No. 19 Penn State wrestlers roll Purdue, 32-7
Nittany Lions sweep weekend to move to 2-2 in the Big Ten
State College, Pa., Jan. 30, 2005 – The No. 19 Penn State wrestling team made it a clean sweep for the weekend in Rec Hall as the Nittany Lions downed Purdue 32-7 on Sunday afternoon to improve to 8-7 on the year and 2-2 in the Big Ten. Penn State won eight of 10 bouts on the day, including two by fall, to drop Purdue, which beat Ohio State on Friday, to 7-8 (1-2 in the Big Ten). The Nittany Lions return to Rec Hall next Friday, Feb. 4 as they take on No. 9 Iowa (6-4; 1-2 Big Ten) at 7:00 p.m. That match will be televised by CSTV on a tape delay basis with the first broadcast airing on Feb. 5 at 1:30 p.m.
Penn State dominated Purdue from the outset as senior Adam Smith posted the opening takedown early in the 125-pound bout and then added four more in the second and one in the third for a 14-6 major decision over Brandon Tucker. Smith, ranked No. 16, improved his dual meet record to a team-leading 11-4.
At 133, freshman Bryan Heller continued his impressive wrestling with an 8-2 win over Sean Schmaltz. Heller is now 19-10 on the year, 8-5 in duals. At 141, junior DeWitt Driscoll completed a solid weekend of work when he pinned Rene Hernandez at 3:33. Driscoll, ranked No. 20 and coming off a 12-2 upset of No. 15 Mike Simpson on Friday, posted a takedown and three-point near-fall in the first before decking Hernandez in the second.
Trailing 13-0, Purdue got on the board at 149 as No. 20 Doug Withstandley posted a 9-0 blanking of freshman Jack Decker. Penn State rebounded with an 8-4 win by No. 13 Nate Galloway over Colton Salazar at 157. Galloway gave up the opening takedown to Salazar, but after escaping posted a takedown of his own and turned Salazar for a two-point near-fall just before the end of the first period. Galloway escaped from the down position in the second and got a takedown in the third, while Salazar got a late reversal for the final margin.
Purdue got another win from John DeCeault over Jarrad Turner, 9-4, at 165 before sophomore James Yonushonis got a win at 174 with a pin of Dan Bedoy at 4:25. Yonushonis posted two first period takedowns and added three more in the third before getting the fall.
Junior Eric Bradley continued his close battles with No. 19 Ben Wissel at 184. Bradley, ranked No. 6, split a pair of matches with Wissel last year, downing the Boilermaker in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament on his way to the conference title and then dropping a 2-2, tiebreaker decision in double-overtime to Wissel in the NCAA tournament. The pair once again battled close with only a Bradley escape from the down position in the second being the difference going into the third. Wissel escaped to start the third and neither was able to score a takedown as the match went into overtime. Bradley wasted little time in the overtime period as he dropped on Wissel’s leg and got the winning takedown 12 seconds in for a 3-1 win. Bradley improved to 19-2, 10-1 in dual meet action.
Freshman Phil Davis was again very impressive at 197 as he won his seventh straight match with a dominating 8-0 decision over Nathan Moore. Davis controlled Moore, who defeated No. 4 J.D. Bergman of Ohio State on Friday, on the mat. He got a reversal from the down position in the second and then posted a takedown in the third. With time running down, Davis eventually worked Moore into a cradle and turned him for a three-point near-fall as time expired. Davis improved to 27-4, 8-1 in dual meet action for the year.
Junior Joel Edwards wrapped up a strong Nittany Lion afternoon with his first win over a Big Ten opponent since moving up to heavyweight a week ago. Edwards was also dominating on the mat. He posted a first period takedown and then rode Purdue’s Jake O’Brien the entire second period. Edwards started down in the third, escaped and then posted a takedown to gain a 6-0 win with a 4:17 riding time advantage.
#19 Penn State 32, Purdue 7
125 #16 Adam Smith (PS) Maj. Dec. Brandon Tucker (PU), 14-6 (PU)0 (PSU)4
133 #20 Bryan Heller (PS) dec. Sean Schmaltz (PU), 8-2 (PU)0 (PSU)7
141 #20 DeWitt Driscoll (PS) pinned Rene Hernandez (PU), F;3:33 (PU)0 (PSU)13
149 #20 Doug Withstandley (PU) Maj. Dec. Jack Decker (PS), 9-0 (PU)4 (PSU)13
157 #13 Nate Galloway (PS) dec. Colton Salazar (PU), 8-4 (PU)4 (PSU)16
165 John DeCeault (PU) dec. Jarrad Turner (PS), 9-4 (PU)7 (PSU)16
174 James Yonushonis (PS) pinned Dan Bedoy (PU), F;4:25 (PU)7 (PSU)22
184 #6 Eric Bradley (PS) dec. #19 Ben Wissel (PU), 3-1;sv (PU)7 (PSU)25
197 Phil Davis (PS) Maj. Dec. Nathan Moore (PU), 8-0 (PU)7 (PSU)29
Hwt. Joel Edwards (PS) dec. Jake O’Brien (PU), 6-0 (PU)7 (PSU)32
Penn State: 8-7; 2-2 Big Ten
Purdue: 7-8; 1-2 Big Ten
Attendance: 1,704
Ridge Riley Award: James Yonushonis (174)
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