Blue White Illustrated

of Stanford and handled Ohio State's Kollin Moore for the third time this sea- son, 5-1 in the finals. He had a cradle locked on Moore for the final 20 seconds but opted not to attempt a turn. "It's really been blessing after blessing," Nickal said. "Since the first time I stepped foot on campus, it's been incred- ible. And there are so many people who have just put so much time and effort and energy into me – my coaches, my trainers and countless others. And I'm incredibly grateful for it." ANTHONY CASSAR Cassar was Penn State's closer all season but he was the leadoff man in the national finals, per ESPN's request. In that role, he finished off a 30-1 season by thumping top- seeded Derek White Oklahoma State, 10- 1 – the same Derek White who beat him 3-2 in the Southern Scuffle. Along the way, Cassar also beat Minnesota's Gable Steveson again, repeating his one-point win in the Big Ten finals. A six-point, second-period move on White with a takedown and four nearfall points was all that Cassar needed, but he added a late takedown to secure the con- vincing major decision. "I felt him hesitant right off the bat," Cassar said. "It was my mat to score and do whatever I pleased to him. So I felt that in the first period, and he was getting super tired. I was keeping my pace up, moving my feet and hands. "I could go all day. They don't want to go to the second, third period with me if I move my hands and feet. That's what happened in the first period. Then I went for it in the second." VINCENZO JOSEPH Joseph's run of two consecutive titles was snapped by a freshman from Virginia Tech who wres- tles a lot like Joseph – quick, smart, strong. And Mekhi Lewis, a reigning Jun- ior World champion, used those traits to perfection during his 7-1 win over Joseph. The Penn State junior was in a rugged weight class and was coming off a narrow semifinal decision over Arizona State's Josh Shields, and when Lewis turned Joseph with a tight overhead cradle for four points, it was a hole too deep to es- cape. 141 Jimmy Gulibon Round of 12 DNP Round 1 No. 23 Mario Guillen, Ohio W 8-2 dec. Round 2 No. 7 Austin DeSanto, Iowa L 7-2 dec. Consolation 2 No. 9 Charles Tucker, Cornell W 6-3 dec. Consolation 3 No. 15 Ben Thornton, Purdue W 3-1 dec. Round 12 No. 4 Micky Phillippi, Pitt W 4-3 dec. Con. Quarterfinals No. 8 John Erneste, Missouri L 10-0 maj. dec. 7th Place No. 6 Ethan Lizak, Minnesota L 8-5 dec. lee Round 1 No. 30 Nate Limmex, Purdue WBF (3:38) Round 2 No. 19 Sa'Derian Perry, Old Dominion WBF (3:42) Quarterfinals No. 22 Max Murin, Iowa W 4-1 dec. Semifinals No. 2 Joey McKenna, Ohio State L 4-3 dec. Con. Semifinals No. 9 Dom Demas, Oklahoma L 13-9 dec. 5th Place No. 7 Mitch McKee, Minnesota WBF (3:22) berge Round 1 No. 21 Khristian Olivas, Fresno State W 6-3 dec. Round 2 No. 5 Matt Kolodzik, Princeton L 8-5 dec. Consolation 2 No. 27 Tejon Anthony, George Mason W 6-2 dec. Consolation 3 No. 20 Thomas Thorn, Minnesota L 4-2 (sv) dec. nolf Round 1 No. 33 Ben Anderson, Duke WBF (:47) Round 2 No. 16 John Van Brill, Rutgers W 19-4 (TF; 6:47) Quarterfinals No. 9 Christian Pagdilao, Arizona State W 23-6 (TF; 7:00) Semifinals No. 5 Hayden Hidlay, North Carolina State W 3-2 dec. Final No. 2 Tyler Berger, Nebraska W 10-2 maj. dec. joseph Round 1 No. 31 Evan Delong, Clarion WBF (2:57) Round 2 No. 18 Connor Flynn, Missouri W 8-4 dec. Quarterfinals No. 7 Isaiah White, Nebraska W 3-1 (sv) Semifinals No. 3 Josh Shields, Arizona State W 3-2 dec. Final No. 8 Mekhi Lewis, Virginia Tech L 7-1 dec. hall Round 1 No. 33 Devin Kane, North Carolina W 10-2 maj. dec. Round 2 No. 16 Brandon Womack, Cornell W 8-3 dec. Quarterfinals No. 8 Taylor Lujan, Northern Iowa W 5-3 dec. Semifinals No. 4 Myles Amine, Michigan W 2-1 (tb) dec. Final No. 3 Zahid Valencia, Arizona State L 4-3 dec. rasheed Round 1 No. 31 Kevin Parker, Princeton W 11-2 maj. dec. Round 2 No. 15 Chip Ness, North Carolina L 8-5 dec. Consolation 2 No. 17 Andrew McNally, Kent State W 9-1 maj. dec. Consolation 3 No. 26 Dakota Geer, Oklahoma State L 4-2 dec. nickal Round 1 No. 32 Ethan Laird, Rider WBF (2:34) Round 2 No. 16 Josh Hokit, Fresno State WBF (2:27) Quarterfinals No. 8 Nathan Traxler, Stanford W 14-4 maj. dec. Semifinals No. 4 Patrick Brucki, Princeton WBF (4:41) Final No. 2 Kollin Moore, Ohio State W 5-1 dec. cassar Round 1 No. 31 Antonio Pelusi, Franklin & Marshall WBF (4:20) Round 2 No. 15 Tate OrndorE, Utah Valley W 10-2 maj. dec. Quarterfinals No. 7 Trent Hillger, Wisconsin W 4-0 dec. Semifinals No. 3 Gable Steveson, Minnesota W 4-3 dec. Final No. 1 Derek White, Oklahoma State W 10-1 maj. dec. 133 NO. 10 ROMAN BRAVO-YOUNG All-American (eighth place) 141 NO. 3 NICK LEE Two-time All-American (fifth place) 149 NO. 12 BRADY BERGE DNP 157 NO. 1 JASON NOLF Four-time All-American, three-time national champion 174 NO. 1 MARK HALL Three-time All-American, national runner-up 197 NO. 1 BO NICKAL Four-time All-American, three-time national champion 165 NO. 2 VINCENZO JOSEPH Three-time All-American, national runner-up 184 NO. 2 SHAKUR RASHEED DNP 285 NO. 2 ANTHONY CASSAR All-American, national champion P E N N S T A T E R E S U L T S

• Cover