Shorthanded Mountain Hawks blanked at No. 1 Penn State

Sunday, December 2

University Park, Pa.

1:30 PM

Lehigh University

Penn State

Match Notes

12/2/2018 4:28:00 PM | Men's Wrestling

Photo Gallery

By: Steve Lomangino

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – An undermanned Lehigh wrestling team traveled to No. 1 Penn State Sunday and the three-time defending national champions flexed their muscles, handing the eighth-ranked Mountain Hawks a 42-0 setback at Rec Hall. Penn State scored bonus points in seven of its 10 wins to deal Lehigh its first shutout loss since a 33-0 blanking at the Nittany Lions' hands in December 2007.

Wrestling without as many as six projected starters from the beginning of the season, Lehigh falls to 0-3 for the first time since starting the 2007-08 season 0-4.

Penn State trotted out seven top five-ranked wrestlers with the seven accounting for 32 of the Nittany Lions' team points.

"We knew what we had coming in," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "We knew what we had to do. Some guys fought pretty hard. I knew we weren't nearly as offensive. We had some bright spots. Humphreys wrestled pretty well. Jimmy Hoffman took a lot of attempts. Some guys were feeling themselves out in this environment and you can't do that against the No. 1 team in the country."

The dual started at 197 with top-ranked Bo Nickal posting a 19-4 major decision over sophomore Jake Jakobsen.

The heavyweight bout matched No. 5 Anthony Cassar against sixth-ranked sophomore Jordan Wood, with Cassar starting strong on his feet. He recorded two first period takedowns, with Wood unable to recover. Cassar finished off a 12-3 major decision to give the Nittany Lions an early 9-0 advantage.

Freshman Luke Resnick couldn't get Lehigh going at 125 as Penn State's Devin Schupp scored takedowns in the second and third periods to post a 6-1 decision.

The Nittany Lions made it four straight after Roman Bravo-Young earned a 13-5 major decision over sophomore Brandon Paetzell. Young led 4-2 in the second when Paetzell had his best shot of the bout countered by a remarkable flip by Bravo-Young, who came back to score a takedown of his own.

A 23-10 major decision by fourth-ranked Nick Lee over junior Ryan Pomrinca at 141 gave the hosts a 20-0 lead at intermission.

Lehigh's closest call came at 149, where freshman Jimmy Hoffman was locked in a tight battle with Jarod Verkleeren. Hoffman gave up a second period reversal and was tied 2-2 in the third period but despite a flurry of shot attempts could not come up with a score. A third period takedown by Verkleeren and riding time clinched a 5-3 decision.

Faced with the daunting task of facing a two-time national champion as a true freshman, Josh Humphreys did his best against No. 1 Jason Nolf. Humphreys didn't back down and looked to score but was unable to do so. Nolf led 11-3 in the third period when he locked up a cradle and pinned Humphreys at 6:19.

Junior Cole Walter was the latest regular to go down with an injury meaning sophomore Trey Cornish made his first dual appearance at 165 against another two-time national champion in Vincenzo Joseph. The top-ranked Lion extended Penn State's lead to 35-0 with a second period pin.

The second bout of the dual matching top-10 wrestlers was at 174 where seventh-ranked junior Jordan Kutler met No. 2 Mark Hall. After a scoreless first period, Hall scored takedowns in the second and third periods, plus riding time, to win 6-2.

Shakur Rasheed cemented the shutout for the Nittany Lions with an 11-2 major decision over junior Andrew Price at 184.

"We all know where we're at right now as a program, with the team the way it is," Santoro said. "We know we're going to be a lot better in a month. A lot better in two months. We have a decision to make. There's a lot of adversity. It's about staying positive. We're going to be a completely different team in a month or two. Our focus has to be about getting better. It can't be about results and performance. Some guys performed well and some didn't. We need more consistency."

The Mountain Hawks will continue their challenging early-season slate with a trip to No. 3 Iowa next Saturday. Match time is set for 8:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. CT from Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. Audio coverage will be available on Fox Sports Radio 1230 and 1320.

The 2018-19 Lehigh wrestling season is presented by the Historic Hotel Bethlehem.

No. 1 Penn State 42, No. 8 Lehigh 0
197 – Bo Nickal (PSU) tech fall Jake Jakobsen (Lehigh) 19-4, 5:31
285 – Anthony Cassar (PSU) major dec. Jordan Wood (Lehigh) 12-3
125 – Devin Schnupp (PSU) dec. Luke Resnick (Lehigh) 6-1
133 – Roman Bravo-Young (PSU) major dec. Brandon Paetzell (Lehigh) 13-5
141 – Nick Lee (PSU) major dec. Ryan Pomrinca (Lehigh) 23-10
149 – Jarod Verkleeren (PSU) dec. Jimmy Hoffman (Lehigh) 5-3
157 – Jason Nolf (PSU) Fall Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) 6:19
165 – Vincenzo Joseph (PSU) Fall Trey Cornish (Lehigh) 4:46
174 – Mark Hall (PSU) dec. Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) 6-2
184 – Shakur Rasheed (PSU) major dec. Andrew Price (Lehigh) 11-2
Attendance – 6,529

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