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149 Just a sophomore, Jarod Verkleeren is expected to take over at 149. He split duties last season with Brady Berge, who was chosen by the coaches to compete in postseason tournaments. But it's unlikely that Berge will ever see the 140s again. Verkleeren is eligible for an Olympic red- shirt because of his 2015 Cadet world title, but exercising that option would be a long shot. Luke Gardner, if he can hold 149, also could compete for the spot. 157 Berge, who placed sixth in the Big Ten tournament at 149 but did not place at NCAAs, was in and out of the lineup last season. He won 80 percent of his 25 matches and showed flashes of being the strong, consistent wrestler that Sander- son likes to see, and it's highly likely he'll be much more comfortable being 8 pounds heavier. Berge was a 2018 bronze medalist at Junior Worlds and is eligible for an Olympic redshirt but, as with Verkleeren, that would be a surprise. Bo Pipher, who has seen spot action as a starter, also will vie for a spot. 165 From here on up, Penn State's heav- ier part of its lineup will be extremely deep and talented but, oddly, these final five spots have some size-XL question marks. Two-time NCAA champion and three- time finalist Vincenzo Joseph clearly is the heir apparent, but he, too, might be more comfortable handling another 9 pounds. That will happen only if Mark Hall opts to take an Olympic redshirt and doesn't compete at 174. Joseph's NCAA finals conqueror, Mekhi Lewis of Virginia Tech, will take an Olympic redshirt. 174 If Hall were to redshirt and ulti- T he doors to the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex, home of not only Penn State but also the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club, rarely close, and that opens op- portunities for talented athletes on the international level. Guys like Zain Retherford, Bo Nickal, Jason Nolf and others stick around cam- pus on a fairly generous stipend from the NLWC and train to become elite-level wrestlers with Penn State coach Cael Sanderson and his accomplished sta? of Cody Sanderson, Casey Cunningham and Jake Varner. While Nolf lost in the U.S. Open and Nickal lost in the Final X series at Rut- gers in June, Retherford became the >nal member of the United States World Cup team headed to the World Wrestling Championships Sept. 14-22 in Nur-Sul- tan, Kazakhstan. He defeated Cornell NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis at the Final X, but Diakomihalis's coach, Rob Koll, protested a match-two scoring decision, and the sport's governing body ruled the two would have to wrestle again, with Retherford still credited with the >rst win in the best-of-three series. That occurred on Labor Day in a sold- out Wilkes College arena when Rether- ford took advantage of his expert coaching and limited the high-scoring Diakomihalis to one point in a 2-1 vic- tory and coveted 65kg World Team berth, Retherford's second in two years. Retherford isn't the only former Nit- tany Lion feeling the love from his fans. Nickal recently teamed up with Short Bus Brew House in nearby McClure and Special Olympics to market a beer la- beled NICKAL Back To Back To Back triple blonde ale. Not coincidentally, the alcohol content is a whopping 9.7 per- cent; Nickal was this past season's 197- pound national champion. And David Taylor, a four-time NCAA >nalist and two-time champion for Penn State, also felt support from the Lions' legion of fans aAer he su?ered a serious knee injury in the Beat the Streets charity event in New York. Sub- sequent surgery prevented Taylor from competing in the Final X and earning another World Team spot. But his many Twitter posts reveal that he is training at just about full tilt and will be competing in the Olympic Trials April 4-5 at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center. That site has yet to be an- nounced o@cially by Penn State or USA Wrestling, but it's etched in stone and will be another marquee wrestling event in central Pennsylvania. What will be fascinating to watch un- fold is the saga of current PSU heavy- weight Anthony Cassar and whether he can survive the Olympic ladder against wrestlers much larger and much more experienced on the international level. Cassar, who won the 2019 heavy- weight crown, was granted an extra two years of eligibility this past spring be- cause of recurring shoulder injuries that prevented him from completing four years of college competition. He said he is returning to Penn State at least for the upcoming season and wants to pursue his Olympic dream. That would mean he would turn to freestyle competition im- mediately aAer completing the NCAA championships March 19-21 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Who wrestles for Penn State in the 197-pound spot just before Cassar will make for an interesting preseason battle this fall. Incoming recruit Michael Beard is a high-level competitor. Depending on lineup decisions at 165, 174 and 184, Shakur Rasheed could possibly move back to 197 from 184. And Kent State transfer Kyle Conel, a third-place NCAA >nisher at 197 in 2018, has enrolled in graduate school, is rehabbing from shoulder surgery and will vie for a spot in that loaded weight class. Conel isn't the only newcomer to the PSU wrestling room. Joining Beard this season, among others, are Junior World silver medalist Aaron Brooks (Hager- stown, Md., 174/184), Pennsylvania state champ Carter Starocci (Erie Prep, 174/184), Joe Lee (Indiana, 165), heavy- weight Seth Nevills (Clovis, Calif.) and Donovan Ball (Cedar Cli?, 184). Wrestlers committed to Penn State for the 2020 season include Robbie Howard of Bergen Catholic in New Jersey and Beau Bartlett of Wyoming Seminary in northeastern Pennsylvania. Both project in the 133-pound range. –J.C. Retherford defeats Diakomihalis in Final X series

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