Wrestling: Penn State wins 9 of 10 at Maryland, extends streak to 40

Winning nine of 10, the heavyweight bout was the only weight class at which the Nittany Lions didn't score bonus. With Nick Nevills' 4-1 victory over Youssif Hemida, however, the the last match of the night was indeed the highlight.

Since losing three times in early January, Nevills has now won three in a row. His two latest have come against ranked wrestlers, including Hemida who was two spots ahead of Nevills in the latest rankings. It was Nevills who notched the bout's only takedown, before scoring a quick escape and riding out the third period, accumulating a total of 2 minutes and 20 seconds in riding time. Nevills said the effort is part of a turnaround from earlier this month, one that was sparked by a meeting with Cael Sanderson and his assistants earlier this month.

"Coaches sat me down and just said, 'Hey it happens, but this is where we're at and this is where want to be," Nevills told Jeff Byers after the match on the Penn State Sports Radio Network. "It was kind of humbling to talk to them and go all heart and soul with them and have that kind of talk. … After the Scuffle, I had a rough go at it at Michigan. I just got taken down and put on my back right away. Obviously (to) anyone who pays close enough attention, I wasn't wrestling all that great on bottom through the Scuffle. Through that match that is something that I've really been working on and something that I've been working on since I've gotten here."

Nevills' takedown, which came in the first period, was one of 36 for the Nittany Lions while visiting College Park. The Terrapins had just one.

At 125 pounds, Devin Schnupp scored Penn State's first takedown, but he wasn't able to pull out the victory against Brandon Cray. Schnupp characteristically fought until the end, scoring the bout's only takedown in the third period, but couldn't gather a second before time expired. A second period reversal from Cray proved to be the difference in a 4-2 decision.

From there, it was all Nitany Lions.

Corey Keener pinned Jhared Simmons in 3:42 after putting him on his back twice during the first period. At 141, Nick Lee rolled up eight takedowns against Ryan Diehl until the final bell rang on a 22-10 major decision. The pace only picked up after that. In the following five matches, Penn State secured a fall at each weight class – four of which came in the first period. Six total pins for PSU is a season high.

Zain Retherford got the ball rolling, decking Alfred Bannister in 1:19 at 149. At 157, Jason Nolf turned Kyle Cochran for a cradle pin in 1:43. It was Ochran's only third loss on the season. Retherford and Nolf currently lead Division I wrestling with 15 falls. With 51 total in his career, Retherford lies two pins shy of breaking the school record.

Vincenzo Joseph kept it going at 165, pinning Brent Burnham in 1:23. Then Mark Hall turned Jahi Jones in 2:44 at 174. At 184, Nico Capello survived past the first period against Bo Nickal, unlike the preceding four weight classes, but Nickal needed all of 23 seconds of the second period to lock up a pinning combination for the 3:23 fall.

Next Penn State sent out Anthony Cassar over Shakur Rasheed, in a continuing rotation of the 197-pounders. Cassar capitalized by securing eight takedowns and piled on 4:15 RT to win by major decision, 14-6, against David-Brian Whisler.

Although the bonus streak came to an end in the final bout, it was a determined effort from Nevills that helped serve Hemida just his second loss of the season with the 3-point decision. After exchanging shot attempts in the first period Nevills scored the only takedown and afterward said Hemida is "a real tough opponent and you have to wrestle through the positions. It helps when you have guys like Coach Cael, Coach (Jake) Varner and Coach Cunningham and the guys who we have on our team who will make you wrestle through those positions, so when you get in a match it's not the first time you've ever felt that."

No. 2 Penn State 47, Maryland 3

January 21, 2018 – College Park, Md.

125: Brandon Cray MD dec. Devin Schnupp PSU, 4-2 0-3

133: Corey Keener PSU pinned Jhared Simmons, WBF (3:48) 6-3

141: No. 7 Nick Lee PSU maj. dec. Ryan Diehl, MD, 22-10 10-3

149: No. 1 Zain Retherford PSU pinned Alfred Bannister MD, WBF (1:19) 16-3

157: No. 1 Jason Nolf PSU pinned Kyle Cochran MD, WBF (1:43) 22-3

165: No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph PSU pinned Brendan Burnham MD, WBF (1:23) 28-3

174: No. 2 Mark Hall PSU pinned Jahi Jones MD, WBF (2:44) 34-3

184: No. 1 Bo Nickal PSU pinned Nico Capello MD, WBF (2:23) 40-3

197: Anthony Cassar PSU maj. dec. David-Brian Whisler MD, 14-5 44-3

285: No. 8 Nick Nevills PSU dec. No. 6 Youssif Hemida MD, 4-1 47-3

Records: Penn State 9-0, 5-0 B1G;Maryland 5-8, 0-7 B1G

Up Next for Penn State: Home vs. Minnesota, Friday, Jan. 26, 7 p.m. in Rec Hall (BTN)