The No. 1 Penn State wrestling team took on CSU Bakersfield Friday night and won easily 39-3. The Nittany Lions won all but one match and totaled two pins. With this win in the first of two California dual meets this weekend, the Nittany Lions improved to 3-0, while CSU Bakersfield fell to 3-2.

How It Happened

Jordan Conaway and Jimmy Gulibon opened up the match for Penn State, and they both won easily with a major decision and a decision respectively. The Nittany Lions kept up the heat on the score sheet as No. 2 Zain Retherford in the 149-pound weight class pinned Coleman Hammond to put the Nittany Lions up 13-0.

Jason Nolf won by technical fall next, and Shakur Rasheed pulled off the upset against the nation’s No. 13 wrestler in the 165-pound weight class. He won 6-0 to give Penn State a dominating 21-0 lead.

In a matchup of the No. 8 and No. 16 ranked wrestlers in the 174-pound weight class, Bo Nickal showed his strength by getting a pin in the first period. Matt McCutcheon and Morgan McIntosh followed with two major decisions to give the Nittany Lions a 35-0 lead.

Jan Johnson, one of the most popular wrestlers on the team, lost a 4-0 decision. Although the match was well out of hand at this point, it still came as a disappointment to see Johnson lose. Nico Megaludis followed with a major decision to seal the win for Penn State, 39-3.

Wrestler Of The Match

Wrestler of the match honors go to the redshirt freshman Shakur Rasheed. He pulled off the upset in the most surprising victory of the night for the Nittany Lions, beating No. 13 Adam Fierro in the 165-pound weight class. Not only was it an important win in this match, it proves he can compete with the best wrestlers in the nation moving forward.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions will stay in California to take on Stanford Sunday at 4 p.m. It will be a showdown of two top ranked teams and another good early test for Penn State. The Nittany Lions look to keep their impressive season going and hope to extend their record to 4-0.