Penn State leads Southern Scuffle; shows promising future

By Mike Finn

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Penn State, the four-time NCAA defending national championship program, is supposed to be focusing more on its future considering two All-Americans — Nico Megaludis (125) and Zain Retherford (141) — are redshirting this season.

But when it came to the first day the 2015 Defense Soap/Flips Southern Scuffle on Jan., 1 in McKenzie Arena, the Nittany Lions showed there are focused on the present and the future. For while Penn State leads the field — heading into Friday’s quarterfinals — with a four-point lead (52-48) over Nebraska with 10 quarterfinalists, three of those Lions scored points that were not even counted in PSU’s total

Two of those “unattached” Penn State wrestlers were true freshmen Jason Nolf (157) and Nick Nevills (Hwt), who upset a pair of highly seeded wrestlers in the 12th annual regular-season tournament. Nolf, from Yatesboro, Pa., defeated No. 3 seed Brian Realbuto, 7-4, at 157 pounds, while Nevills, from Clovis, Calif., edged No. 4 seed Denzel Dejournette of Appalachian State), 7-6 in their round of 16 bout. Another one of PSU’s quarterfinalists to not have his points count was 149-pound Zach Beitz.

Overall, nine top-four seeded wrestlers were upset; most notably Iowa State’s second-seed Kyven Gadson, who lost his 197-pound bout to Nebraska’s Spencer Johnson, 5-3.

The other top four-ranked seeds upset came at:

125 – Ben Williford (Cleveland State) defeated No. 3 Jordan Conaway (Penn State), 5-4 sv2

141 – Nick Arujau (Cornell) won by injury default over No. 4 Joe Spisak (Va.)

49 – Matt Cimato (Drexel) blanked No. 4 Gus Sako (Va.), 1-0

157 – Matt Hvolbek (Stanford) won by medical forfeit over No. 2 Ian Miller; Aaron Walker (Citadel) upset No. 3 Mitch Minotti (Lehigh), 8-1

Hwt  – No. 2 seed James Lawson medically forfeited his first match to Colin Campbell of Virginia

Nolf and Nevills were not the only true freshmen to reach the quarterfinals. Chance Marsteller of Oklahoma State defeated Ethan Ramos (North Carolina), 7-5, before pinning Mike England of Missouri in 1:48.

The tournament continues tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. (EST) with the semifinals slated to begin at 1:30 and finals at 7.

Top 10 Schools After Round of 16/Consolation

1. Penn State 52

2. Nebraska 48

3. Missouri 47.5

4. Oklahoma State 47

5. Pittsburgh 34

6. Michigan 32

7. Virginia 31

8. Cornell 30

9. Lehigh 29.5

10. Chattanooga 26

Quarterfinal Matchups for Friday, Jan. 2, Starting 9 a.m. (EST)

(Number before names are WIN’s Dec. 22 rankings)

125 pounds

2. Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) vs. 17. Tim Lambert (Nebaska)

UR Dom Forys (Pitt) vs. 10. Tyler Cox (Wyoming)

UR Ben Willeford (Cleveland State) vs. 9. Eddie Klimara (Oklahoma State)

20. Sean Boyle (Chattanooga) vs. 3. Alan Waters (Missouri)

133 pounds

7. James Guilibon (Penn State) vs. 19. Kevin Devoy (Drexel)

15. Earl Hall (Iowa State) vs. 12. George DiCamillo (Virginia)

9. Rossi Bruno (Michigan) vs. UR Troy Heilmann (No. Carolina)

UR Mark Grey (Cornell) vs. 5. Mason Beckman (Lehigh)

141 pounds

6. Lavion Mayes (Missouri) vs. 12. Dean Heil (Oklahoma State)

UR Joey Ward (No. Carolina) vs. UR Nick Arujua (Cornell)

14. Geo Martinez (Boise State) vs. UR Anthony Abidin (Nebraska)

UR Isaiah Locsin (Stanford) vs. 7. Zach Horan (Central Michigan)

149 pounds

2. Josh Kindig (Oklahoma State) vs. UR Luke Frey (Penn State)

UR Edgar Bright (Pitt) vs. 12. Gabe Moreno (Iowa State)

UR Matt Cimato (Drexel) vs. 15. Zack Beitz (Penn State)

18. Mike Racciato (Pitt) vs. 3. Drake Houdashelt (Missouri)

157 pounds

2. James Green (Nebraska) vs. 14. Anthony Collica (Oklahoma State)

UR Dylan Alton (Penn State) vs. UR Aaron Walker (The Citadel)

UR Jason Nolf (Penn State-unattached) vs. UR Tommy Gantt (NC State-unattached)

11. Russell Parsons (Army) vs. UR Matt Hvolbek (Stanford)

165 pounds

1. Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) vs. UR Dakota Friesth (Wyoming)

14. Peyton Walsh (Navy) vs. 13. Jim Wilson (Stanford)

5. Dylan Palacio (Cornell) vs. UR Chance Martsteller (Oklahoma State-unattached)

UR Chandler Smith (Army) vs. 2. Nick Sulzer (Virginia)

174 pounds

1. Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) vs. UR Kyle Crutchmer (Oklahoma State)

UR John Eblen (Missouri) vs. 6. Tanner Weatherman (Iowa State)

5. Tyler Wilps (Pitt) vs. Andy McCulley (Wyoming)

19. Jordan Rogers (Oklahoma State) vs. 4. Matt Brown (Penn State)

184 pounds

2. Gabe Dean (Cornell) vs. 17. Dominic Abounader (Michigan)

11. Nolan Boyd (Oklahoma State) vs. 18. Willie Mikilus (Missouri)

5. Nate Brown (Lehigh) vs. UR Matt McCutcheon (Penn State)

UR Ben Stroh (Wyoming) vs. 1. Max Thomusseit (Pitt)

197 pounds

1. J’den Cox (Missouri) vs. Zach Nye (Virginia)

UR Max Huntley (Michigan) vs. 6. Morgan McIntosh (Penn State)

5. Conner Hartmann (Duke) vs. Bryce Barnes (Army)

14. Elliot Riddick (Lehigh) vs. Spencer Johnson (Nebraska)

Heavyweight

4. Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State) vs. Collin Jensen (Nebraska)

19. Riley Shaw (Cleveland State) vs. Nick Nevills (Penn State-unattached)

5. Adam Coon (Michigan) vs. Jon Gingerich (Penn State)

14. Devin Mellon (Missouri) vs. Jared Johnson (Chattanooga)