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Penn State traveled across the state to take on Pitt, and handled the Panthers 24-12 in front of 7,000 fans at Pitt's Petersen Events Center Friday night. PSU did one better the next day, taking on Clarion and blanking the Golden Eagles 44-0. Penn State lost only 4 bouts the entire weekend.
125: #12 Jordan Conaway PSU dec. Dom Forys PITT (8-4)/ tech fall Seth Carr CUP, 20-3
Conaway and Forys traded shots, with Forys getting the initial takedown. After an escape, Conway broke through and scored a takedown with just 12 seconds left in the 1st. To start the 2nd, Forys chose bottom, escaped, and started pressuring Conway. The period ended with no further scoring, but Jordan had a stall call go against him. Conaway chose down, escaped and added a takedown in the middle of the 3rd. The two traded shots and Conaway scored again with just 2 seconds left on the clock. The late scoring is a good sign that Conaway is wrestling all the way to the whistle.
Against Carr, Jordan was a takedown machine, scoring 5, forcing a stall warning, and turning the Eagle for 7 backpoints on his way to a 20-3 tech fall.
133: #5 Jimmy Gulibon PSU maj. dec. Nick Zanetta, 11-2/pinned Matt Liggett CUP, WBF (3:47)
The story for Jimmy Guilbon this weekend was pressure. He forced both his wrestlers into early stall warnings, and converted on a lot of his shots. He also showed the good ride he's been using lately, taking Zanetta down and riding him out with :51 in the 1st. He used two takedowns in the second to up his score to 7-1 to start the 3rd. After another takedown and the riding time point almost clinched, Gulibon took Zanetta down again and rode him out for the 11-2 major and built up over 3 minutes in riding time. He forced Liggett into two stall warnings and worked him into multiple backpoints. He kept the pressure up, turned Liggett and secured the pin at the 3:47 mark.
141: Edgar Bright PITT dec. Kade Moss PSU, 3-2/Moss maj. dec. John Pezze CUP, 12-1
Against Bright, Moss gave up an early takedown and the two traded escapes for the 3-2 final. Moss spent most of the 3rd shooting at Bright, but could not break through Bright's defense. He was able to escape quickly to start the 3rd and keep the riding time advantage under 1:00. Against Pezze, Moss forced the action early and got a stall warning quick. He then notched a takedown and used a strong ride to build up time, and got 3 near-fall points. Moss rode the period out, took down to start the 2nd and quickly escaped. He forced the action and got another takedown and rode the 2nd out. Pezze chose neutral to start the 3rd, but Moss continued the pressure and got the stall point with 1:30 to go. He notched the final takedown and walked away with a 12-1 major, his first dual win as a Lion.
149: #15 Zack Beitz PSU dec. #13 Mike Racciato PITT, 11-5/maj. dec. Sam Sherlock CUP, 15-5
Zack Beitz has started the year strong, and this weekend was no different. Beitz got a slight upset victory over Mike Racciato of Pitt and a dominating major over Sam Sherlock of Clarion. Beitz came out shooting against Racciato getting a takedown quickly, but got a little sloppy and Racciato reversed him to tie the score. Beitz escaped and added another takedown to take a 5-3 lead after 1. Beitz escaped again, added a good low double and a 8-5 lead at the end of 2. Racciato chose down and quickly escaped, but Beitz countered a shot and turned it into a takedown of his own. Beitz rode the period out and with 1:14 in riding time got the 11-5 win.
Against Sherlock, Beitz gave up two early takedowns but didn't give up, got the two quick escapes and got his first takedown with 15 seconds in the period. Beitz rode the period out and escaped with a 4-4 tie. Beitz chose down, got the escape and connected on a takedown in a late flurry that nearly saw Zack get the pin. He didn't get it, but he did secure nearfall which led to a 10-4 lead going into the final period. Sherlock chose down, and Beitz built up riding time and turned Sherlock for two more nearfall points. Beitz would add another takedown to end the scoring, and with the riding time advantage walked away with the 15-5 major decision.
157: Ronnie Garbinsky PITT dec Cody Law PSU, 6-4/Law dec. Even Delong CUP, 5-1
Garbinsky caught Law, took him down and got 2 nearfall to start the Pitt dual. Law escaped but was down 4-1 after 1. Law chose down, escaped and got a double leg takedown to tie the bout at 4. Garbinsky escaped, but not before Law took away the riding advantage. Garbinsky chose down to start the 3rd and quickly escaped. Law and Garbinsky traded shots and Law pressured till the end but was not able to break through Garbinsky's defense.
On Saturday, Law pressured Delong and the two traded shots without either scoring. Law kept up the pressure and drew the stall call with 20 seconds left in the 1st. Delong chose down but could not get out as Law rode out the entire period and got another stall call to get a point and lead 1-0 after 2. Law chose down to start the third, escaped and added a takedown. Law cut Delong but was unable to score any more points. The riding time advantage gave Law a 5-1 victory, his first in a Lion singlet.
