Former, current Penn State wrestlers shine in Nittany Lion Wrestling Club event
As some sports continue to return to action during the COVID-19 pandemic, so did wrestling on Saturday night when the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club held its inaugural competition event.
Penn State coach Cael Sanderson was the hype man for the event, taking to Twitter numerous times over the past couple of weeks to promote the event.
Let’s just say, Sanderson’s hype didn’t disappoint.
There were a total of 13 freestyle matches, which highlighted some of the nation’s top men’s and women’s wrestlers. Of the 26 competing wrestlers, seven had some sort of connection to the Nittany Lions’ program.
Current Penn State wrestler Greg Kerkvliet along with former Nittany Lions in Zain Retherford, Jason Nolf, Vincenzo Joseph, Bo Nickal, Nick Nevills and Dan Vallimont took part in the event. Joseph and Vallimont squared off in an all-Penn State match midway through the event.
Other big names that took part in the event included Oklahoma State all-time great Alex Dieringer, Olympic gold medalist Kyle Snyder, Iowa great Thomas Gilman, 2017 NCAA Champion Darian Cruz, of Lehigh, and 2018 NCAA Champion Michael Macchiavello, of North Carolina State.
But the main event was Nickal vs. Dieringer. The duo competed at 190 pounds with Dieringer holding a 1-0 lead after one period of wrestling, thanks to a push-out point.
Nickal received a stall point as Dieringer didn’t score on the shot clock with 1:05 left in the match. Nickal fought off a flurry of Dieringer shots over the final 30 seconds of the bout to win 1-1 on criteria.
Outside of Nickal’s victory, Kerkvliet and Retherford had some impressive wins, as well.
Kerkvliet, who was one of the top recruits in the country last year, transferred to Penn State from Ohio State in December. He took on Youssif Hemida at 125 kilograms on Saturday, and didn’t take long to show why he was so highly recruited.
Kerkvliet scored a takedown 13 seconds into the match, and went up 4-0 thanks to a leg lace turn. He tacked on three more takedowns over the next two minutes, 30 seconds of wrestling for a 10-0 technical fall in 2:43.
Retherford, who wrestled up about 14 pounds at 157, took on former Michigan wrestler Alec Pantaleo. Retherford led 1-0 after one period as Pantaleo didn’t score on the shot clock.
Pantaleo recorded a takedown of Retherford midway through the second period. Retherford went to work, stringing together multiple shot attemps. With one minute left in the match, Retherford got a takedown and used solid defense to hang on for a 3-2 win.
Nolf and Joseph followed Retherford, much like they did in duals for the Nittany Lions.
Nolf topped former Virginia Tech wrestler in David McFadden 5-2 at 79 kilograms. Nolf used a takedown and three push-out points.
Joseph used two takedowns in the second period to top Vallimont 5-0 at 77 kilograms.
Nevills was the second match of the night, where he took on Lehigh’s Jordan Wood at 125 kilograms. Nevills held a 4-1 lead after one period of wrestling, but Wood scored five unanswered points in the second period for a 6-4 victory.
Snyder, Gilman dominate
Gilman took on Cruz at 57 kilograms, with Cruz scoring the first points of the bout with a takedown.
Gilman earned three push-out points to lead 3-2 after one period of wrestling. In the second period, Cruz picked up another takedown, but trailed 6-4.
From there, it was like a switch was flipped on Gilman. He recorded eight points over a 90 second time frame to earn a 14-4 technical fall in 5:20.
Snyder had no problems with Macchiavello at 99 kilograms. Snyder raced out to a 4-0 lead thanks to a takedown and two push out points. He tacked on a 4-point suplex to lead 8-0 after one period.
It took him just 16 seconds into the second period to pick up a takedown and exposure points for a 12-0 technical fall in 3:16.
Women shine bright in spotlight
There were two women’s matches on Saturday, and each were contested at 62 kilograms.
The first came in the third bout of the night with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club’s Jennifer Page taking on Team Takedown’s Desiree Zavala.
Zavala looked as though she was going to have a 10-0 technical fall in the first period, but continuation allowed Page to score a takedown and it was 10-2. Page added another takedown and exposure points to trail 10-6 after one period.
With 2:36 remaining in the match, Page tied the bout with another takedown and exposure points. Page tacked on two more takedowns for a thrilling 14-10 win.
The second match saw Jane Valencia, the first female wrestler to qualify for the Olympics for Mexico, take on Julia Salata. Valencia, who is also a doctor, showed precision and patience in her 6-6 criteria win.
Valencia led 4-0 after one period, so Salata went to work. Salata got to within 4-2 thanks to a takedown. Near the end of the match, Salata again picked up a takedown.
She gained some exposure points off the takedown. However, there was just enough time for Valencia to get a takedown at the buzzer for the winning points.
Wolverines go 2-1 in other bouts
Michigan had a total of four wrestlers compete on Saturday. Three former athletes in Pantaleo, Malik Amine and Domenic Abounader, and current Wolverine in Logan Massa.
Abounader took on Jaime Espinal, who won the 2012 Olympic silver medal for Puerto Rico, at 196 pounds. Espinal recorded the first points of the match with a body lock takedown, which were the only points scored for Espinal.
Abounader picked up a reversal, added a takedown and exposure points to lead 5-2 after one period. Abounader earned one more takedown in the second period for a 7-2 win.
Massa took on Bekzod Abdurakhmonov at 77 kilograms and trailed 1-0 after one period. A pair of push out points and a takedown in the second period gave Mass a come-from-behind 4-3 win.
Amine was part of the event opener against Rick Durso at 74 kilograms. Durso didn’t mess around. He rattled off five takedowns for a 10-0 technical fall in 1:40.
Nittany Lion Wrestling Club Event
Saturday at State College
Team key: Nittany Lion Wrestling Club (NLWC), Cliff Keen Wrestling Club (CKWC), Pennsylvania Regional Training Center (PRTC), Lehigh Valley Wrestling Club (LVWC), Team Takedown (TT), Wolfpack Regional Training Center (WRTC)
men’s 74 kg: Rick Durso, PRTC, tech. fall Malik Amine, CKWC, 10-0 (1:40)
men’s 125 kg: Jordan Wood, LVWC, dec. Nick Nevills, NLWC, 6-4
women’s 62 kg: Jennifer Page, NLWC, dec. Desiree Zavala, TT, 14-10
men’s 196 lb: Domenic Abounader, CKWC, dec. Jaime Espinal, NLWC, 7-2
men’s 157 lb: Zain Retherford, NLWC, dec. Alec Pantaleo, CKWC, 3-2
men’s 79 kg: Jason Nolf, NLWC, dec. David McFadden, PRTC, 5-2
men’s 77 kg: Vincenzo Joseph, NLWC, dec. Dan Vallimont, PRTC, 5-0
men’s 125 kg: Greg Kerkvliet, NLWC, tech. fall Youssif Hemida, CKWC, 10-0 (2:43)
men’s 77 kg: Logan Massa, CKWC, dec. Bekzod Abdurakhmonov, NLWC, 4-3
women’s 62 kg: Jane Valencia, NLWC, def. Julia Salata, 6-6, criteria
men’s 59 kg: Thomas Gilma, NLWC, tech. fall Darian Cruz, LVWC, 14-4 (5:20)
men’s 99 kg: Kyle Snyder, NLWC, tech. fall Michael Macchiavello, WRTC, 12-0 (3:16)
men’s 190 lb: Bo Nickal, NLWC, dec. Alex Dieringer, CKWC, 1-1, criteria
