• Photo Showcase: Penn State-Nebraska wrestling
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LINCOLN — Second-ranked Penn State dominated the early matches Friday night to defeat seventh-ranked Nebraska 31-6 before a crowd of 2,673 at NU Coliseum.
The Nittany Lions never trailed in the first five matches as they built a 20-0 lead.
NU junior Ridge Kiley finally broke the drought in the sixth match by scoring three points in the final seconds to defeat Frank Martellotti 4-3 at 133 pounds. The crowd, subdued as the Huskers fell in early matches, erupted with Kiley’s late flurry.
“Kiley had an opportunity and took it,” NU coach Mark Manning said.
The Nittany Lions’ powerful lineup proved too much for Manning’s troops. Manning said defending champion Penn State outmatched the Huskers in some weights.
“These guys are pretty good,” Manning said. “They have guys with real talents. We have to be tougher and in better condition.”
While the Huskers entered with six wrestlers with national rankings from fifth to 18th, Penn State had seven ranked in the top 10. In every match featuring ranked wrestlers, the higher-ranked wrestler won.
Penn State’s two No. 1 wrestlers, Frank Molinaro at 149 and David Taylor at 165, were easy winners against Skylar Galloway and Robert Kokesh, respectively.
Manning said NU could bounce back at third-ranked Minnesota Sunday.
“If we have 10 competitors, we’ll bounce back,” he said. “It’s not an issue.”
NU will enter the Minnesota dual with a 14-2 record. The Golden Gophers are 9-3.
Penn State, now 10-1 in duals and 5-1 in the Big Ten, opened Friday’s match with two of its second-ranked wrestlers posting wins for a 9-0 lead. Ed Ruth, a 174-pounder, pinned NU’s Tyler Koehn with 1:03 remaining in the third period. At 184 pounds, No. 2 ranked Quentin Wright edged Josh Ihnen 9-6.
Penn State sub Matt Brown stepped up 20 pounds to beat James Nakashima 2-1 at 197, putting the Huskers in a 12-0 hole three matches into the evening.
Sixth-ranked heavyweight Cameron Wade gave the Nittany Lions a 15-0 lead by defeating ninth-ranked Tucker Lane 8-2.
Penn State’s dominance continued in the lower weight classes as ninth-ranked Nico Megaludis, a freshman, beat NU’s Shawn Nagel at 125 pounds, scoring bonus points with a 24-6 margin.
After Kiley’s victory at 133 pounds, 141-pounder Jake Sueflohn made it two in a row for NU by beating Bryan Pearsall 6-1. It was Sueflohn’s 13th dual victory of the year to bolster his No. 5 national ranking.
• 125 pounds: Nico Megaludis, PSU, tech. fall Shawn Nagel, 23-6. 133: Ridge Kiley, NU, dec. Frank Martellotti, 4-3. 141: Jake Sueflohn, NU, dec. Bryan Pearsall, 6-1. 149: Frank Molinaro, PSU, major dec. Skylar Galloway, 14-6. 157: Dylan Alton, PSU, dec. James Green, 2-1. 165: David Taylor, PSU, major dec. Robert Kokesh, 13-3. 174: Ed Ruth, PSU, pinned Tyler Koehn. 184: Quentin Wright, PSU, dec. Josh Ihnen, 9-6. 197: Matt Brown, PSU, dec. James Nakashima, 2-1. Heavyweight: Cameron Wade, PSU, dec. Tucker Lane, 8-2.
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