Blue White Illustrated

Both are in the running for the Hodge Trophy, which is awarded annually by a panel of voters to the best wrestler in col- lege. If one or both of them fail to win their third title in Pittsburgh, it will go down as one of the NCAA's most epic upsets. Nolf and Nickal are "two of the best who will ever wrestle," Sanderson said. "I believe that, and we're very grateful they're here and just want to continue to wrestle with some gratitude and some enthusiasm as they push through here in March. We've had some great kids come through here. We've been very blessed. Hopefully we can keep it going." Opposing coaches have heaped praise on Nolf and Nickal as well. "They're two of the most creative guys in the country,'' Michigan State's Roger Chandler said. "The biggest thing is, they overwhelm their opponents. They have a lot of tools and they have a lot of weapons to score with." Rasheed, Penn State's starting 184- pound wrestler who is ranked second by InterMat, painted his own picture of them: "Nolf is like an artist – very cre- ative. You don't know what he's going to do out there. Bo, he's a showman. He likes to put on a show. He'll go for the thing that [other] people won't, and I think that makes each of them special." They both are highly religious and have been solid team leaders for Sanderson and his staff. And yet, while they can triumph over most opponents, they cannot defeat the passing of time. Their college careers are about to end. "I'm really grateful. That sums it up," Nickal said. "All that everybody here has done for me and all the time and effort people have put into me. I'm extremely grateful for everything that I've received from being at Penn State and all the peo- ple I've had the opportunity to meet with and have relationships with. … I'm really grateful." Nolf is not as effusive as Nickal, but he's insightful. "I don't really know how long I'll be remem- bered for, but I guess [it would be gratifying] just to be remembered for how hard I work and how hard I wrestle and just go out there and give it all I've got," Nolf said. "It's been amazing, the last five years. I was just talking to my dad on the phone and realized how fast it had actually gone. It's been the best five years of my life. I met my wife [Penn State women's soccer standout Maddie Elliston, whom Nolf wed last June], and I met some of the best team- mates I could have ever met. it's been awesome." The two are more than successful team- mates, they are also close friends. Nolf said Nickal "is obviously an amazing wrestler, but he's a better person." Nickal returns the compliment, saying, "I think that we're really good friends and we challenge each other a lot and we can learn from each other in so many different ways. "Wrestlingwise, he definitely is some- body who's super creative, and I like just being able to watch him compete. He's one of my best friends, so Jason is some- body I'm really happy to have met here and he'll be a friend the rest of my life." ■ FALL GUY Nickal has racked up 56 pins and 12 tech- nical falls in his Penn State career heading into his final NCAA tour- nament appear- ance. Photo by Steve Manuel

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