Blue White Illustrated

May 2019

Penn State Sports Magazine

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It's the individuals who score the team points, and Penn State's weight-class na- tional champions were Jason Nolf at 157 pounds, Bo Nickal at 184 and Anthony Cassar at 285. Getting to the finals but finishing second were Vincenzo Joseph (165) and Mark Hall (174). Nick Lee was fifth at 141, and Bravo-Young battled back to earn an eighth-place medal in the deepest, toughest weight class among the 10. Nolf and Nickal became the modern- day David Taylor and Ed Ruth, teaming up for six individual titles, one more than the Taylor-Ruth combo of 2011-14. And Cas- sar came out of nowhere to finish 30-1 while avenging that lone loss in his final bout of the season. Sanderson said afterward that Penn State's success has been due in large part to its confident attitude. "I think you just have to be- lieve in what you're doing," he said. "I think we believe that we're going to be suc- cessful and win." Like any proven, success- ful coach, Sanderson wants more. "If we can keep winning, that would be fine with me," he said. "It's not about winning, it's about getting the best team we can get and doing the best we can and just enjoy- ing the experience. Our job as coaches is just to support these guys and help them reach their goals." And most do. Even the two finalists who were denied gold in Pittsburgh – Joseph and Hall – have three gold medals be- tween them from the 2017 and '18 sea- sons. Here is a look at how Penn State's seven All-Americans fared: JASON NOLF and BO NICKAL These two belong together because they are at once dynamic and dependable and, sadly for Penn State fans, done. Nolf was 117-3 overall with a school- record 60 falls and 103 bonus-point vic- tories, meaning that in 88 percent of his wins he earned extra team points for Penn State. He, like Nickal, was 19-1 in four NCAA tournaments, making four finals appearances. He and Nickal became Penn State's third and fourth three-time champions. "Two of the best to ever step on a col- lege mat... I believe that 100 percent," Sanderson said. "And that says it all right there." Nolf opened the tournament with three easy victories but struggled in the semi- finals against Hayden Hidlay of North Carolina State. A couple of challenges went Nolf's way, and he held off Hidlay, 3-2, to mark the first time in his career that he won by a single point. He downed Nebraska's Tyler Berger for the third time this season, 10-2 in the finals. In Nolf's (and Nickal's) four years of competing, Penn State won a team title each year. "That's definitely a blessing to be part of such a great team," Nolf said. "Some- times you can take it for granted and kind of expect that it's going to happen. But you've got to go work hard for it, and everybody individually has to do their part. "I'm definitely blessed to be around people who have such a clear mind and know exactly what they want. And they're willing to sacrifice maybe some other things that other people are doing in order to get it. Our team is just full of a bunch of great guys and definitely blessed." Nickal finished his career with a 120-3 record and 59 falls. Ninety-four of his wins yielded bonus points. At his final NCAA tournament, he pinned wrestlers from Rider, Fresno State and Princeton, won a major decision over Nathan Traxler THREE OF A KIND Nolf claimed his third national championship by defeating Ne- braska's Berger in the final, 10-2. It was his third victory over Berger this season. Photo by Mark Selders/ Penn State Athletics

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