Blue White Illustrated

itive native of Benton, Pa., was more than happy to abruptly shift the conversation. "I 100 percent want to go to that," he replied. "I don't know how many people get a chance to wrestle in it, so I'm defi- nitely going to do that. And every tour- nament I enter, I want to win. So that's my mindset." Wrestling in the same 65-kilogram weight class as his Rio-bound assistant coach, Frank Molinaro, Retherford didn't quite prevail in his bracket, but he turned in an encouraging effort, finishing in third place to signal that he's on the rise for the next go-round in 2020. Retherford went 5-1 at the trials, in- cluding a 5-1 first-round victory over James Green, the 2015 World Team Trials cham- pion and a former Nebraska All-American. After a close 8-6 loss to Ohio State four- time NCAA champ Logan Stieber in his next match, he reeled off four consecutive wins to take the bronze medal and earn his spot on the U.S. National Team. It's just one of many accolades to cap Retherford's third year at Penn State. Not only did he win the 149-pound NCAA crown, he steamrolled the field in New York, scoring bonus in every match and helping lift the team to the trophy. En route, he earned his second All-America honor and wrapped up his year with a 34-0 record, improving his career mark to 67-3. Upon the conclusion of the season, Retherford was named the NCAA's Most Dominant Wrestler, Big Ten's Wrestler of the Year and InterMatWrestle.com's Na- tional Wrestler of the Year, and he finished second in voting behind Oklahoma State's Alex Dieringer for the Hodge Trophy. At the team banquet, Retherford, who is train- ing with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club this off-season, earned Penn State's Out- standing Wrestler Award and also claimed honors for most bonus points and the Joe Scalzo Award for most team points. He shared the Bill Koll Award for most pins (15) with redshirt freshman Jason Nolf. A finance major with a 3.72 grade-point average, Retherford also earned a bevy of academic laurels. He was selected to the Collegiate Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-District At-Large First Team for District 2 and the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division I All-Academic Team. He was also recognized at the team banquet for having the highest GPA among third-year wrestlers. Add to the already lengthy list of ac- complishments Blue White Illustrated's Male Athlete of the Year. ■ ANDREW MACKIEWICZ FENCING A sophomore from Westwood, Mass., Mack- iewicz promised that he "will be striving for the championship every year." He's off to a great start, having won the men's sabre title as a freshman and then successfully defending his crown this past April with a 15-11 victory over Ferenc Valkai of St. John's in the final. Mackiewicz has qualified for the Senior National Team and is tak- ing aim at the 2020 Olympics. EAMON McADAM ICE HOCKEY The junior goalie from Perkasie, Pa., set Penn State season records for save percentage (.913), goals-against average (2.98) and vic- tories (13). In March, he opted to forgo his senior season, signing a three-year entry- level contract with the NHL's New York Islanders, the team that had originally draft- ed him in 2013. NICO MEGALUDIS WRESTLING After falling just short of national titles at the end of his freshman and sophomore seasons, Megaludis achieved his dream in his final match in a Penn State singlet. The senior from Murrysville, Pa., topped Iowa's Thomas Gilman, 6-3, to claim the 125-pound title. Megaludis went 5-0 at nationals, improving his season record to 32-2 and finishing as an All-American for the fourth time in his career. CARL NASSIB FOOTBALL What more is there to say about Nassib's miraculous fi- nale? In his only season as a starter, the senior defensive end led the Football Bowl Subdivision in sacks (15.5) and forced fumbles (six) and won pretty much everything there was to win in the postseason: the Lombardi, Hendricks and Lott IMPACT awards, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors and consensus All-America recognition. In April, the West Chester, Pa., native was chosen by Cleveland in the third round of the NFL Draft. BRANDON TAYLOR BASKETBALL Making the most of his final college season, the senior forward from Tabernacle, N.J., led the Nittany Lions in scoring (16.3 points per game) and rebounding (6.5 rpg) and was named second-team All-Big Ten. His eight double-doubles were the most at Penn State since Geary Claxton had nine in 2007-08. – MATT HERB H O N O R A B L E M E N T I O N

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