Penn State Nittany Lions Crowns 5 Champions, Wins Team Title
ST. LOUIS – Jason Nolf jumped up, screamed and raised his arms in triumph.
The rare display of emotional wasn’t the result of the Penn State 157-pounder his first NCAA title on Saturday night at the Scottrade Center. Instead, it came when his teammate, Vincenzo Joseph, pinned Isaiah Martinez for the 165-pound championship.
That was just part of an incredible night that saw the Nittany Lions crown a record-tying five national champions and run away with the team title – their sixth in seven seasons – and set a school mark for points in an NCAA Tournament. Zain Retherford won the 149-pound on his way to the Outstanding Wrestler Award, and Mark Hall (174) and Bo Nickal (184) also captured titles.
“It’s just crazy because usually you have somebody lose or something doesn’t go right, and as a competitor your heart is always with the kid that doesn’t reach his goal,” coach Cael Sanderson said after the Nittany Lions went 5-0 in the finals. “And so this is very special.”
It certainly was. The Nittany Lions finished with 146.5 points to easily outdistance second-place Ohio State. The five champions matched Iowa (1986 and 1997) and Oklahoma State (2005) for the most by a single school in NCAA history. The point total was the most in 12 years and fourth-most in the history of the tournament.
Retherford – the Zain Train – got Penn State rolling with a technical fall over Missouri’s Lavion Mayes. Retherford gave up the opening takedown, but he didn’t panic.
“Everyone gives up points here and there, gets put in a situation that we’re put in,” said Retherford, a Benton grad. “So just embrace it and deal with the hand you’re given and just keep rolling.”
Retherford certainly did that, as he scored the next 18 points. That capped off a perfect 28-0 season – one that likely will result in the Hodge Trophy. In the tournament, Retherford had four technical falls and a pin.
Nolf followed with a 14-6 major decision over Joey Lavallee of Missouri.
A Kittanning graduate, Nolf did just about anything he wanted on the season, as he went 27-0. He had two technical falls, a fall and a major decision in the NCAA Tournament.
“You can have a close match, but you don’t want to if you can help it,” Nolf said. “I could have ridden that guy out a little bit longer and try to work on top a little bit and won the match 5-3. But that’s not what I want to do.”
Unlike some of the champions who preceded him, Nolf didn’t have much of a celebration. He placed his ankle bands carefully on the mat and put both hands in the air with a No. 1 gesture.
“Pretty excited as you can tell by my face,” Nolf deadpanned in his postmatch interview. “But no, I’m more of a mellow, stoic kind of guy. But I was really excited scoring a lot of points out there. I still think I could have scored more. But that would just keep me ready for next year.”
Joseph stunned the capacity crowd by pinning Martinez, a two-time national champion who beat Nolf in the finals a year ago. Martinez had beaten Joseph twice this season, but the Pittsburgh Central Catholic grad turned the tables on him in the finals.
“Well, he’s a phenomenal wrestler,” Joseph said. “He’s a bully on the mat. And this time I was definitely ready for that. I was coming right back at him.”
Hall also avenged a loss from earlier in the season, as he beat Ohio State’s Bo Jordan 5-2. With Hall clinging to a 3-2 lead in the final minute, he was warned for stalling but never got a second call. When Jordan went for a desperation takedown attempt, the true freshman scored a takedown to seal it.
Nickal followed another impressive victory. A runner-up as a redshirt freshman in 2016, Nickal beat two-time national champion Gabe Dean, 4-3, in the final bout of the night.
Nick Nevills placed fifth at 285 pounds. Jimmy Gulibon and Matt McCutcheon each won matches at the NCAA Tournament did not place.
Nick Suriano, a true freshman who was the No. 3 seed at 125 pounds, had to withdraw from the tournament due to an ankle injury. Gulibon is the only senior starter, and Jered Cortez, who was Penn State’s starter at 133 pounds before an injury ended his season, also returns.
That means Penn State could be even better next year.
“I think it’s special now,” Sanderson said. “I’m having a good time. We’re excited about the future. We’ll enjoy this at least for a little while. If you’re coaching you’re always thinking three, four, five years ahead. So we’re going to have the potential to have a great team next year, we’re excited about that and great leadership.”