Blue White Illustrated

P enn State opens its 2018-19 wrestling campaign Nov. 11 when it hosts Kent State for the first of 14 regular-season dual meets, eight of which will take place at University Park. Enter- ing his 10th season as head coach, Cael Sanderson will reveal his starting lineup that day, and it is ex- pected to be the most complete assemblage of talent – from top to bot- tom – that he's put to- gether during his tenure with the Nittany Lions. How could that be? How could a squad that has won seven of the past eight NCAA cham- pionships and 45 consecutive dual meets somehow improve? Leave that up to Sanderson and his staff of veteran coaches. The Nittany Lions bring back seven All- Americans, including four who have combined to win seven individual na- tional titles, but their presence only paints part of the picture. A few members of what was arguably Sanderson's best recruiting class are also ready to step in as true freshmen at critical roster openings. Meanwhile, a redistribution of talent in the latter portion of the lineup is creating what might be considered the most well- stocked group of starters Sanderson has compiled in the past decade. That's saying something. Every year, Sanderson fields a lineup that features some of the most elite wrestlers in the country. Less frequently does Penn State boast national talent at all 10 weight classes, but that could be the case this season. Although he's won the national cham- pionship in seven of his nine previous seasons at PSU, only twice has Sanderson qualified 10 starters for the year-end tournament. The last time that occurred was in 2014, but this year, the Lions are set up to do it again. Here's why… 125/133 These two weight classes get lumped together for now. Why? Because while Penn State signed three of the best lightweight recruits in the country, there's room for only two of those wrestlers in the starting lineup. Early- season talk suggests that either Gavin Teasdale of Pennsylvania or Brody Teske of Iowa will man the 125-pound spot, while Roman Bravo-Young of Arizona will take the role at 133. Confirmation of the order likely won't come out until the opening dual vs. the Golden Flashes, but no matter which combination Sanderson uses, those wrestlers have the potential to be a force in the Big Ten and beyond. Not since Nico Megaludis and Jordan Conaway manned these weight classes a few seasons ago has PSU led off with a strong one-two punch, but that's about to change with some exciting young tal- ent set to debut. 141 Nick Lee shed his redshirt halfway through last season and went on to claim fifth place as a true freshman All-Ameri- can at the NCAA tournament last March. There was talk that he would use a red- shirt this season, but as the best 141- pounder on the roster, that's unlikely. Ranked No. 5 by FloWrestling.com, he will likely be needed to help round out a complete lineup, as was the case last sea- son. 149 Gone is the most decorated Penn State wrestler of all time in Zain Rether- ford, the only two-time Hodge Trophy winner in school history and one of only two three-time national champs that the program has produced. There's no simple way to replace such an accomplished competitor, but the Lions do have a few highly touted redshirt freshmen who are fighting to give it a shot. After winning a bronze medal this past summer at the world freestyle championships, Brady Berge is already following in Retherford's footsteps on the international circuit. Next, the Minnesota native will attempt to do the same in a PSU singlet. The spot hasn't been handed to him, however. During the preseason, he will have to fend off fellow redshirt freshman Jarod Verkleeren, who won nine of his 11 matches at open tournaments a year ago and was one of Pennsylvania's best re- cruits in the Class of 2017. 157 Returning to his post for a fourth and final season, Jason Nolf is looking for his third NCAA title and is the clear-cut favorite at this weight class. This year, he hopes to be fully healthy as he pursues that goal. He suffered a leg injury in late January of his junior season and had to fight through it to win his second consec- utive crown. He did so in dominant fash- ion, going 5-0 at nationals with two technical falls. Coming off that victory, he enters the upcoming season as one of the early favorites for the 2019 Hodge Trophy and will be looking to become Penn State's first four-time finalist since David Taylor. 165 Vincenzo Joseph enters his junior season with hopes of becoming the school's first four-time national champion – an accomplishment that would give him a strong case for consideration as the school's all-time greatest wrestler. First, though, he has to win title No. 3. He enters as the favorite according to Flo, but almost all of the contenders from a year ago – save for Illinois' Isaiah Martinez – are back to challenge Joseph for the top spot. That in- cludes Iowa's Alex Marinelli, who handed Joseph his only regular-season loss last year. But he's the king until someone de- thrones him on the biggest stage. 174 Mark Hall just missed out on his second consecutive NCAA title in March, falling to Arizona State's Zahid Valencia in the final. They enter as the top two at W R E S T L I N G BEST OF THE BEST Cael Sanderson is assembling what may be the most complete lineup of his tenure at PSU | JOSEPH

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