Penn State wrestlers sweep 9 straight bouts to flatten Rider, 38-4

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Penn State wrestlers sweep 9 straight bouts to flatten Rider, 38-4
By Jim Carlson | Special to PennLive
on December 19, 2015 at 6:30 PM, updated December 19, 2015 at 6:41 PM

Sparked by a huge fall from Shakur Rasheed at 165, top-ranked Penn State swept the first nine bouts against Rider and rolled to a 38-4 wrestling win on Saturday at Lawrenceville, New Jersey.

Rasheed was followed by a fall from Bo Nickal at 174 as the Nittany Lions won six bonus-point decisions before a packed house at Rider's Alumni Gym.

Penn State (6-0) enjoyed a 29-7 advantage in takedowns and now has 171 takedowns in six dual meets compared to just 24 by its opponents.

It was expected that Geno Morelli would wrestle at 165 and that that starter would be determined at the Southern Scuffle. Morelli injured a hamstring against Wisconsin and gave way to Rasheed who lined up with No. 15 Conor Brennan.

The two were tied at 3-3 when Rasheed shot a double-leg attempt, immediately moved up on Brennan and hooked up a very tight headlock for a fall in 4:28. "I felt the headlock and hit it,'' Rasheed told the Penn State Radio Network. "It was like a right hook in boxing.

"A month ago you never would have seen me try to hit a headlock. Today, why not,'' he said.

Nico Megaludis opened with his typical energy at 125 pounds, working Brenden Calas for eight takedowns that resulted in a seven-minute technical fall and a 5-0 Penn State lead.

Jordan Conaway followed at 133 by tripping Zach Valcarce 18-4 with six more takedowns for the Lions, and Kade Moss filled in again for Jimmy Gulibon (ankle) at 141 and downed Paul Kirchner 13-6 to stake the Lions to a 12-0 early lead.

Rider's B.J. Clagon gave Zain Retherford all he could handle at 149. Clagon took three solid, first-period shots, each time making Retherford scramble to pull off a successful counter. Retherford rode for 1:52 in the second period and that ended up being the winning margin for Retherford in the very well-wrestled 2-1 bout between the two All-Americans.

Penn State's Jason Nolf had no such problems with Rider's Chad Walsh at 157. While Walsh stayed close for two periods, trailing just 6-3, Nolf ripped off 11 points in the final period and added a riding time point for an 18-7 major decision.

Bo Nickal collected Penn State's second straight fall at 174 when, after building a 10-0 lead, exploded off the bottom, hipped Wayne Stinson to his back and pinned him just eight seconds into the second period.

There wasn't nearly as much action at 184 as Penn State's Matt McCutcheon made a first-period takedown and second-period escape stand in a 3-0 win over Rider's Michael Fagg-Daves to up Penn State's lead to 34-0.

Morgan McIntosh was methodical in a 10-1 win over Ryan Wolfe. Two takedowns and a four-point nearfall provided the offense.

Caleb Livingston made his dual-meet debut for Penn State at heavyweight as acting coach Cody Sanderson opted to keep Jan Johnson (knee) out of the lineup. Livingston was outmatched on his feet by Mauro Correnti as the Rider sophomore picked up six takedowns. Livingston rode Correnti for more than a minute in the final period but Correnti eased to a 15-6 major decision.

NOTES: Head coach Cael Sanderson and assistant Casey Cunningham accompanied the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club to Las Vegas for the Senior Nationals. Cody Sanderson acted as head coach for Penn State at Rider on Saturday. ... Mike Millward, a former Bald Eagle Area wrestler, was the referee. ... Rider's Ryan Wolfe, wrestling at 197 on Saturday, won the Eastern Wrestling League at 174 last season. ... Rider sold out its Alumni Gym with more than 2,000 on hand. ... Penn State is off until Jan. 1-2 at the Southern Scuffle tournament in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

PENN STATE 38, RIDER 4
125: Nico Megaludis, PS tf Brenden Calas 7:00 (20-5).
133: Jordan Conaway, PS md Zach Valcarce 18-4.
141: Kade Moss d Paul Kirchner 13-6.
149: Zain Retherford, PS d B.J. Clagon 2-1.
157: Jason Nolf, PS md Chad Walsh 18-7.
165: Shakur Rasheed p Conor Brennan 4:28
174: Bo Nickal, PS p Wayne Stinson 3:08.
184: Matt McCutcheon, PS d Michael Fagg-Daves 3-0.
197: Morgan McIntosh, PS md Ryan Wolfe 10-1.
285: Mauro Correnti, R md Caleb Livingston 17-6.

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