165: Cody Wiercioch PITT dec. Garett Hammond PSU 11-8/Hammond maj. dec. Slade Horner CUP, 13-4
Wiercioch came out firing and got Hammond quickly for a 2 point takedown. Hammond escaped, but Wiercioch caught Hammond for a 4 -point move for a 6-2 lead after a Hammond escape. Hammond nearly caught Wiercioch but the Pitt wrestler rolled through and got a takedown of his own and a 8-3 lead after 1. Hammond chose down and quickly escaped, then nearly caught Hammond again but action went off the mat. Wiercioch chose down to start the 3rd and got a reversal after Hammond worked off some of the riding time. Wiercioch cut Hammond looking to score again but it was Hammond that got the final takedown with 10 seconds to go but he came out on the short end of an 11-8 decision.
Hammond came out aggressive against Horner, getting 2 takedowns and a 4-2 lead after 1. Hammond then chose down, got an escape and added another takedown. Hammond worked Horner to his back and picked up 3 nearfall and a 10-2 lead going into the final stanza. Horner chose down and quickly escaped but Hammond added another takedown. With the escape and the riding time point, Hammond walked away with a hard fought 12-3 major, his first win as a Lion.
174: #3 Matt Brown PSU maj. dec. Troy Raeghard PITT, 17-6/pinned Michael Pavasko CUP, WBF (0:51)
Hulk Hands forced his will on Raeghard getting an early takedown and forcing him into a stall call while riding out the 1st. Raeghard chose down and quickly escaped but Brown blew through a double for a takedown. He added another takedown after a Raeghard escape and lead 6-2. Brown chose down and got the reversal and cut the Panther, looking for points. He added 4 more takedowns and easily won by a 17-6 major decision.
Brown wasted little time against Clarion's Pavasko, getting a quick takedown. Pavasko escaped and shot in on Brown, but the Lion countered and planted Pavasko for the pin.
184: #4 Max Thomusseit PITT dec. Matt McCutcheon PSU, 5-3/McCutcheon maj. dec. Danny Sutherland CUP, 12-3
Another dual, another top-5 opponent for Matt McCutcheon. Thomusseit got a quick takedown and a 2-1 lead after a McCutcheon escape. McCutcheon gained control of Thomusseit 's ankle, but was unable to finish the move and the period ended. McCutcheon chose down but was unable to get out. He then spent over 2 minutes getting the reversal and a 3-3 tie, but Thomusseit owned a 2:07 riding time advantage. Thomusseit chose down to start the 3rd and McCutcheon had to cut him loose. McCutcheon got in on good shots two more times but was unable to finish and lost a hard-fought 5-3 decision.
Finally wrestling someone not ranked in the top 5, McCutcheon was able to come out aggressive and get an early takedown against Sutherland. He controlled the action on top and rode out the 1st period. McCutcheon chose down, got a quick escape and landed another takedown to up his lead to 5-0. He rode the period out and took that lead into the 3rd. Sutherland chose down and got a quick escape, but McCutcheon added another takedown. He added another takedown and looked for the major by cutting Sutherland. He added the final takedown with 5 seconds left and with 1:52 in riding time advantage won by 12-3 major decision, his first as a Lion.
197: #4 Morgan McIntosh PSU pinned #10 Nick Bonaccorsi PITT, WBF (4:05)/tech fall Ryan Darch CUP, 16-1 (7:00)
McIntosh clinched the Pitt dual with an exciting pin over 10th ranked Bonaccorsi. McIntosh came out aggressive and got the first takedown. He then showed his dominance on top turning the Panther for 3 nearfall points and a 5-0 lead after 1. Bonaccorsi didn't learn from this experience, choosing down to start the 2nd. McIntosh turned Bonaccorsi over for 3 more nearfall points and stuck him for the pin--breaking the hearts of Panthers everywhere.
It was the same thing against Darch as McIntosh came out firing and getting the quick takedown. He then turned Darch for 3 nearfall, reset and got 2 more nearfall for a 7-0 lead after 1. McIntosh chose down and quickly rolled through a reversal and a 9-0 lead. McIntosh rode out the period and clinched the riding point. Darch wisely chose neutral, but McIntosh blew through a double for another takedown then cut him loose. McIntosh hit another 5 point move and nearly pinned Darch but he was able to roll through but was down 15-1. McIntosh simply rode the period out for the tech fall.
285: #7 Jon Gingrich PSU maj. dec. John Rizzo PITT, 9-1/dec. Evan Daley CUP, 9-4
With the Pitt match won, all Jon had to do was win for himself. He did just that, although there was no scoring in the 1st. Jon chose down to start the 2nd, quickly escaped and blew through a double to take a 3-0 lead. Jon rode the period out. Rizzo chose down to start the 2nd but Jon built up enough riding time to get the point advantage. Jon then cut Rizzo and started looking for more. He shot and landed a low single and upped the score to 5-1. Jon then turned Rizzo for 3 nearfall and rode the period out for the 9-1 major with a riding time point.
Jon fell behind Daley giving up the bout's first takedown. He escaped but got hit with a stall call as the 1st period ended. Gingrich chose down to start the 2nd and quickly escaped. No further scoring occurred with the bout tied at 2. Daley chose down to start the third and escaped for a 1 point lead. Gingrich steadily worked his way for a takedown with 20 seconds on the clock and Daley gave up injury time. This gave Jon his choice and he chose bottom, quickly escaped and tacked on another takedown to win 9-4 in a match that was much closer than the final score would seem.