Michigan State University
Penn State
No. 5 Penn State Defeats Spartan Wrestling
2/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Wrestling against its sixth consecutive ranked opponent at home, Michigan State fell to four-time defending NCAA Champion and fifth-ranked Penn State, 35-0, Sunday afternoon at Jenison Field House.
"It's hard when the final score turned out the way it did, but with that said, I really think our team wrestled hard," said MSU head coach Tom Minkel. "We were outmatched in a lot of weight classes, but I think everyone fought today. There were some matches that were very, very close, and the margin of victory was pretty slim.
"When you're a little beat up (due to injuries) and you're wrestling the very best teams in the country, you have to understand that it's a process and you have to stay positive and keep working hard. We have to get stronger from this, and I think we are actually. I thought Terry Turner wrestled a great match (at 141 pounds). Roger Wildmo wrestled a really, really hard-fought match (at 165) and did some really nice things as well. He wrestled every second of the match. He did a really nice job."
Eighth-ranked Jordan Conaway of Penn State opened the dual at 125 pounds with a 13-6 decision over Mitch Rogaliner of MSU (4-9, 0-6 Big Ten). Rogaliner gave up the first takedown of the match, but after quickly escaping, he delivered his own takedown to take a brief 3-2 lead with 1:25 left in the first. Conaway recovered to take a 5-3 lead after the first, and opened up a 10-4 advantage after two periods. Rogaliner held off Conaway at the end of the third to keep the final under eight points at 13-6, although Conaway did hold 1:36 of riding time.
In his first start at 133 pounds this season, Garth Yenter battled ninth-ranked Jimmy Gulibon and only gave up one takedown, but fell in a 4-0 decision.
At 141 pounds, Terry Turner and Kade Moss went down to the wire in a highly entertaining match that eventually went Moss' way, 10-8. Turner found himself down 5-2 midway through the second period when the match suddenly turned as he put Moss on his back near the edge of the circle, nearly pinning the four-time Utah high school state champion. Turner settled for two near-fall points to grab a 6-5 lead, but he did allow Moss to escape with just six seconds left in the period to tie the match at 6.
In the third, Turner escaped 35 seconds in to go up 7-6; however, he surrendered a takedown 15 seconds later to fall behind, 8-7, with 1:10 left. Turner escaped again with 37 seconds remaining, tying it at 8 heading down the stretch. In the closing seconds, Moss notched a takedown with just nine ticks on the clock to take the 10-8 decision.
Penn State (10-2, 6-2 Big Ten) won the next two bouts by major decision heading into intermission, as No. 18 Zach Beitz defeated Nick Trimble, 13-3, at 149 pounds, and Cody Law beat Josh Pennell, 22-11, at 157.
In the first match after intermission, Roger Wildmo dropped a hard-fought 9-7 decision to Garett Hammond at 165 pounds. Wildmo took a 3-2 lead with a single-leg takedown at the edge of the mat with 38 seconds left in the first, but Hammond escaped to tie it at 3 heading into the second period.
Starting down to start the second, Wildmo escaped twice in the period but gave up a takedown as the match remained knotted at 5. Wildmo caught a break to begin the final stanza, as Hammond was penalized one point for his third false start. Hammond escaped with 1:35 left to tie it at 6, and took an 8-6 lead with a takedown at the 40-second mark. Wildmo managed to escape with 20 seconds left and nearly recorded a late takedown at the edge of the mat with 11 seconds to go, but his feet were just outside the circle as the whistle halted the action. Hammond closed out with a 9-7 decision after racking up 2:25 of riding time.
At 174 pounds, third-ranked Matt Brown improved to 19-2 on the season by pinning Nick Proctor in 4:54. In the 184-pound match, No. 17 Matt McCutheon topped John Rizqallah, 8-2.
Penn State closed out the dual with a 2-0 decision at 197 pounds by No. 5 Morgan McIntosh over Nick McDiarmid, and an 8-2 decision by No. 6 Jimmy Lawson against Chris Nash at heavyweight.
Michigan State will face its seventh straight ranked opponent at home next Sunday, Feb. 8 when it plays host to No. 10 Nebraska at noon in Jenison Field House.
No. 5 Penn State 35, Michigan State 0
125: No. 8 Jordan Conaway (PSU) dec. Mitch Rogaliner (MSU), 13-6 (RT 1:36). PSU leads, 3-0
133: No. 9 Jimmy Gulibon (PSU) dec. Garth Yenter (MSU), 4-0 (RT 1:33). PSU leads, 6-0
141: Kade Moss (PSU) dec. Terry Turner (MSU), 10-8. PSU leads, 9-0
149: No. 18 Zack Beitz (PSU) major dec. Nick Trimble (MSU), 13-3 (RT 2:28). PSU leads, 13-0
157: Cody Law (PSU) major dec. Josh Pennell (MSU), 22-11 (RT 1:51). PSU leads, 17-0
165: Garett Hammond (PSU) dec. Roger Wildmo (MSU), 9-7 (RT 2:25). PSU leads, 20-0
174: No. 3 Matt Brown (PSU) pins Nick Proctor (MSU) in 4:54. PSU leads, 26-0
184: No. 17 Matt McCutcheon (PSU) dec. John Rizqallah (MSU), 8-2. PSU leads, 29-0
197: No. 5 Morgan McIntosh (PSU) dec. Nick McDiarmid (MSU), 2-0 (RT 1:35). PSU leads, 32-0
HWT: No. 6 Jimmy Lawson (PSU) dec. Chris Nash (MSU), 8-2 (RT 2:45). PSU wins, 35-0
Attendance: 252
Players Mentioned
