UNIVERSITY PARK — As the calendar turns to February, the Big Ten Wrestling Championships and the NCAA Wrestling Championships are looming larger for the No. 2 Penn State wrestling team.
Just three regular-season dual meets remain — Friday, Feb. 3, at Ohio State, Feb. 10 vs. Illinois and Feb. 12 vs. Maryland — as well as a possible NWCA Championship Dual Series showdown on Feb. 19 at No. 1 Oklahoma State.
At this point in the season, most teams have solidified their starting lineups and, for the most part, Penn State has.
Jimmy Gulibon’s recent resurgence, seemingly spurred by his brilliant comeback win at Iowa, erases any questions about 141.
And, the question of who would emerge as the starter at 174, Geno Morelli or Shakur Rasheed, was settled at Iowa when Mark Hall was brought out of redshirt and inserted into the lineup.
Head coach Cael Sanderson may have tipped his hand when he said he and his staff thought they had an All-America candidate in either Morelli or Rasheed, but they wanted more certainty. Enter Hall.
Still, the decision to burn Hall’s redshirt was most likely influenced by starting 133-pounder Jered Cortez’s season-ending shoulder surgery.
George Carpenter was the immediate replacement. While his effort can’t be questioned, his skill level doesn’t quite measure up to Big Ten or All-America standards.
Another option emerged Friday night at Wisconsin, as Triston Law took a turn. He scored the first takedown of the bout but was then steamrolled in a 17-2 technical fall loss. Carpenter got the call Sunday against Northwestern and dropped a close, 4-3 decision.
Who mans that spot in the postseason remains a question with a month to go.
In the meantime, Penn State kept rolling along with two more wins over the weekend — 33-11 over Wisconsin and 45-3 over Northwestern — to run its overall record to 10-0 and Big Ten mark to 6-0.
The Nittany Lions outscored the Badgers and Wildcats by a combined 78-14, winning 16 of 20 individual bouts. Penn State accumulated a combined 47-5 edge in takedowns.
The only losses other than the two at 133 came against established Wisconsin stalwarts. As disappointing as both were, each was also encouraging.
Freshman 165-pounder Vincenzo Joseph, ranked No. 4, scored a late takedown against three-time All-American and 2016 finalist Isaac Jordan, ranked No. 3, to take a 4-2 lead. Joseph was well on his way to a breakthrough win, but Jordan emerged from a scramble with a tying reversal with one second left in regulation. Jordan won in the sudden victory period, but Joseph had served notice that he’s right there with the best in the country at that weight.
A similar scenario followed at 285, where No. 4 Nick Nevills, a sophomore, tangled with No. 2 Connor Medbery, a senior All-American. Nevills escaped with 1:35 to go in the third period to take a 3-2 lead, but Medbery countered with the winning takedown with 43 seconds left to claim a 4-3 win. Again, Nevills showed his No. 4 ranking is well-founded.
The Nittany Lions travel to Columbus, Ohio, for a 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3, showdown with Ohio State at the Schottenstein Center. The bout will be aired live on Big Ten Network.
The Buckeyes are coming off a 21-13 loss to Iowa, but that was without defending NCAA champion and Olympic gold medalist 285-pounder Kyle Snyder, who was competing in a freestyle tournament overseas.
Penn State should be considered favorites at five weights: 125, 149, 157, 165 and 184. Ohio State should be considered favorites at four weights: 133, 174, 197 and 285. The bout at 141 is a tossup.
While there are intriguing matchups throughout, one with particular intrigue will be at 184. No. 2 Bo Nickal takes on No. 10 Myles Martin in a rematch of the 2016 NCAA 174-pound final in which Martin won, 11-9, scoring the bulk of his points countering moves by Nickal.
No. 2 Penn State 45
Northwestern 3
(Sunday, Jan. 29, at University Park)
125: No. 3 Nick Suriano, PSU, pinned Anthony Rubinetti, 3:10.
133: Jason Ipsarides, NW, dec. George Carpenter, 4-3.
141: No. 12 Jimmy Gulibon, PSU, won by tech. fall over Alex McKenna, 20-5 (5:25).
149: No.1 Zain Retherford, PSU, won by forfeit.
157: No.1 Jason Nolf, PSU, pinned Ben Sullivan, 3:39.
165: Caleb Livingston, PSU, pinned Anthony Petrone, 2:19.
174: No. 7 Mark Hall, PSU, won by forfeit.
184: No. 2 Bo Nickal. PSU, maj. dec. No. 20 Mitch Sliga, 10-1.
197: No. 10 Matt McCutcheon, PSU, dec. Jacob Berkowitz, 10-3
285: No. 4 Nick Nevills, PSU, dec. Conan Jennings, 5-4.
Ridge Riley Award winner: Caleb Livingston, 165 pounds.
Attendance: 6,630.
Takedowns: Northwestern 3; Penn State 22.
Records: Northwestern 6-6, 1-5 Big Ten; Penn State 10-0, 6-0.
Next match: Illinois at Northwestern, 7 p.m. Friday; Penn State at Ohio State, 6 p.m. Friday.
No. 2 Penn State 33
No. 16 Wisconsin 11
(Friday, Jan. 27, at Madison, Wisconsin)
157: No. 1 Jason Nolf, PSU, pinned Jared Scharenbrock, 3:48.
165: No. 3 Isaac Jordan, W, dec. No. 4 Vincenzo Joseph, 6-4 SV.
174: No. 7 Mark Hall, PSU, maj. dec. Ryan Christensen, 18-4.
184: No. 2 Bo Nickal, PSU, pinned Hunter Ritter, 2:35.
197: No. 10 Matt McCutcheon, PSU, dec. No. 12 Ricky Robertson, 2-0.
285: No. 4 Connor Medbery, W, dec. No. 4 Nick Nevills, 4-3.
125: No. 3 Nick Suriano, PSU, maj. dec. Jens Lantz, 15-4.
133: Eli Stickley, W, won by tech. fall over Triston Law, 17-2 (7:00).
141: No. 12 Jimmy Gulibon, PSU, maj. dec. No. 15 Cole Martin, 15-3.
149: No. 1 Zain Retherford, PSU, pinned Andrew Crone, 4:30.
Referee: J.R. Johnson
Takedowns: Penn State 25; Wisconsin 2.
Records: Penn State 9-0, 5-0 Big Ten; Wisconsin 3-4, 1-4.
