Wrestling: PSU wins fourth-straight Scuffle title

Courtesy of Penn State SID Pat Donghia

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.; January 2, 2014 -- The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, ranked No. 1 in the latest Intermat Tournament Power Index, roared to the 2014 Southern Scuffle title, its fourth straight. Head coach Cael Sanderson's team crowned two champions and used a balanced team effort to move away from both Minnesota and Oklahoma State on day two.

Penn State won the title with 189.0 points while Oklahoma State was second with 164.5 and Minnesota third at 161.0. The Lions used a balanced team effort, with 11 of its 17 competitors placing at the event.

Day two began at 9 a.m. with the quarterfinals and fourth round of consolations. The Nittany Lions went 7-5 in the quarters. Junior Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), ranked No. 2 at 125, opened up Penn State's run of 12 quarterfinalists with 12-4 major over No. 12 Evan Silver of Stanford. Red-shirt freshman Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), ranked No. 17 at 133, posted his most impressive win to date, notching a hard-fought 2-1 win over No. 5 Ryan Mango of Stanford to move into the semis. Teammate Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.) dropped a tough 7-6 dec. to No. 11 Joe Roth of Central Michigan in his quarterfinal bout at 133.

True freshman Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), ranked No. 2 at 141, posted a 2-0 win over No. 11 Zach Horan of Central Michigan to move into the semifinals while red-shirt freshman Zack Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.) lost a close 3-1 dec. to No. 8 Chris Villalonga of Cornell. All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) put on a takedown clinic in the third period to roll to a 17-6 major over No. 15 Dylan Palacio of Cornell. All-American Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah), ranked No. 3 at 174, pinned Oregon State at the 4:25 mark, shortly after fellow All-American Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 184, pinned No. 15 Sam Wheeler of Kent State in just 1:07. True freshman Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), wrestling unattached, dropped a tough 6-4 decision to No. 12 Lorenzo Thomas of Penn in his quarterfinal bout.

Sophomore Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 3 at 197, suffered a tough 2-0 upset loss to No. 14 J'Den Cox of Missouri and shifted into consolation action. Junior heavyweight Jimmy Lawson (Tom's River, N.J.), ranked No. 12 nationally, posted a thrilling 3-2 (TB2; rt) decision over No. 15 Austin Marsden of Oklahoma State to move on to the semis while classmate Jon Gingrich (Wingate, Pa.) dropped a tough 5-2 decision to No. 5 Nick Gwiazdowski in his quarterfinal match-up.

Penn State's seven semifinalists began action at 1:30 p.m. and Megaludis led things off got Penn State off to a fast start with a dominant 7-2 win over No. 6 Josh Martinez of Air Force. Gulibon then notched yet another huge win, this time over No. 10 David Thorn of Minnesota. Gulibon's 4-3 decision, fighting off a late shot by the Gopher, was key in the team race. True freshman Retherford was unfazed by his first Scuffle semifinal, rolling to a 2-0 win over No. 7 Chris Mecate of Old Dominion.

Taylor took the mat at 165 and added to his gaudy career totals by pinning No. 9 Zach Toal of Missouri at the 4:59 mark. The pin, his second of the tournament, was the 46th of his career. Then at 174, Brown walked away with a hard-fought 3-2 win over No. 5 Logan Storley of Minnesota in his semifinal bout, notching another big win in the team race. Ruth made it six in a row for Penn State in the semis with a dominating 22-7 technical fall over No. 12 Lorenzo Thomas of Penn at 184. The win was Ruth's 84th straight.

Heavyweight Lawson closed out Penn State's semifinalists with a tough 3-1 loss to No.1 Tony Nelson of Minnesota, dropping into the consolation semifinals. He took on teammate Gingrich in the consolation semifinal bout and posted a 2-1 decision to move into the third place bout. He took on picked up a medical forfeit win over No. 11 Jeremy Johnson of Ohio in the third place bout, to take bronze. Lawson, the No. 4 seed, placed third with a 5-1 record.

