Wrestling Preview: No. 1 Penn State Hosts Purdue

Hiya!

If you haven’t noticed, I am very much not Cari Greene, so today’s preview may not come with all the style and panache that you fine ladies and germs are used to. Nevertheless, I persisted.

Cael Sanderson and company are coming off maybe their most impressive weekend of the season, coming away with a pair of victories of Michigan and Sparty up in the mitten state and the momentum should keep on rolling into a weekend where PSU takes on a couple of the conference’s bottom feeders.

First up will be Purdue (what’s a Purdue, you ask? Well, we don’t know either). The Boilermakers do boast a trio of ranked wrestlers and could well have a forth if people were wise to Nate Limmex at 141. So, without further adieu.

How To Watch

What: #1 Penn State vs Purdue

Where: Rec Hall in University Park, Pennsylvania

When: Friday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m.

Audio: Free, Jeff “Ironhead” Byers, via GoPSUSports

Video: BTN+

As lineup tables are Cari’s thing (and also very time consuming), we’re going to get an abridged version today. Look, I warned y’all up top how this was going to go.

Lineups

125: Devin Schnupp Fr. Lititz, Pa./Warwick / 1-11 vs. #12 Luke Welch Sr. Newburgh, Ind./Castle / 20-4

133: Corey Keener Sr. Schuylkill Haven, Pa./Blue Mountain / 10-3 vs. Ben Thornton Jr. Stoddard, Wis./La Crosse Central / 19-7

141: #7 Nick Lee Fr. Evansville, Ind./Homeschool / 16-3 vs. Nate Limmex So. Ada, Mich./Grand Rapids Catholic Central / 18-9

149: #1 Zain Retherford Sr. Benton, Pa./Benton / 16-0 vs. Austin Nash So. Florham Park, N.J./Hanover Park / 4-12OR Koby Reyes Jr. Billings, Mont./Billings West / 4-13

157: #1 Jason Nolf Jr. Yatesboro, Pa./Kittanning / 16-0 vs. Griffin Parriott Fr. New Prague, Minn./New Prague / 11-9

165: #1 Vincenzo Joseph So. Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic / 11-0 vs. Jacob Morrissey Sr. Oconto Falls, Wis./Oconto Falls / 16-11

174: #2 Mark Hall So. Apple Valley, Minn./Apple Valley / 17-0 vs. #12 Dylan Lydy So. Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis / 23-8

184: #1 Bo Nickal Jr. Allen, Texas/Allen / 16-0 vs. Max Lyon Fr. Dyersville, Iowa/Western Dubuque / 11-9

197: Anthony Cassar So. Rocky Hill, N.J./Montgomery / 13-2#10 Shakur Rasheed Jr. Coram, N.Y./Longwood / 13-2Matt McCutcheon Sr. Apollo, Pa./Kiski Area / 5-3 vs. Christian Brunner So. East Dundee, Ill./Dundee-Crown / 16-5OR Kobe Woods Fr. Mishawaka, Ind./Penn / 4-3

285: #8 Nick Nevills Jr. Clovis, Calif./Clovis / 16-3 vs. #15 Shawn Streck Fr. Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville / 21-9

125lbs

No Carson Kuhn into the lineup yet for Penn State and as Cari said last week, Schnupp is still really tiny for the weight class which could make this one problematic as Welch could well be one of the bigger 125s he faces and the senior has a wealth of experience. This one could get off to a rough start for Penn State.

Prediction: Welch by Fall

Score: PSU 0, Purdue 6

133lbs

The wild ride that is the Corey Keener experience went through more peaks and valleys last weekend with one win by major decision and one loss just the same. Thornton will provide some stiff competition and could well be an NCAA qualifier, so this will be a decent chance to see where Keener’s at against a guy many will think he should beat.

Prediction: Keener by decision

Score: PSU 3, Purdue 6

141

Limmex has been ballin’ lately and would definitely be in my non-existent top 20. Seven straight victories including wins over Nebraska’s Chad Red, Wisconsin’s Cole Martin and Michigan’s Mafia Man, Salvatore Profaci. Unfortunately for Limmex, he’s going to run into the one-man wrecking crew that is Nick Lee and his absolutely absurd pace. Limmex is good one, Lee is a great one.

Prediction: Lee by Major Decision

Score: PSU 7, Purdue 6

149

Lol these poor children

Prediction: Zain by Fall

Score: PSU 13, Purdue 6

157

Parriott is a fantastic get for the Boilermakers and in my books is going to be a future all-american. Unfortunately for the freshman, he’s facing Jason Nolf who is currently the best wrestler in the country at 157 and it ain’t particularly close. Parriott won’t be afraid to get in there and mix it up, but it likely won’t end well for him

Prediction: Nolf by Fall

Score: PSU 19, Purdue 6

165

Morrissey (your music stinks and you’re a bad person) is a solid, well-seasoned wrestler who has given guys trouble in the past, but Cenzo is wrestling as well as anybody in the country of late. Especially in front of the home crowd, I’d expect the defending national champ to put on a show but the Purdue senior will limit the damage.

Prediction: Cenzo by Major Decision

Score: PSU 23, Purdue 6

174

It’s hard to complain about going into Ann Arbor and coming away with a victory over a top-five ranked opponent, but I didn’t love the way Hall wrestled against Myles Amine. He’ll get another shot at a ranked guy when he takes on Lydy and I’d expect he opens it up a little more on his feet and is more successful working from top.

Prediction: Hall by Major Decision

Score: PSU 27, Purdue 6

184

When Bo takes the mat against wrestlers that are clearly not on his level, he often reminds them of that fact very quickly and very painfully. I wouldn’t expect that to be much different here against a freshman in Lyon.

Prediction: Nickal by Fall

Score: PSU 33, Purdue 6

197

I’m expecting Shakur Rasheed to get the call here for his first Rec Hall dual of the season, he’s earned that right and in my opinion he should probably be the starter the rest of the way barring something unforeseen happening. For Purdue, it’ll be Christian Brunner who is probably hovering just outside the top 20 at this weight class. As Shakur has shown this season, however, it doesn’t matter who you are, you’re getting cradled.

Prediction: Rasheed by Fall

Score: PSU 39, Purdue 6

285

No, the sky is not falling and yes, Nick Nevills will be fine. After a sub-par performance at the Southern Scuffle, Nevills got pushed around a bit by Adam Coon in the Michigan dual. Guess what, Adam Coon does that to a lot of people. Nevills got back on his horse and picked up a pin in the Sparty dual and looked in good shape in the process. He’ll get another shot at a ranked wrestler when he takes on Streck and I think he asserts his dominance a bit against the freshman.

Prediction: Nevills by Major Decision

Score: PSU 43, Purdue 6