh, 10-2
149: PSU #1 Zain Retherford pinned ILL #19 Eric Barone, WBF (4:09)
157: PSU #1 Jason Nolf tech fall ILL #12 Kyle Langenderfer, 26-11 (TF; 6:45)
165: ILL #1 Isaiah Martinez dec. PSU #4 Vincenzo Joseph, 5-2
174: PSU #7 Mark Hall tech fall ILL #12 Zac Brunson, 16-1 (TF; 7:00)
184: PSU #2 Bo Nickal maj. dec. ILL #12 Emery Parker, 18-5
197: PSU #9 Matt McCutcheon dec. ILL Andre Lee, 3-1
285: PSU #3 Nick Nevills dec. ILL #15 Brooks Black, 5-0
Penn State won eight out of ten bouts including three major decisions, two tech falls and one pin. No. 1 junior Zain Retherford notched the pin for his 12th fall this season.
The featured matchup of the day was at 165. Illinois’ two-time NCAA champion No. 1 Isaiah Martinez and Penn State redshirt freshman No. 4 Vincenzo Joseph took to the mat. Martinez scored the first takedown and Joseph escaped to make it 2-1 with 50 seconds left in the first. Joseph worked on a high single, which Martinez countered and almost scored again. Joseph was able to force a stalemate and that ended the first period. Martinez chose down to start the second and escaped to lead 3-1. The two shot back and forth but no more points in the second. Joseph was down to start the third and got the escape closing in on Martinez, 3-2. Joseph went on defense. He turned a Martinez high single attempt into a scramble that ended in a stalemate with :09 left. Joseph took one last shot at Martinez towards the edge of the mat. He nearly got the takedown for the win, but Martinez countered the attempt to win the bout 5-2.
The two will see each other again in the upcoming weeks in championship tournaments.
Freshman Mark Hall followed Joseph with a tech fall at 174. He walked off the mat throwing his arms in the air and pumping up the crowd. Since his mid-to-late season start, he’s been acclimating quickly to dual meet matchups.
Retherford, Nolf and Nickal remain undefeated this season. Penn State’s perfect record leaves them one match away from claiming the Big Ten crown. With a win over Maryland on Sunday, they will sit atop the Big Ten alone.
BOUT BY BOUT:
125: PSU #2 Nick Suriano maj. dec. ILL Travis Piotrowski, 17-6
133: ILL #6 Zane Richards maj. dec. PSU George Carpenter, 19-7
141: PSU #11 Jimmy Gulibon maj. dec. ILL Mousa Jodeh, 10-2
149: PSU #1 Zain Retherford pinned ILL #19 Eric Barone, WBF (4:09)
157: PSU #1 Jason Nolf tech fall ILL #12 Kyle Langenderfer, 26-11 (TF; 6:45)
165: ILL #1 Isaiah Martinez dec. PSU #4 Vincenzo Joseph, 5-2
174: PSU #7 Mark Hall tech fall ILL #12 Zac Brunson, 16-1 (TF; 7:00)
184: PSU #2 Bo Nickal maj. dec. ILL #12 Emery Parker, 18-5
197: PSU #9 Matt McCutcheon dec. ILL Andre Lee, 3-1
285: PSU #3 Nick Nevills dec. ILL #15 Brooks Black, 5-0
