Nittany Lion Wrestlers Pound #23 Indiana 42-3 for Big Ten Dual Victory

By Kenny Varner
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Updated: January 11, 2015

Courtesy of PSU Athletics

22^nd straight home sell-out packs Rec Hall

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; January 9, 2015 – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, ranked No. 7 in the latest Intermat Tournament Power Index, took care of No. 23 Indiana in front of a sold out Rec Hall crowd on Friday night. Over 6,200 fans packed Rec Hall in the 22^nd straight home sell-out for Penn State and watched head coach Cael Sanderson’s squad post a dominating 42-3 victory.

The dual meet began at 165 where red-shirt freshman Garett Hammond (Chambersburg, Pa.) took on one of the nation’s best, No. 4 Taylor Walsh of Indiana. Hammond fell behind early and then mounted a furious comeback, nearly pulling off the upset as the sold out Rec Hall crowd roared. Hammond dropped a hard-fought 9-6 decision, giving Indiana a brief 3-0 lead. Senior Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah), ranked No. 4 at 174, made short work of that lead, turning a second period takedown into fall over No. 19 Nate Jackson. Brown got the pin at the 4:10 mark and put the Nittany Lions up 6-3.

Red-shirt freshman Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), ranked No. 16 at 184, followed Brown’s pin up with an even quicker fall. The Lion freshman caught Hoosier Jake Masengale from his feet and turned the Hoosier to his back for a first period pin at the 0:55 mark, putting Penn State up 12-3. Junior Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.) ranked No. 4 at 197, posted a 6-3 decision over IU’s Luke Sheridan and senior Jon Gingrich (Wingate, Pa) was a 6-2 winner of Indiana’s Garret Goldman at 285. Penn State carried an 18-3 lead into the halftime break.

Nittany Lion junior Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.), ranked No. 8 at 125, received a forfeit victory at 125, giving Penn State a 24-3 lead coming right out of intermission. Sophomore Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), ranked No. 10 at 133, was dominant, rolling to a 20-4 technical fall over Indiana’s Alonzo Shepherd. Red-shirt freshman Kade Moss (South Jordan, Utah) dominated Sean Brown at 141. The Lion rookie rolled out to a big lead and then turned shoulder control into a throw and a pin at the 5:43 mark.

Sophomore Zack Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.), ranked No. 17 at 149, followed that up with a strong 14-4 major decision with over 4:00 in riding time, putting Penn State up 39-3 with one bout left.. At 157, Penn State senior Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), ranked No. 8 at 157, capped off the night with a 2-0 win over Alex Gregory. Alton, who returned to action for the first time at the Southern Scuffle on Jan. 1-2, made his first Rec Hall appearance since last year’s finale against Clarion.

The Nittany Lions posted a gaudy 24-2 edge in takedowns while winning nine of ten bouts. The Lions picked up 15 bonus points off a forfeit, three pins, a tech fall and a major. Penn State is now 6-0 overall, 2-0 in the Big Ten. Indiana falls to 2-3, 0-2 in the conference.