Penn State Powers Five Wrestlers into NCAA National Finals
ST. LOUIS – Talk about a high five.
Five Penn State wrestlers – including three from Pennsylvania – will wrestle for NCAA titles on Saturday night at the Scottrade Center.
The Nittany Lions went a perfect 5-for-5 in the semifinals on Friday night to take a giant step toward a sixth NCAA team title in the past seven years. After the fourth session, Penn State had 121 points, compared with 89.5 for second-place Ohio State. The Buckeyes and third-place Oklahoma State, which has 86 points, could still theoretically catch Penn State, but the odds are long.
Zain Retherford (149 pounds), Jason Nolf (157) and Vincenzo Joseph (165) will represent the Keystone State in consecutive finals. Mark Hall (174) and Bo Nickal (184) continue the impressive run for the Nittany Lions.
“The only thing we can control is how we’re going to compete, and at the end of the day, that’s what got us five in the finals,” said Mark Hall, a true freshman from Minnesota. “And I think that’s a big part of what makes Penn State special, and that’s why I’m more than satisfied with making my decision to go to Penn State and be a Nittany Lion for the rest of my life.”
Nolf was asked what separates Penn State from the rest of the teams in the country.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I can’t speak for the other teams, but I know that our team is just super grateful for every opportunity that we’re given. And we’ve come together. We’re a family, and we all want to see each other succeed. So, I think that when we’re just continuously scoring points that we do a lot better, and I think that’s what separates us.”
Heavyweight Nick Nevills gives Penn State six All-Americans, which trails Oklahoma State’s eight, but the lion’s share of the Nittany Lions will be near the top of the podium. Only Jimmy Gulibon (141) and Matt McCutcheon (197) fell short of All-American honors among Nittany Lions who competed in the tournament.
Retherford started the run with a fall over Iowa’s Brandon Sorensen, the same wrestler he beat in last year’s final. Sorensen pushed Retherford to overtime in the teams’ dual meet, but there was little drama this time, as the Penn State wrestler scored a takedown and used a bow and arrow to pin Sorensen.
“To be honest, I watched both those matches right before this match in my hotel room,” Retherford said. “Seeing what I did well and didn’t do well, you know, correcting the mistakes. But, yeah, I felt great in my NCAA finals match last year, and I took a couple of points from that, into that match – mainly the way I approached the match.”
Retherford, a Line Mountain graduate, will face Missouri’s Lavion Mayes in the final on Saturday night.
Nolf also scored bonus points for his team, with a 13-5 victory over fourth-seeded Tyler Berger of Nebraska.
A runner-up a year ago, the Kittanning grad is looking to win a title for himself when he faces Missouri’s Joey Lavaelle on Saturday and one for his team.
“I was really happy for my team (in 2016), but I was still really upset because that was my goal,” Nolf said of losing to Illinois’ Isaiah Martinez in the finals a year ago. “But I learned a lot from it, and I’m looking forward to competing tomorrow.”
Joseph will face Martinez in the title match this time around.
The Pittsburgh Central Catholic alumnus will be an underdog against the two-time champion, but the third-seeded Joseph also had to spring an upset to beat No. 2 Logan Massa of Michigan in the semifinals.
“I feel like I wrestled tough so far,” Joseph said. “Another big match tomorrow night, but (I’m) looking forward to it, and the way our team has been wrestling, I think we have a good shot of holding onto the first-place lead.”
Hall’s upset victory over previously unbeaten Zahid Valencia of Arizona State at 174 and Nickal’s pin of Iowa’s Sammy Brooks at 184 certainly helped the cause.