In the finals, Megaludis took on No.1 Garrett first at 125. The Lion junior fell behind early and mounted a furious rally before dropping a tough 6-4 decision to the top ranked Garrett. Megaludis lost 6-4 and took second place with a 5-1 run, including three majors. Megaludis is 16-2 with his only two losses to Garrett.

At 133, Gulibon, who entered the tournament as the No. 7 seed, took on No. 1-ranked Jon Morrison of Oklahoma State. Gulibon dropped a hard-fought 4-0 decision to the Cowboy grappler, taking second place. Gulibon's 5-1 run as was critical in Penn State's team-title run as the Lion improved to 9-7 on the year. Gulibon knocked off the 5th and 10th-ranked wrestlers during the tournament.

True-freshman Retherford used a blistering double leg for a clinching takedown against No. 19 Joe Spisak of Virginia. Retherford led late but Spisak surprised the Lion with a late takedown and the bout moved to extra time thanks to riding time for Retherford. The Nittany Lion rookie remained unbeaten, however, and clinched the 2014 Southern Scuffle title for Penn State with a fast takedown in sudden victory. The 6-4 (sv) win gave Retherford the 141-pound Scuffle title and capped off a 5-0 run that included a pin and a major. Retherford is now 17-0 on the year with three pins, two tech falls and three majors.

Taylor took on No. 2 Tyler Caldwell of Oklahoma State in the finals and, after a sluggish first period, blistered the Cowboy All-American on his way to a dominating 9-1 major decision. The major was highlighted by two two-point near falls in the second period and one in the third. Taylor also totaled 3:36 in riding time in the victory. Taylor posted a 5-0 mark during his title run, winning his third Southern Scuffle title. Taylor is now 17-0 on the year. He leaves the Scuffle with a 117-3 career record with 46 pins (seven shy of Penn State's all-time record of 53), 38 tech falls and 26 majors. His 117 wins is 11th all-time at Penn State.

Brown took on No. 2 Chis Perry of Oklahoma State in the finals at 174, a rematch of last year's NCAA title bout (won by Perry). Perry used two near fall points in the second period as the catalyst to a 4-0 win over Brown in the finals. Brown's second place finish at the Scuffle came off a 5-1 run which included two pins, a major and a forfeit. Brown leaves Chattanooga with a 17-1 record, including six pins, two techs and four majors.

Then, at 184, Lion senior Ed Ruth had his 84-match win streak snapped with a 7-4 upset loss to No. 7 Gabe Dean of Cornell. Dean used a first and third period takedowns and great defense to grab the win and send Ruth to defeat for the first time since his freshman year. Ruth took second at the Scuffle, ending his bid to become a four-time Scuffle titlist as he already has three titles. Ruth is now 16-1 on the year with 41 pins (third all-time at Penn State), 22 tech falls and 27 majors. His 118 wins is 10th all-time at Penn State.

Sophomore McIntosh rebounded from an upset loss earlier in the day to reel off three straight wins to advance to the third place bout at 197. He downed No. 16 Nick Bonaccorsi of Pitt in the conso semis to move to the third place bout where he was beaten again by No. 14 Cox and ended the tournament as the fourth place finisher. McIntosh's 5-2 showing has him at 16-2 overall heading into the Purdue dual.

Gingrich had a strong tournament as well. Entering as the 10th seed, the Lion junior wrestled above that. The Lion went 2-2 today and placed sixth. He dropped a tough 2-1 decision to teammate Lawson in the conso semis, which slid him to the fifth place match. Gingrich took a cautionary medical forfeit in that match, pushing the 10th seed to the sixth place slot. Gingrich went 5-2 with two majors (the medical forfeit does not count as a loss).

Conaway's strong run at 133 pounds ended in the fifth place match. The Lion began day two with a tough 7-6 loss to No. 11 Joe Roth but then responded with two wins, including a 7-4 victory over No. 18 Mark McGuire of Kent State. Following a loss in the consolation semifinals, Conaway ended his tournament with a tough 5-2 decision to No. 11 Roth and placed sixth. Conaway's 4-3 run to sixth as the No. 12 seed included two majors.

