How NLWC, former Penn State wrestlers did at Bill Farrell Memorial freestyle tournament
Penn State wrestling’s Anthony Cassar and Vincenzo Joseph were both slated to compete in the Bill Farrell Memorial International Open on Saturday in an attempt to qualify for April’s Olympic trials in men’s freestyle.
However, only Joseph competed. There is no word as to why Cassar didn’t. As of Tuesday, coach Cael Sanderson said both planned to wrestle.
But Joseph wasn’t the only wrestler with a connection to Penn State’s program competing. Former Nittany Lions Jason Nolf, Nick Nevills, Dan Vallimont and Frank Molinaro also competed. Nolf, Nevills and Riley Lefever all represented the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club, along with Joseph.
Joseph looked good, opening his 74-kilogram tournament with two technical superiority wins. He outscored his opponents 24-3.
In the quarterfinals, Joseph was matched up with Virginia Tech’s reigning 165-pound NCAA champion Mekhi Lewis, who beat Joseph to end the year last season. Lewis scored the first point of the match with a step-out point.
It was all Joseph in the second period. He earned a takedown at the edge of the mat that was challenged by Lewis’ coaches. The challenge was failed and Joseph led 3-1. He tacked on a step-out point and advanced to the semifinals to face Nolf.
Nolf scored three first period takedowns in that semifinals match and advanced with a 6-0 win. However, Nolf seemed to agitate the knee that he injured two years ago against Rutgers.
Joseph injury defaulted in the consolation semifinals to finish his tournament at 3-2. What his injury is was not clear.
Nolf, Molinaro highest finishers
Nolf had to wrestle four matches to reach the finals of the 74-kilogram weight class.
Nolf outscored his four opponents 34-0. The injury he suffered in his match against Joseph, however, didn’t keep Nolf from wrestling against former college foe Isaiah Martinez in the finals. It did seem like that injury affected Nolf’s wrestling, though. Martinez scored 12 unanswered points for the technical superiority win in 2:02.
Molinaro went through three opponents to square off with Jordan Oliver in the 65-kilogram finals. Molinaro was unable to get anything going offensively and only scored step-out points in an 8-6 loss to Oliver.
The former Penn State assistant coach and national champ used a 10-0 technical superiority and fall to reach the semifinals. In the semifinals, Molinaro had to hang on for a 7-5 win over Evan Henderson.
Nevills battles back
The two-time All-American had a bye to the 125-kilogram quarterfinals, where he lost to Amar Dhesi 8-3. Nevills dropped into the consolation bracket and went to work.
Nevills ended up finishing fourth after losing again to Dhesi, 10-2, in the consolation finals. He reached the consolation finals with an emphatic fall of former Maryland standout Youssif Hemidia with two seconds left in their match.
How did the others fare?
Lefever, like Nevills, had a bye to the 97-kilogram quarterfinals. He was shut out by Ty Walz 5-0.
In the consolation quarterfinals, Lefever got into a high-scoring affair with Enock Francois, which he won 23-12. Lefever’s tournament came to an end with a 13-0 technical superiority loss to Hayden Zillmer.
Vallimont wrestled one match and it was against Dylan Ness. Vallimont led 3-0 after one period, but Ness scored seven unanswered points to end the former Nittany Lions’ day early.
This story was originally published November 16, 2019 at 8:29 PM with the headline "How NLWC, former Penn State wrestlers did at Bill Farrell Memorial freestyle tournament."
