Studebaker Shines, Montoya Reaches Milestone in Loss to Penn State

Lincoln, Neb. – The No. 5 Nebraska wrestling team (7-1, 1-1 Big Ten) jumped out to an early 8-3 lead, but No. 3 Penn State rallied for a 27-14 win at the Devaney Center on Sunday afternoon.

Senior All-American Eric Montoya (133) notched NU’s first win of the day with his 17-1 technical fall over George Carpenter in the second bout. The win marked the 100th of Montoya’s collegiate career, and the 67th in his time at Nebraska.

At 141 pounds, junior Colton McCrystal raced out to an early advantage against No. 12 Jimmy Gulibon with a strong first period, and ultimately won a 12-5 decision over the Nittany Lion to give the Huskers an 8-3 lead through three matches. The win marked McCrystal’s third victory over a ranked opponent this season.

In the penultimate match of the dual, No. 7 Aaron Studebaker (197) pinned No. 11 Matt McCutcheon in 6:01. At the time, it cut the Nittany Lion lead to 21-14, with one match remaining. It was Studebaker’s third pin of the 2016-17 campaign.

Nebraska suffered narrow decision losses to top-three opponents at 125 and 184 pounds. The Huskers also fell at 149 and 157 to top-ranked Nittany Lions Zain Retherford and Jason Nolf.

Penn State added a decision at 174 pounds and a pin at heavyweight. With the dual win, Penn State, the defending national champions, improves to 6-0 overall with a 2-0 mark in Big Ten duals.

The Huskers return to action with two duals at home. Nebraska battles Wisconsin on Friday, Jan. 13 and wrestles Michigan on Sunday, Jan. 15. Both duals will be held at the Devaney Center.

#3 Penn State 27, #5 Nebraska 14
Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017
Devaney Center (Lincoln, Neb.)
Attendance: 2,373

Results
125: #3 Nick Suriano (PSU) dec. #5 Tim Lambert (NEB), 3-2 (PSU 3, NEB 0)
133: #3 Eric Montoya (NEB) tech fall George Carpenter (PSU), 17-1 (NEB 5, PSU 3)
141: #13 Colton McCrystal (NEB) dec. #12 Jimmy Gulibon (PSU), 12-5 (NEB 8, PSU 3)
149: #1 Zain Retherford (PSU) major dec. Collin Purinton (NEB), 19-6 (NEB 8, PSU 7)
157: #1 Jason Nolf (PSU) major dec. #3 Tyler Berger (NEB), 15-7 (PSU 11, NEB 8)
165: #5 Vincenzo Joseph (PSU) major dec. Dustin Williams (NEB), 20-7 (PSU 15, NEB 8)
174: Geno Morelli (PSU) dec. Micah Barnes (NEB), 2-1 (PSU 18, NEB 8)
184: #2 Bo Nickal (PSU) dec. #3 TJ Dudley (NEB), 10-5 (PSU 21, NEB 8)
197: #7 Aaron Studebaker (NEB) pin #11 Matt McCutcheon (PSU), 6:01 (PSU 21, NEB 14)
HWT: #5 Nick Nevills (PSU) pin #15 Collin Jensen (NEB), 6:01 (PSU 27, NEB 14)