McCoy, Neidlinger integral in grappler victory

Penn State wrestling coach John Fritz sat down after the Lock Haven match Friday night and smiled.

"You don't know how nice it is to know that you have a Kerry McCoy at the end of the lineup," Fritz said. "It makes a coach feel good to know that he has a wrestler with extraordinary ability to pull out a win in a tough situation."

The situation was even tougher for 190-pounder Rob Neidlinger.

Trailing, 16-12, the Lions needed a victory from Neidlinger to at least pull within a point of the Bald Eagles and give McCoy a chance to win the match. Neidlinger responded with a decision over Lock Haven's Kevin Drew.

Neidlinger looked a little tense in the first period, giving two early takedowns to Drew. The redshirt junior then relaxed, countering with two escapes and then a takedown with eight seconds left to knot the score at 4.

In the second period, the only scoring was made when Neidlinger, who started in the down position, reversed Drew and rode him out for the remainder of the period.

Trailing, 6-4, going into the third period, Drew started in the down position, planning to escape and then get a takedown for the win. But Drew's plans were annulled when Neidlinger rode him for the entire period, picked up a point for riding time and defeated Drew, 7-4.

The win pulled the Lions within a point, 16-15, and set the stage for McCoy.

On paper, the heavyweight match looked like it would be a cinch for Penn State, and basically, it was not much of a contest. McCoy entered the match 30-0 and held the No. 1 ranking the entire season.

Bell, on the other hand, was 7-12. He is a redshirt sophomore with not enough experience or expertise to match McCoy.

Experience was the key as Bell hung with McCoy until the middle of the second period, when McCoy took over the match and brought a Penn State victory with it.

In the first period McCoy struck with a takedown 33 seconds into the match. He then let Bell escape and came right back with another takedown.

Trailing, 4-1, Bell used a wrist roll on McCoy and escaped to make the score 4-2. The period ended with another takedown by McCoy, who led, 6-2, after one period.

McCoy started the second period in the down position and quickly escaped and took down Bell. He then tilted Bell for two nearfall points. After an escape by Bell, McCoy ended the period with a nice duck-under from the underhook position for a takedown and a 13-3 lead.

The third period was basically what wrestling buffs call the let-him-up-take-him-down game. Bell started the period on the bottom. McCoy let him loose for a one-point escape and quickly took him back down. McCoy recorded four more takedowns, while leaving Bell up three more times and won by technical fall at the 6 minute, 50 second mark.