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Penn State dominates Cowboys, wins duals title

Penn State dominated Oklahoma State in the title match-up of the NWCA Dual Championship Series. Head coach Cael Sanderson’s squad posted a 27-13 victory to claim its second consecutive national dual-meet title.

In a dual meet featuring 18 ranked wrestlers, Penn State’s young lineup, with seven underclassmen, handled the Cowboy squad. Penn State’s win came in front of an Oklahoma State wrestling all-time record crowd of 14,059 in sold out Gallagher-Iba Arena. The win is the 31st consecutive dual victory for Penn State. The Nittany Lions, who suffered a nine-point swing with an injury default loss in the dual’s first bout, reeled off seven wins in a row after dropping the first three matches to roll to the lopsided victory.

The dual began at 125. True freshman Nick Suriano, ranked No. 2 at 125, was leading 3-1 over No. 11 Nick Piccininni in the second period when an injury forced the Lion freshman into an injury default loss. Oklahoma State took a 10-0 lead when No. 3 Kaid Brock posted a 17-6 major over sophomore George Carpenter at 133. Senior Jimmy Gulibon, ranked No. 10 at 141, took No. 1 Dean Heil to the limit, appearing to have him pinned once in the second period and once in the third. But the call never came and Heil posted a 3-2 win to give the Cowboys a 13-0 lead after three matches.

Junior Zain Retherford, ranked No. 1 at 149, downed No. 2 Anthony Collica, 2-1, using 1 minute, 51 seconds in riding time to post the winning point. Sophomore Jason Nolf, ranked No. 1 at 157, dominated No. 6 Joe Smith, rolling up 11 takedowns on his way to a 24-9 technical fall with 1:49 in riding time. Nolf’s tech fall cut the Cowboy lead to 13-8 at intermission, marking the first time all year Penn State trailed at a dual’s midway point.

Redshirt freshman Vincenzo Joseph, ranked No. 4 at 165, rolled over No. 8 Chandler Rogers to start the second half, posting a 12-4 major decision with 1:39 in riding time. Joseph’s win cut the Cowboy lead to 13-12. True freshman Mark Hall, ranked No. 7 at 174, used a third period takedown to beat No. 9 Kyle Crutchmer for the second time this year, this time with a 3-2 decision. Hall’s win gave Penn State the lead for the first time in the dual, 15-13

Sophomore Bo Nickal, ranked No. 2 at 184, added cushion to the Lion margin, locking up a cradle early and decking No. 4 Nolan Boyd at the 38-second mark. It was Nickal’s 13th pin of the year. Junior Matt McCutcheon, ranked No. 9 at 197, clinched the dual victory with an impressive 4-3 win over No. 8 Preston Weigel, using two third-period takedowns to grab the victory. Sophomore Nick Nevills, ranked No. 3 at 285, capped the dual meet off with a solid 10-5 win over Cowboy Derek White, giving the Nittany Lions the 27-13 victory.

No. 1 Penn State 27,

No. 2 Oklahoma State 13

125: #11 Nick Piccininni OKST inj. def. #2 Nick Suriano PSU, inj. def. (3:34). 133: #3 Kaid Brock OKST maj. dec. George Carpenter PSU, 17-6. 141: #1 Dean Heil OKST dec. #10 Jimmy Gulibon PSU, 3-2. 149: #1 Zain Retherford PSU dec. #2 Anthony Collica OKST, 2-1. 157: #1 Jason Nolf PSU tech fall #6 Joe Smith OKST, 24-9 (TF; 7:00). 165: #4 Vincenzo Joseph PSU maj. dec. #8 Chandler Rogers OKST, 12-4. 174: #7 Mark Hall PSU dec. #9 Kyle Crutchmer OKST, 3-2. 184: #2 Bo Nickal PSU pinned #4 Nolan Boyd OKST, WBF (0:38). 197: #9 Matt McCutcheon PSU dec. #8 Preston Weigel OKST, 4-3. 285: #3 Nick Nevills PSU dec. Derek White OKST, 10-5.

Records: Penn State 14-0, 9-0 B1G; Oklahoma State 14-1, 6-0 Big 12).

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