Sophomore Luke Frey (Montoursville, Pa.) entered the tournament as the 10th seed and wrestled above that. The Lion, making his first appearance since an injury in his first match in November, Frey posted a 5-3 mark, including two majors, a pin and a forfeit. He placed eighth, having to take an injury default in the seventh place bout in the second period.

Red-shirt freshman Zack Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.) had a nice run at 149 for Penn State. Beitz went 2-2 and advanced to the quarterfinals, including an early round 10-4 upset win over No. 9 Scott Sakaguchi of Oregon State. Beitz' final loss came to teammate Frey in the sixth round of consolations, a close 2-0 decision. True freshman Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.) was also solid for Penn State, wrestling unattached at 184. McCutcheon posted a 3-2 record, advancing to the quarterfinals. He had a pin and a 5-4 win over No. 11 John Eblen of Missouri in the process.

True freshman Garret Hammond (Chambersburg, Pa.), wrestling unattached at 165, had a solid 3-2 tournament run at 165, including a tech fall and a pin. Red-shirt freshman Wes Phipps (Grove City, Pa.) was solid at 184, posting a 3-2 mark with a major and a win over No. 9 Boaz Beard of Iowa State. Junior Nate Morgan (McCook, Neb.) lost his only bout of the day and ended his tournament run at 141 with a 1-2 record. Senior James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) posted a 2-2 mark as Penn State's only 157-pounder.

Penn State entered day two with a 38-5 overall record. The Nittany Lions then went 7-5 in the quarters, 6-1 in the semis and 2-4 in the finals as well as 14-13 in all the consolation and medal action combined on day two. Penn State leaves Chattanooga having posted a 67-28 overall record with 17 majors, three tech falls and 11 falls.

Penn State returns to action on Sunday, Jan. 12, when the Lions welcome Purdue to Rec Hall for an already sold-out 2 p.m. showdown, returning home for the first time in nearly a month.

2014 SOUTHERN SCUFFLE FINAL TOP FIVE TEAM STANDINGS:

Thursday, January 2, 2014 - Chattanooga, Tenn.

1: Penn State - 189.0

2: Oklahoma State - 164.5

3: Minnesota - 161.0

4: Cornell - 114.5

5: Missouri - 102.5

Attendance: 3,436

(Rankings Listed are National, Intermat as of 12/31/13)

Penn State's 125 agate:

#2 Nico Megaludis (No. 2 seed):

1st Round: W, 14-2 maj. dec. Alfredo Gray, Kent State

2nd Round: W, 10-4 dec. Zach Synon, Missouri

3rd Round: W, 12-3 maj. dec. Jordan Kingsley, Minnesota

Qtrs: W, 12-4 maj. dec. #12 Evan Silver, Stanford

Semis: W, 7-2 dec. #6 Josh Martinez, Air Force

Finals: L, 4-6 dec. #1 Nashon Garrett, Cornell

5-1 overall - 2nd Place

Penn State's 133 agate:

#17 Jimmy Gulibon (No. 7 seed):

1st Round: W, 2-1 dec. Nick Zanetta, Pittsburgh

2nd Round: W, 6-1 dec. Troy Heilmann, North Carolina

3rd Round: W, 5-4 dec. Joe Martinez, Virginia

Qtrs: W, 2-1 dec. #5 Ryan Mango, Stanford

Semis: W, 4-3 dec. #10 David Thorn, Minnesota

Finals: L, 0-4 dec. #1 Jon Morrison, Oklahoma State

5-1 overall - 2nd Place

Jordan Conaway (No. 12 seed):

