After another season of collegiate wrestling, Penn State once again proves that they have the best team in the country; securing the sixth team championship in seven years. Along with that Kyle Snyder and J’Den Cox earned additional national titles along with a few surprise upsets to close out the final day of wrestling for this season.
From a team standpoint, Penn State continued the dominance that the Big Ten conference has enjoyed in recent memory. By the time the showcase was over, the PSU Lions had champions at five different weights; Zain Retheford (149), Jason Nolf (157), Vincenzo Joseph (165), Mark Hall (174), Bo Nickal (184) each walked away with titles after impressive performances. Freshman Joseph is perhaps the biggest surprise of the group as he pinned two-time national champion, Isaiah Martinez at the 5:26 mark. Nickal shocked many in the wrestling world when he became the first to defeat Gabe Dean in what was yet another surprise finish on the day.
Cory Clark of Iowa had the best celebration of the day. After defeating Seth Gross for the 133-pound title, he threw associate coach Terry Brands to celebrate. The clip hit social media and it was clear the Brands told Clark to throw him before he hit the mat in a great moment.
Cox and Snyder continue their push to remain the two newest faces of USA Wrestling as they defeated Brett Pfarr (8-2) and Connor Medberyy (6-3) respectively. This was Cox’s third national title, second and a row and the second for Snyder.
Individual Results
125: Darian Cruz (Lehigh) dec. Ethan Lizak (Minnesota), 6-3.
133: Cory Clark (Iowa) dec. Seth Gross (South Dakota St.), 4-3.
141: Dean Heil (Oklahoma St.) dec. George DiCamillo (Virginia), 6-3.
149: Zain Retheford (Penn St.) tf. Lavion Mayes (Missouri), 18-2 (6:43)
157: Jason Nolf (Penn St.) md. Joey Lavallee (Missouri), 14-6.
165: Vincenzo Joseph (Penn St.) pinned Isaiah Martinez (Illinois), 5:26.
174: Mark Hall (Penn St.) dec. Bo Jordan (Ohio St.), 5-2.
184: Bo Nickal (Penn St.) dec. Gabe Dean (Cornell), 4-3
197: J’den Cox (Missouri) dec. Brett Pfarr (Minnesota), 8-2.
285: Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) dec. Connor Medberyy (Wisconsin), 6-3.
Team Results
1. Penn State: 146.5
2. Ohio State: 110
3. Oklahoma State: 103
4. Iowa: 97
5. Missouri: 86.5
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