Blue White Illustrated

S econd-ranked Penn State opened Big Ten competition just as many expected – with flair. Heading into their dual meet at Iowa on Jan. 20, the Nittany Lions were 3-0 against conference opponents and had extended their overall winning streak to 24 consecutive matches. When they traveled to Minnesota for the conference opener, it was their first action in 26 days. Winter weather had forced Cael Sanderson to cancel a pre- holiday trip to Nevada for the Reno Tour- nament of Champions. The Nittany Lions' head coach had made the call from the airport runway, but he and his coach- ing staff weren't going to let the extended midseason break create any stagnancy. "It's not really a big deal in the scheme of things," Sanderson said. "You make a negative into a positive." By the time the opening whistle blew in Minneapolis Jan. 6 – the Gophers' vote for a random draw meant that the dual meet started at 149 pounds – PSU was raring. The Lions opened with back-to-back pins from national cham- pion Zain Retherford and then Jason Nolf at 157. From there, Penn State cruised to its first team win over Min- nesota since 1998, claiming eight of the 10 bouts en route to a 33-6 victory. Two days later, Sanderson's squad was back in action at Nebraska. The Lions had been heavily favored against Min- nesota despite the series history, but the dual meet against the Cornhuskers had a few more question marks around it, as six of the matchups featured ranked wrestler vs. ranked wrestler. Nick Suriano opened the action at 125 with a 3-2 decision over Tim Lambert of the Cornhuskers. Both were ranked in the top five at the time. But it was Bo Nickal's commanding decision over a fellow returning national finalist that clinched Penn State's eventual 27-14 team win. Topping T.J. Dudley, 11-5, at 184 pounds, Nickal secured a team vic- tory in a match that was still undecided with three bouts to go. One week later, Penn State returned to Rec Hall for the first time in more than a month to dismantle Rutgers, 37-6, in front of 6,605 fans. Winning eight of 10, PSU went 3-1 in ranked-vs.-ranked bat- tles. All three wins came by either fall or technical fall. At 141, No. 12 Jimmy Gulibon fought hard to pull off a comeback against No. 6 Anthony Ashnault but eventually fell, 4- 1. Gulibon was sporting a 7-6 record halfway through his senior season, but the coaches were not necessarily alarmed. "He's going to keep plugging away," Sanderson said. "We believe in him." At 149, the top-ranked Retherford had five consecutive takedowns in the first two periods before pinning No. 14 Ken Theobold in 5 minutes, 33 seconds. Nolf followed with a 22-4 tech fall in 4:09. The top-ranked 157-pounder surren- dered a first-period takedown to No. 16 John Van Brill before scoring 20 consec- utive points. At 184, the second-ranked Nickal faced off against No. 14 Nicholas Gravina. In the second period, Nickal reversed his control and picked up his opponent before returning him to the mat on his back. He held Gravina there for nearly a minute before the pin was called in 4:27. As was the case at Ne- braska, Nickal's victory clinched the dual meet win for Penn State. Heading into their match with the Hawkeyes, the Lions were 7-0 overall in dual meets, and five starters were unde- feated: Suriano (freshman), Retherford (junior), Nolf (sophomore), Nickal (sophomore) and heavyweight Nick Nevills (sophomore). In its first three Big Ten dual meets, PSU dominated in takedowns, recording 88 to its opponents' 23. NOTES Sophomore Jered Cortez opened the season as the Lions' 133- pound starter, going 6-2. But prior to the Iowa match, he hadn't wrestled since a Dec. 4 dual meet against Lehigh due to an injury. Sophomore George Carpenter wrestled in his place and went 1-3 as the starter. –T.O. Nittany Lions o to strong start vs. Big Ten rivals Nevills showed no signs of slowing down heading into a Jan. 20 matchup against Iowa's Sam Stoll at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Stoll is a fellow sophomore ranked among the nation's top 10. After fighting two significant injuries in his first two years in college, Nevills has shown no hesitation in squaring off against other highly rated individuals in his first year back at full health. If any- thing, he seems to relish the opportunity. Having his workout partners in his corner helps, too. Against Minnesota on Jan. 6, Nevills notched one of the signature wins of his young career as part of a 33-6 team vic- tory, the first under Sanderson vs. the Gophers and the first for the program since 1998. Facing two-time All-Ameri- can Michael Kroells, Nevills was domi- nant on top, totaling 2 minutes, 28 seconds of riding time in a 4-0 win. Two days later at Nebraska, he pinned Collin Jensen in 6:01. "I think he's getting better every match," Sanderson said. "I think his con- fidence is improving. He's won some matches by being tough on top and he's won some matches with his confidence on the bottom." As evidence, Sanderson points to the third period against Jensen. Leading 4-1 and with a slight advantage in riding time, Nevills chose the bottom position to start the final stanza. Jensen trailed by two takedowns, and near-fall points were his only hope for a comeback. He feverishly worked toward a pinning combination, trying this and that, but Nevills wouldn't budge. As the clock ticked toward the final minute, Jensen reached high around Nevills' neck and low behind his knee. In a last-ditch effort, he reached for a cradle. And with surprising ease, he got it.

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