1st Round: bye

2nd Round: W, 9-1 maj. dec. Logan David, Cornell

3rd Round: W, 5-3 dec. #12 Shelton Mack, Pittsburgh

Qtrs: L, 6-7 dec. #11 Joe Roth, Central Michigan

Con 6: W, 10-0 maj. dec. Brian Crutchmer, Oklahoma State

Con Qtr: W, 7-4 dec. #18 Mack McGuire, Kent State

Con Semi: L, 5-12 dec. #10 David Thorn, Minnesota

5th Place: L, 2-5 dec. #11 Joe Roth, Central Michigan

4-3 overall - 6th Place

Penn State's 141 agate:

#2 Zain Retherford (No. 2 seed):

1st Round: bye

2nd Round: W, 14-4 maj. dec. Mike Carlone, Cleveland State

3rd Round: WBF over Joey Moon, North Carolina (2:30)

Qtrs: W, 2-0 dec. #11 Zach Horan, Central Michigan

Semis: W, 2-0 dec. #7 Chris Mecate, Old Dominion

Finals: W, 6-4 (sv) #19 Joe Spisak, Virginia

5-0 overall - CHAMPION

Nate Morgan

1st Round: bye

2nd Round: L, 2-7 dec. #12 Anthony Collica, Oklahoma State

Con 2: bye

Con 3: W, 3-1 (sv) dec. Kyle Bauer, Kent State

Con 4: L, 4-6 dec. Justin Van Hoose, Virginia

1-2 overall - DNP

Penn State's 149 agate:

Zack Beitz:

1st Round: bye

2nd Round: W, 10-4 dec. #9 Scott Sakaguchi, Oregon State

3rd Round: W, 6-3 dec. Cody Ruggirello, Hofstra

Qtrs: L, 1-3 dec. #8 Chris Villalonga, Cornell

Con 6: L, 0-2 dec. Luke Frey, Penn State

2-2 overall - DNP

Luke Frey (No. 10 seed):

1st Round: L, 2-6 dec. Alexander Richardson, Old Dominion

Con 2: WBF over Beau Roberts, Northern Colorado (3:38)

Con 3: W, 9-1 maj. dec. Raymond Borja, Navy

Con 4: W, forfeit over Scott Mattingly, Central Michigan

Con 5: W, 8-0 maj. dec. Luke Goettl, Iowa State

Con 6: W, 2-0 dec. Zack Beitz, Penn State

Con Qtrs: L, 3-5 dec. #9 Scott Sakaguchi, Oregon State

7th: L, inj. def. Alexander Richardson, Old Dominion

5-3 overall - 8th Place

Penn State's 157 agate:

James Vollrath (No. 9 seed):

1st Round: W, 13-5 maj. dec. Andrew Romanchik, Ohio

2nd Round: W, 8-6 (sv) dec. Mitchell Polkowski, Northern Colorado

3rd Round: L, 1-2 dec. Luke Smith, Central Michigan

Con 4: L, 4-7 dec. Immanuel Kerr-Brown, Duke

2-2 overall - DNP

Penn State's 165 agate:

#1 David Taylor (No. 1 seed):

1st Round: bye

2nd Round: W, 21-5 tech fall Mitchell Wightman, Boston (TF; 5:24)

3rd Round: WBF over Jesse Stafford, Air Force (1:47)

Qtrs: W, 17-6 maj. dec. #15 Dylan Palacio, Cornell

Semis: WBF over #9 Zach Toal, Missouri (4:59)

Finals: W, 9-1 maj. dec. #2 Tyler Caldwell, Oklahoma State

5-0 overall -- CHAMPION

RS/UA Garrett Hammond:

1st Round: W, 16-0 tech fall Nijel Jones, North Carolina State (TF; 4:39)

2nd Round: W, 13-7 dec. Coleman Gracey, Army

3rd Round: L, 2-11 maj. dec. #3 Nick Sulzer, Virginia

Con 4: WBF over Zach Strickland, Appalachian State (1:55)

Con 5: L, 1-3 dec. #18 Jim Wilson, Stanford

3-2 overall - DNP

Penn State's 174 agate:

#3 Matt Brown (No. 2 seed):

