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about his 7rst-year starters. "They're bold, especially Nolf and Nickal." Together, Nolf and Nickal brought a total of six state championships – three apiece – to Penn State when they signed their letters of intent as top-10 recruits in the Class of 2014. Nickal, an accomplished freestyle wrestler, as well, has trained at the Olympic Training Center. But both credit this season's quick ascent partly to their redshirt season last year in which they combined for a 28-3 record, wrestling unnattached. "That was de7nitely advantageous to redshirt," Nolf said. "It helped me a lot. I think I was ready either way, but I red- shirted to get that extra year under my belt." Compared to spending weekends at open tournaments across the region, no matter how many matches they got in, there isn't much to help prepare them for the rigors of the Big Ten schedule that they're em- barking on. But the inclination to square o8 against some of the country's best is what keeps them moving forward. "It's just di8erent, going out and com- peting, and having to be focused and ready – week in and week out – because we have a pretty tough schedule," Nickal said. "There's not really any down time. I know [during] my redshirt there was a lot of down time to go work on technique and go work on stu8 I needed. Now, it's kind of like the season is rolling and I [have to be] ready to go. I still work on technique and small stu8 like that, but you don't really have that down time every day, and I think that plays into my favor a little bit because of conditioning. The more I wrestle and compete, I think I'll get a lot better." In the 7rst month of this season, though, they've barely been tested, winning 14 of a possible 20 by either pin or technical fall, and winning championships at De- cember's Nittany Lion Open. In fact, each has only trailed once and only for a short time. If you want a story that illustrates the competitive drive that Sanderson so highly covets, wait for this one. Wrestling at Stanford against Walker Dempsey Nov. 22, Nolf attempted a head- lock throw from the standing position at the opening whistle. It failed, though, as Dempsey countered the attempt and scored the opening two points of the match in- stead. Nolf immediately escaped from Dempsey's control, and as he got back to his feet, his classmate Nickal noticed a smirk form at the corners of Nolf's mouth. "I knew right a9er that it was going to be pretty interesting, because he had a smile on his face and walked back to the center of the mat a9er he had just gotten taken down," Nickal recalled. "It cracked me up." Interesting, indeed. Next, Nolf went on to rack up an unheard-of 11 consecutive takedowns before the second period even 7nished. Veteran play-by-play radio broadcaster Je8 "Ironhead" Byers could barely keep pace with the call. Then, to add insult to injury, Nolf threw Dempsey to his shoulders just 24 seconds into the third period to earn the fall. As Sanderson later characterized it, "It's going to take more than one takedown to beat Nolf." Same goes for Nickal, who gave up the first points against Myles Martin in the NLO final but countered his way to a 4- 3 win, and with that comes a promising outlook on Penn State's near future. With steady, top-ranked upperclassmen lead- ing the way, combined with the quick rise of freshmen like Nickal and Nolf, NCAA titles are once again within reach – not just for the team, but for individ- uals, too. "These guys know they don't need to wait for two years or a year before they compete for a national championship," Sanderson said. "It's their choice. They can contend for one now, I think, and that's important for our program because if you look back at the last few years when we've been able to win championships, it's been because of four-time All-Amer- icans and guys [who 7nish] in the top three and freshmen placing high. That's a key there, so we need to keep that con- tinuing on." ■ S hakur Rasheed was born into the sport. Raised in a boxing family from Long Island, Rasheed started wrestling when he was 5 years old. He began to take competition seri- ously when he was in sec- ond grade, and by the time he graduated from Longwood High School in 2014, he was a four- time New York state place-winner and a two-time champion. Rasheed, a redshirt freshman who is vying for the 165-pound starting spot in Penn State's lineup, has known little but success on the wrestling mat, so when he lost his 7rst collegiate match in November – an 10-8 overtime bout against fellow freshman Dave McFadden of Virginia Tech – it wasn't something he was accustomed to. The match started like many of the 192 wins that he compiled during his high school career, but its conclusion was unlike anything he had experienced. Rasheed said it was the "7rst time it ever happened to me." He scored 7rst, notching a takedown in the 7rst minute en route to a 4-1 second- period lead. He appeared poised to cruise to his second career victory. (His 7rst Rasheed adjusting to role for Penn State at 165 pounds | RASHEED

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