Blue White Illustrated

relaxed," Sanderson said, "but ready and confident." So while Retherford claims to have lost composure after beating Stieber, in actuality, his victory celebration merely included some double-fist pumps, five bunny hops in the middle of the mat, a few exaggerated claps of his hands, a handshake with Stieber and then a sprint from the mat toward the practice room. No big deal. He still had work to do. Recalled Retherford, "I did exactly what I always do after a match. I went down [to the practice room] and after a cool-down, I got my conditioning in. " Most of the Penn State starters squeeze in a small workout after their home dual meets, but for Retherford, the desire for extra work comes naturally. Perhaps that, too, stems from his farming background. Before moving to Benton, Retherford's parents, Allen and Sarah, grew tomatoes and pumpkins at their home. They had some animals, but none that required as much labor as Hughes' pigs. Instead, it was all about the tomato and pumpkin patches. And that meant the most common summer chore was pulling weeds. Rowby-row, day-by-day, it grew to be monotonous for Retherford. "I wanted to go to wrestling camp every summer because of it, he laughed. "Some " of the kids at camp would say, 'I can't wait to go home and eat. Sit on the couch and go to the pool. I just wanted to stay there. ' " Don't get him wrong, he loves the farm. But wrestling is his passion. Sanderson said Retherford's upbringing helps account for his early success at Penn State. His passion for the sport has been fused with a work ethic inherited from Allen and Sarah. "Whatever his parents did, I'm going to try doing the same thing for my kids," said Sanderson, who has two young sons, Tate and Teag. "Or I'm just going to send my kids to let his dad raise them. [Retherford] is just a very low-maintenance and very confident, tough kid. When you put those things together, good things happen. " After upsetting Stieber – and soaring into the top five of Flo's 141-pound rankings – good things have continued to happen for Retherford. He won at Iowa – THE RETHERFORD FILE AT P E N N S TAT E As a true freshman, Retherford won his first 20 consecutive matches at 141 pounds, including an upset over the country's No. 1-ranked wrestler and a championship at the Southern Scuffle. HIGH SCHOOL Graduated from Benton High in 2013 as the No. 3-ranked overall recruit by Intermat and with a 47-0 record as a senior 138-pounder. Finished high school with a 130-3 career mark, including two Pennsylvania state titles, despite competing only three seasons. Also won a national and world championship competing in freestyle. PERSONAL Majors in business administration ... Parents, Sarah and Allen, and sisters, Hannah and Mylee ... Was coached at Benton by Penn State All-American (1996) Russ Hughes. QUOTEABLE Sanderson on Retherford, "He'll keep improving until the day he leaves Penn State, which is hopefully after 10 years. We'd like him to win a gold medal here, too, you know?" Steve Manuel never an easy thing to do in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Then he carried the momentum to the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tenn., with his parents and two sisters, Hannah and Mylee, in attendance. He and 165-pound David Taylor were the only Penn State wrestlers to win their bracket. (Ed Ruth was upset in the 184-pound final by Cornell's Gabe Dean.) Retherford had maintained his winning streak as of this writing, carrying a 20-0 record and a No. 3 ranking from Flo. And as his coach reminded reporters at practice before Retherford's 10-2 major decision win over Purdue's Danny Sabatello on Jan. 12, the freshman's early success only hints at the kind of career he could have while wearing a blue and white singlet. "He'll keep improving until the day he leaves Penn State, which hopefully is after 10 years," Sanderson said. "We'd like him to win a gold medal here, too, I you know?"

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