The Streak is Over - PSU Falls to No. 6 ASU 19-18
In case you haven’t heard from Flowrestling’s tweet that nearly blew up Twitter on Friday night, yes, it’s true, Penn State’s 60 match win streak has come to an end.
With a controversial medical forfeit at 184 and uncharacteristically low number of bonus points, Penn State lost the tie breaker that handed Arizona State the win and sent the place into a frenzy.
The Nittany Lions continue to struggle at 125, which is nothing new, but with ranked opponents matching up with each ranked Nittany Lion, bonus points were far and few. No. 3 Roman Bravo-Young had a close match with No. 16 Josh Kramer, but was able to edge him out 7-6. Jarod Verkleeren got the nod at 149, another weight class that Penn State has been trying to build up over the past few seasons, and he dropped a hard fought 5-4 loss. There’s a hole at 157 where Nolf used to turn around duals, Bo Pipher also dropped a competitive bout there.
Both No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph and No. 1 Mark Hall faced top ten ranked opponents making it difficult to score big. Then, with No. 1 Zahid Valencia towering the 184 weight class, Penn State took a medical forfeit and gave up 6 team points. Mind you, we lost in a tiebreaker, so anything but a pin could’ve got Penn State out of Phoenix with a win. No. 2 Shakur Rasheed did not compete and freshman Creighton Edsell was unable to compete.
No. 1 Anthony Cassar had his hands full at 285 with No. 5 Tanner Hall and was able to get the 9-5 win to tie things up at 18-18. Penn State had more takedowns, but ASU had more bonus points, thanks to that medical forfeit.
WEIGHT BY WEIGHT:
125: ASU No. 19 Brandon Courtney maj. dec. PSU Brody Teske, 19-7
133: PSU No. 3 Roman Bravo-Young dec. ASU No. 16 Josh Kramer, 7-6
141: PSU No. 3 Nick Lee tech fall ASU Cory Crooks, 18-3 (TF; 4:28)
149: ASU Josh Maruca dec. PSU Jarod Verkleeren, 5-4
157: ASU Jacori Teemer dec. PSU Bo Pipher PSU, 9-4
165: PSU No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph dec. ASU No. 5 Josh Shields, 7-4
174: PSU No. 1 Mark Hall maj. dec. ASU No. 8 Anthony Valencia, 11-3
184: ASU No. 1 Zahid Valencia won by forfeit
197: ASU Kordell Norfleet dec. PSU No. 7 Kyle Conel, 10-4
285: PSU No. 1 Anthony Cassar dec. ASU No. 5 Tanner Hall, 9-5
Penn State is on the road again on Friday, December 6 and probably looking to get back on track with a win. The team will face Lehigh with matches starting at 7pm.
With a controversial medical forfeit at 184 and uncharacteristically low number of bonus points, Penn State lost the tie breaker that handed Arizona State the win and sent the place into a frenzy.
The Nittany Lions continue to struggle at 125, which is nothing new, but with ranked opponents matching up with each ranked Nittany Lion, bonus points were far and few. No. 3 Roman Bravo-Young had a close match with No. 16 Josh Kramer, but was able to edge him out 7-6. Jarod Verkleeren got the nod at 149, another weight class that Penn State has been trying to build up over the past few seasons, and he dropped a hard fought 5-4 loss. There’s a hole at 157 where Nolf used to turn around duals, Bo Pipher also dropped a competitive bout there.
Both No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph and No. 1 Mark Hall faced top ten ranked opponents making it difficult to score big. Then, with No. 1 Zahid Valencia towering the 184 weight class, Penn State took a medical forfeit and gave up 6 team points. Mind you, we lost in a tiebreaker, so anything but a pin could’ve got Penn State out of Phoenix with a win. No. 2 Shakur Rasheed did not compete and freshman Creighton Edsell was unable to compete.
No. 1 Anthony Cassar had his hands full at 285 with No. 5 Tanner Hall and was able to get the 9-5 win to tie things up at 18-18. Penn State had more takedowns, but ASU had more bonus points, thanks to that medical forfeit.
WEIGHT BY WEIGHT:
125: ASU No. 19 Brandon Courtney maj. dec. PSU Brody Teske, 19-7
133: PSU No. 3 Roman Bravo-Young dec. ASU No. 16 Josh Kramer, 7-6
141: PSU No. 3 Nick Lee tech fall ASU Cory Crooks, 18-3 (TF; 4:28)
149: ASU Josh Maruca dec. PSU Jarod Verkleeren, 5-4
157: ASU Jacori Teemer dec. PSU Bo Pipher PSU, 9-4
165: PSU No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph dec. ASU No. 5 Josh Shields, 7-4
174: PSU No. 1 Mark Hall maj. dec. ASU No. 8 Anthony Valencia, 11-3
184: ASU No. 1 Zahid Valencia won by forfeit
197: ASU Kordell Norfleet dec. PSU No. 7 Kyle Conel, 10-4
285: PSU No. 1 Anthony Cassar dec. ASU No. 5 Tanner Hall, 9-5
Penn State is on the road again on Friday, December 6 and probably looking to get back on track with a win. The team will face Lehigh with matches starting at 7pm.