1st Round: W, Forfeit Carsten Kopp, Campbell

2nd Round: WBF over Joey Krulock, Bucknell (3:40)

3rd Round: W, 12-3 maj. dec. Scott Marmoll, North Carolina

Qtrs: WBF over Joe Latham, Oregon State (4:25)

Semis: W, 3-2 dec. #5 Logan Storley, Minnesota

Finals: L, 0-4 dec. #2 Chris Perry, Oklahoma State

5-1 overall - 2nd Place

Penn State's 184 agate:

#1 Ed Ruth (No. 1 seed)

1st Round: bye

2nd Round: WBF over Ben Schwery, South Dakota (5:30)

3rd Round: WBF over Ryan Garringer, Ohio (2:51)

Qtrs: WBF over #15 Sam Wheeler, Kent State (1:07)

Semis: W, 22-7 tech fall #12 Lorenzo Thomas, Penn (TF; 6:46)

Finals: L, 4-7 dec. #7 Gabe Dean, Cornell

4-0 overall - 2nd Place

Wes Phipps:

1st Round: L, 0-5 dec. Devin Hightower, Air Force

Con 2: W, 9-4 dec. William Miller, Navy

Con 3: W, 10-1 maj. dec. Ben Schwery, South Dakota

Con 4: W, 13-8 dec. #9 Boaz Beard, Iowa State

Con 5: L, 1-16 tech fall Nolan Boyd, Oklahoma State (TF; 7:00)

3-2 overall - DNP

RS/UA Matt McCutcheon:

1st Round: WBF over Dylan Ryan, Duke (3:58)

2nd Round: W, 5-4 dec. #11 John Eblen, Missouri

3rd Round: W, 3-2 (tb) dec. William George, Cornell

Qtrs: L, 4-6 dec. #12 Lorenzo Thomas, Penn

Con 6: L, 2-4 dec. Nolan Boyd, Oklahoma State

3-2 overall - DNP

Penn State's 197 agate:

#3 Morgan McIntosh (No. 3 seed):

1st Round: bye

2nd Round: W, 12-3 maj. dec. Jackson Lewis, Central Michigan

3rd Round: W, 17-4 maj. dec. Jace Bennett, Cornell

Qtrs: L, 0-2 dec. #14 J'Den Cox, Missouri

Con 6: W, med. forf. #13 Phillip Wellington, Ohio

Con Qtrs: W, inj. def. #12 Brandon Palik, Drexel

Con Semis: W, 2-1 (TB) dec. #16 Nick Bonaccorsi, Pittsburgh

3rd: L, 2-8 dec. #14 J'Den Cox, Missouri

5-2 overall - 4th Place

Penn State's 285 agate:

#12 Jimmy Lawson (No. 4 seed):

1st Round: bye

2nd Round: W, 3-2 dec. Justin Heberlie, Missouri

3rd Round: W, 4-1 dec. Matt Tourdot, Old Dominion

Qtrs: W, 3-2 (TB2; RT) dec. #15 Austin Marsden, Oklahoma State

Semis: L, 1-3 dec. #1 Tony Nelson, Minnesota

Con Semis: W, 2-1 dec. John Gingrich, Penn State

3rd: W, med. forf. #11 Jeremy Johnson, Ohio

5-1 overall - 3rd place

Jon Gingrich (No. 10 seed):

1st Round: W, 10-1 maj. dec. Steve Graziano, Penn

2nd Round: W, 5-1 dec. Newton Smerchek, Central Michigan

3rd Round: W, 5-0 dec. #17 Amar Dhesi, Oregon State

Qtrs: L, 2-5 dec. #5 Nick Gwiazdowski, North Carolina

Con 6: W, 11-1 maj. dec. Jacob Aiken-Phillips,Cornell

Con Qtrs: W, 3-2 dec. Ethan Hayes, Virginia

Con Semis: L, 1-2 dec. #12 Jimmy Lawson, Penn State

5th: medical forfeit (does not count as loss)

5-2 overall - 6th Place