No. 2 Penn State Shells Maryland 47-3
No. 2 Penn State ran its dual winning streak to 40 on Sunday afternoon when the Nittany Lions overpowered Maryland 47-3 on the road. The Nittany Lions flexed their muscles with seven bonus point wins and rode a run of five consecutive pins to an easy dual win over former wrestler Kerry McCoy’s Terrapins.
How It Happened
After the Nittany Lions forfeited the 125 lb. bout Friday night against Purdue, Devin Schnupp returned to the lineup. Schnupp trailed Brandon Cray 2-0 after two periods and made a late comeback attempt in the third period that fell short. He dropped a 4-2 decision, as the Nittany Lions fell into an early 3-0 hole.
Corey Keener got Penn State on the board with a fall over Jhared Simmons in the third period after snatching a commanding 12-2 lead. No. 7 Nick Lee majored Ryan Diehl 22-10 with yet another convincing win in his run since burning his redshirt a week ago. Lee is now 4-0 with two major decisions and a technical fall in duals.
No. 1 Zain Retherford and No. 1 Jason Nolf ran the score up from 10-3 to 22-3 at the break when they recorded back-to-back falls over Alfred Bannister and Kyle Cochran, respectively. Retherford’s career fall total is up to 51, two shy of David Taylor and Josh Moore’s program record of 53. Nolf is breathing down his neck with 44.
After the break, the streak of pinning resumed. No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph and No. 2 Mark Hall each recorded quick, first period falls over Brendan Burnham and Jahi Jones. No. 1 Bo Nickal ran to the streak to five falls with his third period pin over Nico Capello that made the score 40-3.
Anthony Cassar got the start at 197 lbs. and pulled out an 8-3 decision win over David-Brian Whisler, the Nittany Lions’ first win by decision of the afternoon.
No. 8 Nick Nevills concluded the dual and his impressive weekend with a 4-1 win over No. 6 Youssif Hemida, the Terrapins’ only ranked wrestle. Hemida was the second ranked opponent Nevills beat this weekend, after he outlasted No. 15 Shawn Streck Friday night.
Wrestler of the Dual
Corey Keener, Redshirt Senior, 133 lbs.
Keener’s dominant win was a much-needed boost for the graduate student. After not having a fall since the middle of November, Keener made a statement against Simmons after opening a large lead and winning by fall.
What’s Next
The Nittany Lions return home Friday for a dual against Minnesota at 7 p.m.
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