UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, winners of five of the last six NCAA and Big Ten titles, will open up the 2016-17 season with a split dual meet weekend.
(Photo courtesy of Penn State Athletics)
Penn State will travel to Army West Point (0-0) and host No. 12 Stanford (1-0). Penn State treks to West Point to open the campaign on Friday, Nov. 11, at 8 p.m. The Nittany Lions then host Stanford in their Rec Hall opener on Sunday, Nov. 13, at 2 p.m.
The Nittany Lions potential starting line-up could feature as many as eight (or more) underclassmen. Despite its youth, head coach Cael Sanderson’s squad features ten individuals ranked in InterMat’s preseason top 20. True freshman Nick Suriano heads into his first collegiate season ranked No. 12 at 125 while sophomore transfer Jered Cortez is No. 9 at 133. Senior All-American (in 2015) Jimmy Gulibon is ranked No. 12 at 141 and defending NCAA Champion Zain Retherford holds the No. 1 spot at 149. Sophomore All-American Jason Nolf is ranked No. 1 at 157.
Red-shirt freshman Vincenzo Joseph is ranked No. 8 at 165. Senior Geno Morelli, who went 2-2 at NCAAs last year, could get the nod at 174 for Penn State while sophomore Shakur Rasheed is No. 20 at 174. Sophomore Bo Nickal, Big Ten Champion, NCAA finalist and All-American at 174 last year, is ranked No. 3 at 184. Two-time NCAA qualifier Matt McCutcheon is ranked No. 16 at 197 and red-shirt freshman Kellan Stout is in the mix at that weight as well. Sophomore Nick Nevills is ranked No. 14 at 285.
Army West Point brings a talented line-up into the season-opening dual meet. The Black Knights, who wrestled well in an open tournament last weekend, could send as many as four seniors into action in the battle. Army West Point is led by senior Russ Parsons, who is ranked No. 15 at 157 in InterMat’s preseason release, and sophomore Rocco Caywood, who is No. 11 at 197. Senior Logan Everett is No. 17 at 141 as well. Parsons went 5-0 this past weekend, Caywood went 4-1 and Everett went 3-1. Freshman Ben Harvey was also 5-0 at 174.
Stanford enters the weekend ranked No. 12 in InterMat’s preseason TPI and is 1-0. The Cardinal opened up the dual meet season last weekend with a 21-9 win over Cal Poly. The Cardinal starting line-up is a veteran one, including No. 4 Connor Schram at 125. Joey McKenna is ranked No. 2 at 141, Jim Wilson No. 13 at 174 and Nathan Butler No. 10 at 285. All four of those Stanford wrestlers were victorious in the team’s season-opening win over Cal Poly as Stanford won seven of ten bouts.
Penn State leads the all-time series against Army West Point 30-4-2. The Nittany Lions last wrestled the Knights at the Virginia Duals on Jan. 11, 2002, picking up a 26-9 win. This is Penn State’s first trip to West Point since a 34-4 victory on Jan. 31, 1976. Penn State won the only other meeting with Stanford, a 31-12 win in Palo Alto last year on Nov. 22.
#4 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (0-0, 0-0 B1G)
WT NAME EL HT/HS REC
125 #12 Nick Suriano Fr. Paramus, N.J./Bergen Catholic 0-0
133 #9 Jered Cortez So. Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North 0-0
141 #12 Jimmy Gulibon Sr. Latrobe, Pa./Derry Area 0-0
149 #1 Zain Retherford Jr. Benton, Pa./Benton 0-0
157 #1 Jason Nolf So. Yatesboro, Pa./Kittanning 0-0
165 #8 Vincenzo Joseph Fr. Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic 0-0
174 Geno Morelli Sr. DuBois, Pa./DuBois 0-0
OR #20 Shakur Rasheed So. Coram, N.Y./Longwood 0-0
184 #3 Bo Nickal So. Allen, Texas/Allen 0-0
197 #16 Matt McCutcheon Jr. Apollo, Pa./Kiski Area 0-0
Kellan Stout Fr. PIttsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon 0-0
Anthony Cassar Fr. Rocky Hill, N.J./Montgomery 0-0
285 #14 Nick Nevills So. Clovis, Calif./Clovis 0-0
ARMY WEST POINT BLACK NIGHTS (0-0)
WT NAME EL HT REC
125 Trey Chalifoux Fr. Nashville, Tenn./Father Ryan 3-1
133 Austin Harry So. Harvey’s Lake, Pa./Lake Lehman 3-2
141 #17 Logan Everett Sr. Tioga, Pa./Williamson 3-1
149 Matt Kelly Jr. Damascus, Md./Good Counsel 2-2
157 #14 Russ Parsons Sr. Clinton, N.J./Blair Academy 5-0
165 Andrew Mendel Jr. Mason, Ohio/Moeller 4-2
174 Ben Harvey Fr. New Palestine, Ind./Indianapolis Cathedral 5-0
OR Jack Wedholm Jr. Blairstown, N.J./Blair Academy 4-2
184 Samson Imonode Sr. Phoenix, Ariz./Horizon 3-2
197 #11 Rocco Caywood So. Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg 4-1
285 Trevor Smith Sr. Ripon, Calif./Ripon 3-2
OR David Farr Sr. Cornwall, N.Y./Blair Academy 1-2
#12 STANFORD CARDINAL (1-0)
WT NAME EL HT REC
125 #4 Connor Schram Sr. Canonsburg, Pa./Canonsburg-McMillan 1-0
133 Mason Pengilly Jr. Porterville, Calif./Porterville 0-0
Eric Cramer Sr. Palo Alto, Calif./Gunn 0-1
141 #2 Joey McKenna So. Towaco, N.J./Blair Academy 1-0
149 Tommy Pawelski Jr. Park Ridge, Ill./Montini Catholic 1-0
157 Paul Fox So. Gilroy, Calif./Gilroy 0-1
165 Keaton Subjeck Jr. El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge 1-0
174 #13 Jim Wilson Sr. Lodi, Calif./McNair 1-0
184 Austin Flores Fr. Clovis, Calif./Clovis North 0-1
197 Josh Marchok Sr. Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg 1-0
285 #10 Nathan Butler Jr. Leavenworth, Ks./Leavenworth 1-0
Team ranking is InterMat TPI (Tournament Power Index) as of 11/6
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