Penn State Wrestling: Nittany Lions Dominate Michigan State at Kellogg Arena

A starting weight that’s different from normal, an early disqualification and two inexperienced match wrestlers, all on the road, may have been enough to derail most collegiate wrestling teams.

But not Penn State.

The fourth-ranked Nittany Lions used a pair of falls and spectacular wrestling at two previously weak spots to propel themselves to a 36-6 win over Michigan State on Sunday afternoon at Kellogg Arena.

With the match tied at six after three matches, Bryan Pearsall started the chain reaction to Penn State domination, scoring a fall over Brian Gibbs at the 4:21 mark of the second period for his fourth pin of the season. Penn State rolled from there, winning the final six matches for a victory that was never close, despite the early tie.

After Cameron Wade gave Penn State a quick 3-0 lead by beating Steve Andrus, 8-3, Nico Megaludis used three first-period takedowns to build a 6-2 lead at the end of the first period. Another Megaludis takedown and cut of the Spartans Eric Olanowski gave the true freshman an 8-3 lead, but the match ended abruptly, as the match official called Megaludis for an illegal throw. The throw injured Olanowski so much so that he couldn’t continue, forcing Megaludis to be disqualified and putting Penn State in an early 6-3 hole.

Frank Martellotti quickly erased that in his 2011-2012 debut, using 1:10 in riding time and a third-period escape to earn a gritty 7-5 win. After Pearsall’s fall, Frank Molinaro won by decision, 9-3, and Dylan Alton, in the final match before intermission, used a third-period escape off the whistle to notch a resume-building 1-0 victory over 14th-ranked Anthony Jones.

After intermission, Penn State’s own murders row of David Taylor, Ed Ruth, Quentin Wright and Morgan McIntosh continued their winning ways, with Wright notching Penn State’s second fall of the day over John Rizqallah at the 5:52 mark, capping off a dominating day for the Nittany Lions.

Penn State returns to the mat Friday, when it will take on Northwestern in Evanston, Ill., at 8 p.m.

Notes

• Penn State won the takedown battle by a resounding 24-5 mark, and scored five riding-time points in ten bouts.

• After Northwestern, Penn State will close out its set away from home with a Sunday match-up at Wisconsin preceding the Iowa match on Jan. 22.

Related coverage

• StateCollege.com’s Penn State wrestling page