No. 1 Penn State Wrestling Wins Last Five Bouts To Blow Out Indiana
No. 1 Penn State wrestling concluded its weekend trip to the Hoosier State with a 35-9 win over Indiana. The Nittany Lions led narrowly at intermission but won the last five bouts en route to another dominant win, the team’s 53rd straight.
How It Happened
The dual began at 184 lbs. where Francisco Bisono filled in for starter No. 3 Shakur Rasheed, who has missed the last three duals with an undisclosed injury. Indiana’s Norman Conley took down Bisono twice in the first period to take a 4-1 lead. After a Bisono rideout in the second period and escape to begin the third period, Conley took him down one more time, clinching a 6-3 decision and giving the Hoosiers a 3-0 advantage. The Nittany Lions are now 0-3 at 184 lbs. in Rasheed’s absence.
After the slow start, No. 1 Bo Nickal gave Penn State a much-needed jolt at 197 lbs. by pinning Jake Kleimola in 58 seconds, his 11th of the season and 52nd of his career. Kleimola shot in on Nickal but an impressive block and turn by Nickal put six points on the board for the Nittany Lions and gave them the lead. No. 4 Anthony Cassar extended Penn State’s lead to 9-3 by topping Fletcher Miller with a 9-3 decision.
When the dual flipped to the lower weights, Devin Schnupp continued the Nittany Lions’ momentum by picking up the first conference win of his career. He pulled out a 5-2 decision over Liam Cronin, scoring a takedown in each of the final two periods to knock off Cronin.
Earlier this season, Schnupp earned his first two duals wins after going 0-10 in duals dating back to last year. With Gavin Teasdale’s transfer earlier this week and Brody Teske’s status up in the air, Schnupp has continued to improve and grow into a serviceable option for the Nittany Lions — despite assertions that it’s time for Penn State wrestling to make a change at 125 lbs.
Schnupp’s win made the team score 12-3, but a forfeit by Penn State at 133 lbs. cut it to 12-9 at the intermission. No. 13 Roman Bravo-Young suffered an apparent knee injury in the Nittany Lions’ dual on Friday. He sat out Sunday, forcing the team, which likely didn’t travel with a backup at his weight, to forfeit.
After the intermission, Penn State rattled off five consecutive wins to close out the dual. No. 7 Nick Lee took down Kyle Lucas four times to win via a 13-3 major decision, the second win of his weekend trip to his home state. Wrestling in place of No. 10 Brady Berge for the second time this weekend, Jared Verkleeren also added his second win of the weekend. He topped Fernie Silva 6-4 to make the team score 19-9.
No. 1 Jason Nolf and No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph each tacked on six points with their second falls of the weekend. Nolf recorded the 56th fall of his career by pinning Breyden Bailey in the first period. Joseph also needed less than a minute to pin Bryce Martin, his tenth of the season.
The dual ended with Mark Hall majoring Jake Covaciu 12-4.
What’s Next
Penn State returns from its weekend road trip to wrestle No. 5 Michigan at the Bryce Jordan Center on Friday, February 1.
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