Defending NCAA Division I wrestling champs Penn State defeated Utah Valley University, 39-3, in front of nearly 5,500 fans at UCCU Center in Orem, Utah Saturday night.
Led by head coach Cael Sanderson -- a Utah native -- the Nittany Lions won all but one of their matches out west. Bonus points were a factor in six of those victories (make it seven, if you include Penn State freshman redshirt heavyweight Jon Gingrich's major decision win in a preliminary bout). Three members of the visiting team pinned their opponents: David Taylor at 165 pounds, Quentin Wright at 197, and Cameron Wade at heavyweight.
The one bright spot for the home team -- other than the boost in gate receipts -- came at 133, with Blake Mangum's win at 133 pounds.
Some in the college wrestling community had questioned Penn State's decision to travel to Utah rather than competing at this weekend's Mat Mayhem National Duals. As Sanderson told InterMatWrestle.com senior editor Andrew Hipps this week, "If you think about it, any school on the West Coast has a very difficult time getting matches at home. There just aren't very many programs and it's very expensive. We felt that going out to Utah and helping them create a big event was the best thing we could do for the sport."
With the win, Penn State is now 12-1 overall this season, and 7-1 in the Big Ten. Utah Valley falls to 6-9.
Match Results
- 165: No. 1 David Taylor (PSU) pinned Ethan Smith (UVU), 2:40
- 174: Matt Brown (PSU) maj. dec. Monte Schmalhaus (UVU), 13-3
- 184: No. 2 Quentin Wright (PSU) pinned David Prieto (UVU), 4:46
- 197: No. 12 Morgan McIntosh (PSU) dec. Brian Chamberlain (UVU), 4-3
- Hwt: No. 6 Cameron Wade (PSU) pinned Dustin Dennison (UVU), 1:15
- 125: No. 8 Nico Megaludis (PSU) maj. dec. Colby Christensen (UVU), 19-7
- 133: Blake Mangum (UVU) dec. Frank Martellotti (PSU), 3-1
- 141: Bryant Pearsall (PSU) maj. dec. Avery Garner (UVU), 13-4
- 149: No. 1 Frank Molinaro (PSU) dec. No. 14 Josh Wilson (UVU), 6-0
- 157: No. 6 Dylan Alton (PSU) dec. Napoleon Aniciete (UVU), 12-9
- Hwt PRELIM: Jon Gingrich (PSU) maj. dec. Zac Jensen (UVU), 13-2
Want to know more? Read Penn State wrestling's detailed account, including bout-by-bout analysis.
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