Michigan State wrestling faced a daunting task when the four-time defending NCAA Champion and fifth-ranked Penn State came to Jenison Field House on Feb. 1. The Spartans could not keep up and lost 35-0.

The Spartans started with a loss when Mitch Rogaliner lost against No. 8 Jordan Conaway, 13-6.

Rogaliner kept it close early on, recording a takedown after giving one up and went up 3-2. After that, though, Rogaliner could not keep up. Conaway kept getting takedowns and took a commanding lead and never looked back.

At 133, Garth Yenter was shutout against No. 9 Jimmy Gulibon 4-0. Yenter only gave one takedown, but could not get anything going and was not able to score.

Terry Turner lost a heartbreaker against Kade Moss, 10-8, at 141. Turner started out slow, losing 5-2 in the second, but was able to grab a quick takedown and near fall to grab a 6-5 lead. Moss notched an escape to tie it up 6-6 at the end of the second. Turner notched a quick escape to take a 7-6 lead, but Moss responded with a takedown. Turner tied it up 8-8 with an escape. Moss was able to get the winning takedown with just nine seconds left on the clock.

Penn State grabbed two major decisions before the intermission to take a 17-0 lead. At 149 pounds, No. 18 Zach Beitz recorded a major decision over Nick Trimble, 13-3, and Cody Law beat Josh Pennell, 22-11, at 157.

Garett Hammond took down Roger Wildmo at 165 pounds, 9-7. The match was tied 3-3 going into the second. Wildmo exchanged a takedown for two escapes and the match was still tied going into the third. Hammond was penalized for his third false start, giving Wildmo the lead to being the final period. Hammond recovered, and took an 8-6 lead by recording an escape and a takedown with about 40 seconds left. Wildmo made a late effort by recording an escape with 20 seconds left and almost recorded a takedown, but could not convert. Hammond added 2:25 of riding time to win 9-7.

After that, the Spartans could not match up.

Third-ranked Matt Brown pinned Nick Proctor at 174 pounds, almost five minutes into the match, and No. 17 Matt McCutcheon defeated John Rizqallah, 8-2, at 184 pounds.

At 197 pounds, fifth-ranked Morgan McIntosh shut out Nick McDiarmid, 2-0. McDiarmid kept it close, but just could not get on the offensive and score.

Penn State completed the shutout when sixth-ranked Jimmy Lawson defeated Chris Nash, 8-2, at heavyweight.

Michigan State hosts No. 10 Nebraska next Sunday, Feb. 8, at noon in Jenison Field House.

Luke Robbins is a multimedia journalist for Impact Sports

Photo: Siobhan Findlay/Impact Sports