UNIVERSITY PARK — When Morgan McIntosh awoke Sunday morning, he briefly entertained the thought that he — a true freshman — could accomplish something no other Penn State wrestler had done since 2007.
Knowing he would be the second-to-last man to wrestle that afternoon, McIntosh would have a chance to be his team’s hero, the one who could rescue it from a hard-to-swallow potential fate of losing its fifth-straight dual to its vaunted Midwestern rival.
Hours later, the largest crowd for a wrestling match at Rec Hall since the venue’s reconfiguration in the mid-1990s couldn’t be quieted, chanting “Morgan! Morgan! Morgan!” as the Santa Ana, Calif., native sealed Penn State’s eventual 22-12 win with an overtime takedown of Iowa junior Grant Gambrall at 197 pounds.
With the Lions ahead by four, thanks to a major decision from Ed Ruth at 174 and a decision by Quentin Wright at 184, McIntosh reversed Gambrall late in the first period to tie the bout at 2-2. After each wrestler added an escape, McIntosh’s in the second period, Gambrall’s
in the third, the two headed into overtime at 3-3. Less than a minute in, McIntosh fought off a Gambrall shot, circled to the Hawkeye’s left and gained control of Gambrall’s left leg. Soon after, McIntosh snagged Gambrall’s right leg for the deciding points. The crowd erupted.
“It was a real cool feeling after the match,” McIntosh said. “That was the coolest feeling I’ve ever felt in that wrestling room, just the noise and the atmosphere, just everybody cheering loud and I don’t think I’ll forget that for a long time.”
The rest of the Lions won’t forget either. On the same day legendary Penn State coach Joe Paterno died, the Nittany Lions paid tribute with competition — snapping a four-dual losing streak to the Hawkeyes. The win also marked the first time Penn State coach Cael Sanderson bested Iowa in a dual as coach.
“I thought that was awesome. Morgan McIntosh is a tough dude,” Sanderson said. “They always rush up to me right after the match and say, ‘Who do you want to give the Ridge Riley Award to?’ I was like, ‘Ed Ruth. Ed Ruth.’ I was like, ‘Oh wait! Get back here. I forgot, Morgan gets it today.’ These two both wrestled incredible matches.”
In the beginning, however, it was all Iowa.
The Hawkeyes, coming off Friday’s shocking 21-9 loss to No. 7 Ohio State, jumped to a 12-0 lead three bouts in against the Lions.
Iowa got an overtime win at 125 when former national champion No. 2 Matt McDonough edged No. 8 Nico Megaludis 3-1. The Hawkeyes picked up their only bonus points at 133, when No. 2 Tony Ramos caught Frank Martellotti on his back for a fall 4:20 into their bout. Penn State’s Bryan Pearsall fended off numerous shots from No. 3 Montell Marion at 149 pounds to limit Marion’s win to just a 7-3 decision.
No. 1 Frank Molinaro had seen enough. His 11-5 decision over Mike Kelly sparked a seven-match sweep for Penn State that culminated in No. 6 Cameron Wade’s 4-0 win over Blake Raising at 285 pounds.
“We’re in unprecedented territory right now,” Iowa coach Tom Brands said of his team, which has lost three of its last five duals. “I have a long memory. I’ve felt like this before and it’s not a fun feeling. So to be a competitor is to fight and if you’re the only one fighting then you keep fighting. That’s the bottom line. We’ve got some guys that are fighting, but we don’t have enough.”
The Hawkeyes looked hesitant in nearly every bout after Marion’s win. Iowa wrestlers from 149 pounds to 285 pounds kept their offensive shots limited, instead trying to counter any Penn State attacks. Iowa scored just two take-downs after racking up eight through the first three bouts, prompting Brands to describe his team as “timid.”
To the dismay of the pro-Penn State crowd, the Hawkeyes weren’t warned for stalling until Ruth’s opponent, No. 9 Ethen Lofthouse, was hit with two stalling penalties that gave Ruth two points in the third period, ensuring his major decision win.
“You’re trying to work some stuff that you’re used to working on all the time and these guys are just sturdy, and really stiff and on bottom they’re focusing on a lot not trying to give up points, rather just trying to get out and escape. It gets real frustrating,” Ruth said. “But if you just work through it then you can just lay into anybody. Somewhere there is a breaking point that you want to find.”
No. 8 Dylan Alton defeated Nick Moore at 157 pounds by a 5-3 decision after Iowa’s Derek St. John didn’t weigh-in. St. John has battled a knee injury this season and wrestled against the Buckeyes for the first time since Dec. 8, but lost that bout and tweaked his knee in the process, according to Brands.
No. 1 David Taylor added a 9-4 decision over No. 6 Mike Evans at 165 before No. 2 Wright beat Vinnie Wagner 8-2.
“It’s satisfying,” Wright said. “It’s been a long time since Penn State’s beaten Iowa here at Rec Hall. Just being from the area, it’s — , it’s — finally, we broke that top there and we got over that feat.”
Notes: To honor Paterno, there was a moment of silence to start the dual followed by nearly a minute-long standing ovation. Many fans in attendance wore homemade Paterno T-shirts. ... Penn State won the takedown battle 18-10. ... Iowa and Penn State combined to send 11 ranked wrestlers, seven All-Americans and two former NCAA champions to the mat. ... A large sign that read “Sit down Brands!” was held by Penn State fans right next to the Iowa corner. ... Martellotti’s loss was his first in a dual meet and the first time he’s been pinned in his collegiate career. ... The Penn State ‘Whiplash’ Dance Team performed at intermission. ... Tom Brands on Paterno: “I know what he means to this community. Or I can imagine that I know, I don’t live here. The thing that I said to our radio earlier was that he was a competitor his whole life and in a way, this is a celebration because you’re competing. You didn’t postpone, you didn’t cancel and I happen to agree with that. That’s my way of thinking.”
Travis Johnson can be reached at 231-4629.
