Penn State Wrestling: Lee Makes Debut in Nittany Lions’ Win at Michigan

By

Anthony Colucci

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January 13, 2018 – 12:01 pm

No. 2 Penn State may have only won two bouts with bonus points, but the Nittany Lions handled No. 4 Michigan en route to a 25-12 win. After falling behind 8-0, Penn State won seven consecutive bouts in its first dual of 2018.

How It Happened

Penn State’s lower weight struggles persisted after Devin Schnupp dropped an 8-0 major decision to No. 15 Drew Martin at 125 lbs. to begin the dual. Schnupp may be 1-10, but this loss was only the second time the redshirt freshman has allowed bonus points in a dual this season. No. 6 Stevan Micic of Michigan put the Wolverines ahead 8-0 when he majored Corey Keener 10-1. After winning his first seven bouts, Keener has now lost three of his last five.

With the Nittany Lions trailing 8-0, Cael Sanderson burned true freshman Nick Lee’s redshirt at 141 lbs. to face Sal Profaci. Lee took an early 6-2 lead in the first period and rolled to a 9-5 win to get Penn State on the board. While he was redshirting, Lee was 15-3 with seven technical falls and four pins.

No. 1 Zain Retherford then notched Penn State’s first bonus points of the evening at 149 lbs. when he pinned Malik Amine in the third period after jumping out to a 13-2 lead.

No. 1 Jason Nolf pulled out an unusually tight 6-4 win over No. 5 Alec Pantaleo. Before Friday, Nolf had won every bout by either fall or technical fall.

After the break, No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph convincingly majored No. 5 Logan Massa 12-3. Joseph led Massa 5-3 in the third period but scored a takedown, four near fall points, and a riding time point to open up the score.

Following Joseph’s win, Penn State won three straight decisions. At 174 lbs., No. 2 Mark Hall beat No. 6 Myles Amine 6-5 in a narrow win, thanks to a critical riding time point after Amine tied the score late. No. 1 Bo Nickal fought off multiple late attempts from No. 5 Domenic Abounder to pull out a 5-2 win. No. 9 Shakur Rasheed got his first dual start of the season and made the most of it, beating Kevin Beazley 7-1. Rasheed had gotten out to a 6-1 lead after the second period and appeared to be in full control of the bout, until a strong final period by Beazley prevented Rasheed from earning bonus points.

The dual concluded with No. 8 Nick Nevills falling to No. 2 Adam Coon 7-0. Coon got out to a 4-0 lead in the first period and never looked back, shutting down and outmuscling a much smaller Nevills.

Wrestler of the Dual

Nick Lee, Freshman, 141 lbs.

The true freshman made his varsity debut on the road and in convincing fashion with his 9-5 win that got Penn State on the board and started a streak of seven straight wins.