Penn State Wrestling Looks to Take Down No. 1 Minnesota
All eyes in the collegiate wrestling world will descend upon Happy Valley this weekend, when No. 6 Penn State (8-1, 4-1) plays host to national powerhouse No. 1 Minnesota (9-0, 5-0). The Golden Gophers will look to avenge last year’s national championship, in which Penn State came from behind to claim its fourth consecutive title. The Nittany Lions haven’t won a dual meet against the Gophers since 1998, but will look to shake up the B1G standings in front of a sold-out Rec Hall Sunday at 2 p.m.
Minnesota leads the series 14-6-1 and is one of only 10 teams Penn State doesn’t have a winning record against. The Gophers are one of only four unbeaten teams in Division I. They come into State College with one of the most experienced teams in the country, and boast eight ranked wrestlers, three at No. 1. Penn State also brings eight ranked wrestlers into the match while wrestling with three freshmen and two sophomores.
The Matchups:
- 125: #8 Jordan Conaway, Jr., 16-3 vs. Sam Brancale, So., 8-4/Jordan Bremer, So., 4-9
- 133: #9 Jimmy Gulibon, So., 15-3 vs. #1 Chris Dardanes, Sr., 16-0
- 141: Kade Moss, Fr., 15-10 vs. #4 Nick Dardanes, Sr., 15-1
- 149: #18 Zack Beitz, So., 10-6 vs. Jake Short, Fr., 11-6/Seth Lange, Sr., 12-8
- 157: #9 Dylan Alton, Sr., 8-3 vs. #1 Dylan Ness, Sr., 21-0
- 165: Garett Hammond, Fr., 18-6 vs. #17 Nick Wanzek, Fr., 13-7
- 174: #4 Matt Brown, Sr., 16-2 vs. #3 Logan Storley, Sr., 20-2
- 184: #16 Matt McCutcheon, Fr., 19-7 vs. #11 Brett Pfarr, So., 18-5
- 197: #6 Morgan McIntosh, Jr., 17-2 vs. #1 Scott Schiller, Sr., 16-2
- 285: #6 Jimmy Lawson, Sr., 9-0/Jon Gingrich, Sr., 13-1 vs. #13 Michael Kroells, So., 18-7
Keep An Eye On:
The entire match! But if there’s one bout to pay attention to, it’s the one at 174. Not only are Brown and Storley top-five in the weight class, but the two have history — they have faced off against each other a staggering seven times in three years. The last time the two met in a dual was last year in Minneapolis. Storley claimed the bout, 8-4.
Penn State is coming off a two-win weekend, with wins at Rutgers and at home against Purdue.
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