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STATE COLLEGE − Penn State wrestling survived and conquered a night of twists, turns and struggles, well enough here in the Bryce Jordan Center.
And some of the best moments belonged to one of its former opponents.
It was sophomore transfer Rocco Welsh, the No. 1 wrestler who started his career with the Ohio State Buckeyes, who gave arguably the most inspiring performance in Friday night's 26-12 survival and late pullaway over Nebraska. It was the Nittany Lions' NCAA-record 83rd consecutive dual meet victory.
On a night marred by three tough, close defeats, Welsh showed his steady improvement, yet again, as a growing offensive force. He took apart his highly-regarded Cornhusker opponent, scoring his second impressive, top-six victory of the season.
Welsh earned Big Ten Wrestler of the Week honors after knocking off Iowa's No. 1 Angelo Ferrari two Fridays ago. This time, he dominated No. 6 Silas Allred, a senior All-American and a former Big Ten champ.
Welsh showed off his improving aggressiveness and confidence here, hitting Allred for two takedowns in the first two minutes of the bout. He controlled the flow of the action from beginning to end, earning the major decision victory, 14-5.
Allred's only points came from escapes after each of those clinic takedowns.
"Yeah, Rocco looked really good against a really tough opponent," coach Cael Sanderson said after it was over. "He's firing on cylinders, he's confident. He had several different takedowns. Everything looks solid.
"He looks like he's getting better every match."
Of course, Welsh has big wrestling shoes to fill. He's the replacement at 184 pounds for graduated Carter Starocci, the only five-time individual national champ in NCAA history. Welsh lost two tight matches to Starocci two years ago at 174 pounds, when he was a true freshman at Ohio State. The second one was in the NCAA finals.
The Waynesburg, Pa. high school graduate now stays perfect this season, at 14-0.
His victory led a run of four straight wins by No. 1-ranked PSU wrestlers against the Cornhuskers − breaking open a tight, tedious 10-9 meet at the break.
That run helped alleviate the sting of losses by Braeden Davis at 141 pounds and PJ Duke at 157. Davis got pinned in the third period − and was hit with an unsportsmanlike penalty − after he had taken a big lead early over No. 4 Brock Hardy.
Duke lost the first collegiate bout of his career, 2-1 in extra tiebreaker periods, to defending national champ Antrell Taylor.
The Lions third loss, their most in a dual meet this season, came in the night's closing heavyweight match. Redshirt freshman Cole Mirasola battled strong but also lost 2-1, yielding the critical, deciding point on riding time.
Frank Bodani covers Penn State wrestling for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: How Rocco Welsh keeps rising for Penn State wrestling, Cael Sanderson
Continue reading...
And some of the best moments belonged to one of its former opponents.
It was sophomore transfer Rocco Welsh, the No. 1 wrestler who started his career with the Ohio State Buckeyes, who gave arguably the most inspiring performance in Friday night's 26-12 survival and late pullaway over Nebraska. It was the Nittany Lions' NCAA-record 83rd consecutive dual meet victory.
On a night marred by three tough, close defeats, Welsh showed his steady improvement, yet again, as a growing offensive force. He took apart his highly-regarded Cornhusker opponent, scoring his second impressive, top-six victory of the season.
Welsh earned Big Ten Wrestler of the Week honors after knocking off Iowa's No. 1 Angelo Ferrari two Fridays ago. This time, he dominated No. 6 Silas Allred, a senior All-American and a former Big Ten champ.
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Welsh showed off his improving aggressiveness and confidence here, hitting Allred for two takedowns in the first two minutes of the bout. He controlled the flow of the action from beginning to end, earning the major decision victory, 14-5.
Allred's only points came from escapes after each of those clinic takedowns.
"Yeah, Rocco looked really good against a really tough opponent," coach Cael Sanderson said after it was over. "He's firing on cylinders, he's confident. He had several different takedowns. Everything looks solid.
"He looks like he's getting better every match."
Of course, Welsh has big wrestling shoes to fill. He's the replacement at 184 pounds for graduated Carter Starocci, the only five-time individual national champ in NCAA history. Welsh lost two tight matches to Starocci two years ago at 174 pounds, when he was a true freshman at Ohio State. The second one was in the NCAA finals.
The Waynesburg, Pa. high school graduate now stays perfect this season, at 14-0.
His victory led a run of four straight wins by No. 1-ranked PSU wrestlers against the Cornhuskers − breaking open a tight, tedious 10-9 meet at the break.
That run helped alleviate the sting of losses by Braeden Davis at 141 pounds and PJ Duke at 157. Davis got pinned in the third period − and was hit with an unsportsmanlike penalty − after he had taken a big lead early over No. 4 Brock Hardy.
Duke lost the first collegiate bout of his career, 2-1 in extra tiebreaker periods, to defending national champ Antrell Taylor.
The Lions third loss, their most in a dual meet this season, came in the night's closing heavyweight match. Redshirt freshman Cole Mirasola battled strong but also lost 2-1, yielding the critical, deciding point on riding time.
Frank Bodani covers Penn State wrestling for the York Daily Record and USA Today Network. Contact him at [email protected] and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @YDRPennState.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: How Rocco Welsh keeps rising for Penn State wrestling, Cael Sanderson
Continue reading...
