Wrestling Wreport: Penn State Ends Dual Season with a Bang

The Penn State wrestling team ended the dual portion of their schedule, beating Rider 30-3 on Sunday afternoon. Penn State won 9 of 10 bouts on Senior Day with 3 seniors getting wins.  Luke Frey wrestled for Dylan Alton and won by 10-4 decision; Matt Brown won by 20-3 major decision in front of his last Rec Hall crowd; and Jimmy Lawson won by a 12-3 major decision in his finale.

125: #9 Jordan Conaway PSU dec. J.R. Wert RID, 8-4

Conaway and Wert shot simultaneously to start, with Wert getting the initial takedown and a 2-1 lead with a quick Conaway escape.  Conaway then worked in for his first takedown with 20 seconds left in the first, and rode the period out for the 3-2 lead. Wert chose down to start the second, but Conaway turned him for two quick* back points.  Conaway rode the period out and led 5-2.  Conaway chose down and got the escape but Jordan got sloppy and gave up a late takedown.

133: #5 Jimmy Gulibon PSU dec. Robert Deutsch RID, 4-1

In a match in which I expected a lot of scoring, we saw very little of it.  The 1st period ended scoreless with only a few scoring chances for either wrestler.  Both wrestlers got escapes and the bout was tied 1-1 late.  Gulibon finally converted a low single into a takedown and rode the period out for the 4-1 lead (with riding time).

141: Chuck Zeisloft RID dec. Kade Moss PSU, 3-2

Moss still gives up his legs way too easy--as Zeislof proved Sunday.  The Bronc wrestler was in on Moss's legs several times in the 1st but was unable to finish. Moss chose down to start the 2nd and escaped.  Zeislof finally converted a low shot into a takedown and the bout was tied after a quick Moss escape.  Zeislof chose down to start the 3rd and got the bout-leading escape.  Moss tried several times to convert a throw but the bout ended with Moss on the short side of a 3-2 loss.

149: #14 Zack Beitz PSU dec. B.J. Clagon RID, 6-3

Clagon got a quick takedown and led 2-1 after a Beitz escape.  Beitz then pushed the action and got a stall warning against Clagon.  The two wrestlers exchanged escapes, with Beitz nearly getting the riding time point, but Clagon escaped with just 55 seconds of riding time advantage.  Beitz was losing 3-2 with time running out.  Zack finally nailed a low single on the edge of the mat with 8 seconds left and added 2 nearfall points to seal the win.  Rider challenged the call but it was upheld.

157: Luke Frey PSU dec. Chad Walsh RID, 10-4

Frey got an initial takedown after a scramble and had Walsh's leg trapped.  Frey turned the Bronc for 3 nearfall points and nearly pinned him but the period ended with Frey up 5-0 with almost 2 minutes of riding time. Frey chose down and got the reversal and added 2 more nearfall points. Walsh escaped and got a late takedown to close the gap a bit to 9-3.  Walsh chose down and quickly escaped.  Frey was in on Walsh twice but almost gave up takedowns of his own.  Luckily, Frey was able to fight of the moves and the bout ended with Frey getting the riding point and a 10-4 win.

165: #18 Garett Hammond PSU maj. dec. (TB1) Conor Brennan RID, 13-4

Hammond came out firing and Brennan came out running.  Brennan was awarded a penalty point in a bizarre call of pushing out of bounds and the period ended with no further scoring.  Brennan chose down to start the 2nd and got the escape.  Hammond finally connected and rode the period out to tie the bout at 2.  Hammond chose down and quickly escaped to a 1-point lead.  Brennan got a takedown and the bout was tied after the Hammond escape. Both wrestlers nearly scored in sudden victory but the bout moved to the tiebreaker rounds.  Hammond chose down first and quickly escaped.  He then hit a single on Brennan's highly-taped knee and injured the Bronc.  In the process Hammond got the takedown and 3 nearfall points.  He actually pinned Brennan but the ref was too slow to make the call.  Proof?  Here you go:

Brennan had to take injury time so Hammond got his choice to start the next tiebreaker period.  Hammond chose down, quickly escaped, and added a final takedown to get a major decision in overtime.  I can honestly say that's the first time I saw a major in the tiebreaker rounds.

174: #2 Matt Brown PSU maj. dec. Ryan Wolfe RID, 14-3

Brown came out looking to thrill the crowd one last time and pushed the action.  Wolfe ran from Brown for the first 2 minutes, getting 2 stalls and a penalty point in the process.  Brown finally nailed a strong double to take a 3-0 lead into the 2nd after a short ride-out. Brown took bottom and quickly escaped to start the 2nd.  Brown upped the tempo and took Wolfe down 3 more times to take a 10-2 lead.  Wolfe chose down but Brown's tough ride forced another stall call.  Wolfe escaped but Brown added one more takedown and rode out the period for the 14-3 major.

184: #19 Matt McCutcheon PSU dec. Clint Morrison RID, 6-4

McCutcheon used a high double for a takedown and turned Morrison for 2 quick backpoints.  Matt then built up riding time before Morrison escaped to a 4-1 deficit after the 1st. Mouse chose down and quickly escaped.  McCutcheon pushed the action but could not score again and the bout moved to the 3rd with McCutcheon leading 5-1. Morrison chose down to start the 3rd and quickly escaped.  Morrison scored a takedown to cut the lead to 2 after a McCutcheon escape.  Morrison looked for the tying takedown but it was McCutcheon who got in deep as time ran out, and Matt walked away with the 6-4 win.

197: #4 Morgan McIntosh PSU dec. Donald McNeil RID, 12-5

McIntosh notched an early takedown off a high double and began riding McNeil looking for a turning combo.  He controlled the Bronc for over a minute before McNeil escaped.  Up 2-1, McIntosh notched another late takedown and led 4-1 after a short ride-out.  McNeil chose down but was dominated by McIntosh until Morgan cut him to look for more points.  McIntosh added 2 more takedowns and a stall penalty point to take a 9-3 lead into the 3rd period.  McIntosh chose down to start the final period and quickly escaped.  McIntosh got sloppy and gave up a late takedown.  McNeil was hit with another stall call and with the riding time point McIntosh got the 12-5 regular decision.

285: #7 Jimmy Lawson PSU maj. dec. Greg Velasco RID, 12-4

Lawson came out firing and notched two quick takedowns.  Leading 4-2, Lawson hit a trip as the period ended to take a 6-2 lead after 1.  Velasco chose down but Lawson rode him tough and built up riding time.  Jimmy was able to ride out the period and take the 4 point lead to the 3rd.  Lawson chose down, got to his feet, and hit his funky roll to get the quick escape.  Lawson would add 2 more takedowns and, with the riding time point, won by a 12-4 major decision.

* that was the quickest 2 backpoints I ever saw (read: they should not have been backpoints)