Nolf pins Martinez in Nittany Lions’ victory over Illinois
It was the pin heard around the wrestling world.
A win that the Twitter community was calling out to ESPN to be on SportsCenter’s Top 10 list.
Penn State’s No. 4 Jason Nolf ended No. 1 Isaiah Martinez’s undefeated collegiate career in the second period.
Nolf’s pin was one of three for the No. 1 Nittany Lions in their 30-15 victory over No. 13 Illinois on Saturday afternoon inside Huff Hall.
The pair went to the second period tied at 3 with Nolf recording the match’s first takedown. Nolf started in the bottom position to open the second and escaped. Martinez got called twice for stalling and Nolf earned another point to go up 5-3.
Much like most of Nolf’s opponents this year, Martinez seemed to be gassed out. Nolf took a shot and Martinez countered and the pair went into scramble mode. Nolf came out with a takedown but was in place to earn the fall. It came to fruition as Nolf tallied the victory in 4:56.
“I felt him stop wrestling a little bit,” Nolf told the Penn State Sports Network. “I put weight on my foot so he couldn’t roll any more. I sank back and that’s when I got him.”
Nolf, who was named the Ernie Lucas award winner, said his week began on social media. He quickly got away from it and just remained focused on his wrestling.
“That’s kind of when you have to stay off social media,” he said, “and not think about what other people think. I didn’t want to listen to any of that. It didn’t matter to me (what was being said). I was going to wrestle the way I wrestle and hopefully the results — and they did — come out the right way.”
The match started with Jimmy Gulibon securing a 6-1 victory at 141 pounds. Zain Retherford followed at 149 and made quick work of the Fighting Illini’s Kyle Langenderfer with a fall in 2:10. After Nolf’s upset victory, Penn State held a 15-0 lead.
Shakur Rasheed got the nod at 165 pounds and he almost got into the pinning party. He caught Illinois’ Sean Rodrigues in a cradle early in the first period. The No. 6 wrestler in the country rolled through and escaped. The period finished with Rasheed leading 7-3.
From the second period on, it was all Rodrigues. He used an escape and a takedown to pull within 7-6 after the second. Rasheed earned two escapes in the final period. However, Rodrigues used two takedowns and claimed a 10-9 win to get Illinois on the board at 15-3.
The Nittany Lions’ Bo Nickal took the mat at 174 and squared off with No. 5 Zac Brunson. Brunson came into the match undefeated but it didn’t stay that way.
Nickal, who is No. 1 in the country, trailed after the first period 2-1. He used an escape and a takedown to claim the lead after the second. In the third, Brunson escaped and the two got into a scramble. Nickal came out on top with a takedown but was able to turn Brunson to his back and earned the pin in 6:50.
“This is great,” Nickal said to the Big Ten Network. “I love it. I love my team and coaches. It was a great environment here. It was good to get a nice team win here today.”
After the break, Matt McCutcheon came to the mat at 184. He led 2-1 after one period but things took a bad turn in the second. Illinois’ Jeff Koepke had a nice single leg on McCutcheon and had it lifted in the air. Koepke went for a trip of the other leg and twisted McCutcheon’s trapped leg in an awkward angle. Koepke earned the takedown but McCutcheon laid on the mat screaming in pain and the match was stopped. Koepke won the match on an injury default and Penn State’s lead was 21-9.
Morgan McIntosh picked up a 14-3 major decision win over Andre Lee at 197 pounds. Nico Megaludis grabbed a 24-9 technical fall at 125 pounds and that was the last win of the match for the Nittany Lions.
The Fighting Illini had two other wins. No. 20 heavyweight Brooks Black earned a 6-2 win over Jan Johnson, who was back in the starting lineup after being replaced by Wes Phipps last week. The match came to a close at 133 with No. 2 Zane Richards topping No. 5 Jordan Conaway 8-2.
No. 1 Penn State 30
No. 13 Illinois 15
(Saturday at Champaign, Ill.)
141: No. 13 Jimmy Gulibon, PSU, dec. Mousa Jodeh, 6-1
149: No. 1 Zain Retherford, PSU, pinned Kyle Langenderfer, 2:10
157: No. 3 Jason Nolf, PSU, pinned No. 1 Isaiah Martinez, 4:56
165: No. 6 Steven Rodrigues, ILL, dec. No. 16 Shakur Rasheed, 10-9
174: No. 1 Bo Nickal, PSU, pinned No. 5 Zac Brunson, 6:49
184: Jeff Koepke, ILL, injury def. No. 10 Matt McCutcheon
197: No. 1 Morgan McIntosh, PSU, major dec. Andre Lee, 14-3
285: No. 20 Brooks Black, ILL, dec. Jan Johnson, 6-2
125: No. 4 Nico Megaludis, PSU, technical fall Francis Edelin, 24-9 (6:50)
133: No. 2 Zane Richards, ILL, dec. No. 5 Jordan Conaway, 8-2
Takedowns: Penn State 24, Illinois 12
Records: Penn State 11-0, 6-0 Big Ten; Illinois 9-4, 1-4 Big Ten
Next match: Michigan at Penn State, Jan. 31
This story was originally published January 23, 2016 at 7:31 PM with the headline "Nolf pins Martinez in Nittany Lions’ victory over Illinois."