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Penn State Wrestling’s top 10 dual meets in the Cael Sanderson era

By Chris Snyder

The crowd reacts as Aaron Brooks of the Penn State Nittany Lions gets a pin during the second period of a 184-pound bout against Rocky Jordan of the Ohio State Buckeyes at Bryce Jordan Center on February 04, 2022 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bryan Bennett/Getty Images)
The crowd reacts as Aaron Brooks of the Penn State Nittany Lions gets a pin during the second period of a 184-pound bout against Rocky Jordan of the Ohio State Buckeyes at Bryce Jordan Center on February 04, 2022 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bryan Bennett/Getty Images) /
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A general view of the Bryce Jordan Center prior to a match between Penn State Wrestling and Ohio State Buckeyes (Photo by Bryan Bennett/Getty Images) /

No. 1

February 3, 2018
University Park, Pa
No. 1 Ohio State 18, No. 2 Penn State 19

Dubbed the “Dual of the Century,” the 2018 clash between No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Penn State Wrestling has to be one of the best dual meets in college wrestling history.

The Nittany Lions were able to pull out the win 19-18 yet somehow the score doesn’t indicate just how close this match was.

The dual started out at 125 where Ohio State was able to get out to an early lead 4-0 thanks to a major decision from No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (OSU). Their lead was extended in the 133 match when No. 2 Luke Pletcher (OSU) won in a decision to make it 7-0.

Penn State Wrestling’s hopes were on No. 6 Nick Lee (PSU) as he went up against No. 11 Joey McKenna (OSU). A shocked crowd watched as Ohio State’s lead once again grew when Lee lost a 7-6 decision. Hope had seemingly vanished from the normally friendly confines of Rec Hall. It looked hopeless.

Thankfully, No. 1 Zain Retherford (PSU) was up next and he earned a 20-4 technical fall to get Penn State on the board. Bo Pipher (PSU) then lost in a technical fall against No. 5 Micah Jordan (OSU) and Ohio State pushed their lead to 15-5 with only 5 matches remaining. It wasn’t looking good for PSU.

Remember when I said Penn State usually has a string of elite wrestlers in a row in their lineup? No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph (PSU), No. 2 Mark Hall (PSU), and No. 1 Bo Nickal (PSU) all took care of business earning two major decisions and a decision to give Penn State the lead 16-15. This was the good news. The bad news was Ohio State’s next two wrestlers were each the No. 1 for the 197 and 285 weight classes.

No. 1 Kollin Moore (OSU) had not lost a match yet in the 2017-2018 season. And who did Cael throw out there to wrestle him? Unranked Anthony Cassar (PSU). We all know about Cassar now, however not much was really known about him then. This was about to change as Cassar shocked Ohio State, Ohio State fans, and Penn State fans when he defeated Moore in an improbable 6-3 decision giving Penn State a slim 19-15 edge.

Next up was No. 6 Nick Nevills (PSU) going against No. 1 Kyle Snyder (OSU). All Nevills had to do was lose no worse than a decision and Penn State would win the dual. He did just that with a thrilling 15-10 decision win by Snyder.

Thus one of the best regular-season dual meets in college history had ended with Penn State Wrestling topping Ohio State 19-18. Incredible.

Hot. Ranking all 10 Penn State Wrestling National Championship Teams. light

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