Nick Lee’s fall highlights No. 2 Penn State wrestling’s bonus-point parade against No. 13 Minnesota
To say No. 2 Nick Lee is on a tear would be an understatement.
Two days after crushing No. 7 Tristan Moran of Wisconsin, Lee dominated No. 4 Mitch McKee in No. 2 Penn State’s 31-10 rout of No. 13 Minnesota on Sunday.
“He’s a tough opponent. I’ve wrestled him a lot in my career,” Lee said to the Big Ten Network after the match. “I have a little bit of a feel for him. He has a feel for me. Those are always fun matches.”
Lee was one of five Nittany Lion wrestlers to record bonus points. The others were Brandon Meredith (125 pounds), Roman Bravo-Young (133), Vincenzo Joseph (165) and Aaron Brooks (184).
Penn State began with three straight bonus-point wins to start the match. Meredith received a forfeit to kick things off.
Bravo-Young looked like a cat after a mouse, springing around the mat en route to 10 takedowns on Boo Dryden. The sophomore finished with a 23-8 technical fall that wowed Lee.
“Roman just keeps coming. I always think to myself, I wonder what the other team is thinking watching him,” Lee said. “He has a motor like no other. I love wrestling him because it is more fun for me.”
Lee came to the mat with his team leading 11-0 in a rematch of last season’s fifth-place match at the NCAA Championships with McKee. The result was the same.
The junior entered the bout outscoring his Big Ten opponents 111-21. McKee wasn’t able to score a single point against Lee because he didn’t have enough time to.
McKee had a solid head pinch on Lee and looked like he was going to pin Lee. However, Lee got out of it for the counter takedown.
From there, Lee worked on locking up a cradle. Lee rolled McKee over his own head and pinned him in 1:55.
“I’ve worked on this a lot with Bo Nickal and Jason Nolf,” Lee said of the cradle. “They used to be crazy with this move. Learning from them has really helped. For me, that was really cool to be able to pick something up from them and take it into my matches.”
Penn State suffered two heartbreakers to close out the first half of dual with a 17-6 lead. Jarod Verkleeren led 3-0 at 149 pounds over No. 6 Brayton Lee after two periods of wrestling.
Lee had a five-point third period to send the match into sudden victory. Lee had just a little more gas in his tank for a 7-5 win.
Luke Gardner bumped up to 157 pounds and gave up a takedown with 40 seconds left in the match in his 5-4 loss.
Out of the break, “Captain Smooth” as the Big Ten broadcast nicknamed Joseph, began a string of four straight wins for the Nittany Lions. Joseph rattled off five takedowns of Bailee O’Reilly. Three of those takedowns came in the first period of a 14-5 major decision.
“Cenzo just freaking grinds out matches. He is a tough opponent,” Lee said. “You’re never going to find him taking any shortcuts. He is tough in every position.”
Mark Hall had no problems with Devin Skatzka as he led 7-2 late in the third period, but did give up a late takedown for a 7-4 win. Penn State led 24-6 after Hall’s match.
Brooks looked unstoppable in a 13-3 major decision over Owen Webster at 184 pounds. The redshirt freshman snapped off five takedowns, three alone in the third period to get those bonus points for his team. The final takedown came with just two seconds on the clock.
Shakur Rasheed looked more like himself against Garrett Joles, and it couldn’t come at a better time with the postseason on the horizon. The sixth-year senior had a dominate top game, nearly locking up his patented crossface cradle several times in a 7-5 win.
The Golden Gophers’ Gable Steveson used four third-period takedowns to secure a 13-5 major decision over Seth Nevills to close out the dual.
Now the Nittany Lions turn their focus to No. 3 Ohio State and their final Big Ten dual meet of the season, which is at 7 p.m. Saturday inside the Bryce Jordan Center. It’s another match where Lee will be the focal point, as he will line up against No. 1 Luke Pletcher. But, don’t look for anything to change for Lee.
“That is our last Big Ten dual of the season, so we want to make sure we are ready for that,” he said. “I think just like any other match, (we’ve got to) make sure you are prepared. I don’t think I’m going to wrestle any differently because it is a number one opponent.”
No. 2 Penn State 31, No. 13 Minnesota 10
Sunday at Minneapolis
125: Brandon Meredith, PSU, won by forfeit
133: No. 2 Roman Bravo-Young, PSU, tech. fall Boo Dryden, 23-8 (6:29)
141: No. 2 Nick Lee, PSU, pinned No. 4 Mitch McKee, 1:55
149: No. 6 Brayton Lee, M, dec. Jarod Verkleeren, 7-5 (SV)
157: Ryan Thomas, M, dec. Luke Gardner, 5-4
165: No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph, PSU, major dec. Bailee O’Reilly, 14-5
174: No. 2 Mark Hall, PSU, dec. No. 8 Devin Skatzka, 7-4
184: No. 7 Aaron Brooks, PSU, major dec. Owen Webster, 13-3
197: No. 18 Shakur Rasheed, PSU, dec. Garrett Joles, 7-5
285: No. 1 Gable Steveson, M, major dec. No. 15 Seth Nevills, 13-5
Takedowns: PSU 27, M 12
Records: Penn State 9-2, 6-1 Big Ten; Minnesota 9-6, 4-3 Big Ten
Next match: Ohio State at Penn State, 7:30 p.m. Saturday
