Penn State Wrestling Rolls Over Bucknell
Lewisburg, PA – (GoPSUSports.com) – No. 1 Penn State (2-0, 0-0 B1G) made its first-ever visit to Bucknell (2-2) for a dual meet and dominated the homestanding Bison in sold out Sojka Pavilion. The Nittany Lions won nine of ten bouts, including three pins, to roll to a 42-3 victory in Lewisburg.
The dual was wrestled in front of a sellout crowd of 4,279 in Bucknell’s Sojka Pavilion. The crowd is the largest wrestling crowd in Bucknell history and the third largest in Sojka Pavilion history.
The dual began at 125 where Lion sophomore Devin Schnupp (Lititz, Pa.) picked up his first dual win as a Nittany Lion. Schnupp used two takedowns, including a late one, to post a 5-2 win over Bucknell’s Geo Barzona to give Penn State a lead it would never relinquish. True freshman Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.) stayed hot at 133, rolling to a 21-7 major over David Campbell. Sophomore Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 4 at 141, was also impressive, posting a 15-5 major over Bucknell’s Matthew Kalonia.
Red-shirt freshman Brady Berge (Mantorville, Minn.), ranked No. 13 at 149, made his Penn State dual meet debut, picking up a strong victory. Berge dominated Joey Schiele, posting a 25-10 technical fall at the 6:21 mark to put Penn State up 16-0 after four bouts. Senior Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 157, stayed perfect on the year with a second period pin over BU’s Zach Hartman. Nolf’s pin at the 3:49 mark gave Penn State a 22-0 lead heading into intermission.
With top-ranked Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.) not feeling well, sophomore 157-pounder Bo Pipher (Paonia, Colo.) moved up to 165 for the Lions. Pipher was strong in the match but could not overcome BU’s D.J. Hollingshead, who put Bucknell on the board with a 10-5 win. Junior Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), ranked No. 2 at 174, put on a takedown clinic on his way to a 20-7 major decision over Nick Stephani with over 3:00 in riding time. Senior Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.), ranked No. 4 at 184, notched his fifth takedown of the year, picking up the fast fall over Kyle Inlander at the 0:31 mark.
Senior Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 1 at 197, continued to dominate his new weight. Nickal rolled up seven takedowns to post a 16-6 major decision over Drew Phipps, giving the Lions a 36-3 lead. Senior Anthony Cassar (Rocky Hill, N.J.), ranked No. 5 at 285, closed out the dual with a fast fall of his own, pinning Brandon Stokes in just 0:32. Cassar’s pin allowed the Nittany Lions to walk away with a with a resounding 42-3 win.
The Nittany Lions posted a lopsided 51-3 takedown advantage. Penn State has now won 47 straight dual meets dating back to the end of the 2014-15 season.
Penn State is now 2-0 overall while Bucknell falls to 2-2. The Nittany Lions host No. 10 Lehigh on Sunday in Rec Hall. The match-up will air live nationally on the Big Ten Network and begins at 1:30pm ET.
Results:
125: Devin Schnupp PSU dec. Geo Barzona BU, 5-2 3-0
133: Roman Bravo-Young PSU maj. Dec. David Campbell BU, 21-7 7-0
141: #4 Nick Lee PSU maj. Dec. Matthew Kalonia BU, 15-5 11-0
149: #13 Brady Berge PSU tech fall Joey Schiele BU, 25-10 (6:21) 16-0
157: #1 Jason Nolf PSU pinned Zach Hartman BU, WBF (3:49) 22-0
165: D.J. Hollingshead BU dec. Bo Pipher PSU, 10-5 22-3
174: #2 Mark Hall PSU maj. dec. Nick Stephani BU, 20-7 26-3
184: #4 Shakur Rasheed PSU pinned Kyle Inlander BU, WBF (0:31) 32-3
197: #1 Bo Nickal PSU maj. dec. Drew Phipps BU, 16-6 36-3
285: #5 Anthony Cassar PSU pinned Brandon Stokes BU, WBF (0:32) 42-3
Attendance: 4,279 (new Bucknell wrestling record)
Records: Penn State 2-0; Bucknell 2-2
