Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/797655
squeak past by a point against opponents whom he had defeated by a larger differ- ential last season. Might some of the op- ponents be gaining ground? Possibly. But Retherford appeared to be creating sepa- ration again at the Big Ten tournament, in which he won every match by either pin or technical fall en route to the title. FRONT OF THE CLASS Retherford*, An- thony Collica (Oklahoma State), Lavion Mayes (Missouri), Brandon Sorensen (Iowa), Micah Jordan (Ohio State) PSU OUTLOOK Old bud- dies from their days train- ing together in the western P e n n s y l v a n i a - b a s e d wrestling club Young Guns, Iowa's Michael Kemerer gave Nolf his closest and only decisions of the season, including in the Big Ten final. The rest of Nolf's 20 wins came by either fall or technical fall, with only one major. Kemerer looks to be one of the few wrestlers with the chops to keep things close with Nolf, and even that probably won't be close enough. FRONT OF THE CLASS Nolf, Michael Ke- merer (Iowa), Tyler Berger (Nebraska), Joey LaVallee (Misouri) PSU OUTLOOK Joseph went on a 10-match win streak earlier this season and placed third at the Big Ten championships in what might be the conference's most loaded weight class behind 184. It was clear from the moment that Isaiah Martinez of Illinois announced he would jump up a weight class in search of his third NCAA title that 165 was going to present a different set of challenges than any other starting spot, and that's been the case. In spite of that, Joseph has continued to press forward and placed himself solidly within contention for All-America honors in his first year of eligibility. FRONT OF THE CLASS Joseph, Isaiah Martinez** (Illinois), Isaac Jordan (Wis- consin), Logan Massa (Michigan), Chad Walsh (Rider) PSU OUTLOOK Hall shed his redshirt in January and lost his first match, 7-5, to Iowa's Alex Meyer. But he has been rolling thunder since. Hall went into the Big Ten final having won eight in a row before falling to Bo Jordan of Ohio State in over- time, 6-4. There are a few accomplished out-of-conference opponents whom he hasn't encountered yet, but judging by his recent performances and his pedigree as a freestyle world champ, his odds appear to be as good as anyone's in this class. Hall has bonus-point potential, so the decision to burn his redshirt halfway through the season might be about to yield its greatest benefits. FRONT OF THE CLASS Hall, Zahid Va- lencia (Arizona State), Brian Realbuto (Cornell), Bo Jordan (Ohio State), Zach Epperly (Virginia Tech) PSU OUTLOOK With two champs and four former fi- nalists in the 184-pound field, there might not be a more top-heavy bracket in this tournament, and it's Cornell's Gabe Dean, a two-time defend- ing champ, who is the favorite. But many believe that it's Nickal who matches up best against him. In order to give it a shot, he's got to get there first. Nickal suffered his first loss of the season – and surren- dered his first takedowns – against Myles Martin in the Big Ten semis, and although he's beaten Martin four other times, it was the Buckeye standout who prevailed in their 174-pound final a year ago. Martin lost to Iowa's Sammy Brooks in this year's Big Ten final, and Nickal pinned Brooks in the first period earlier in the year, so it ap- pears that as of now it's Dean against the field until someone proves otherwise. FRONT OF THE CLASS Nickal, Gabe Dean** (Cornell), T.J. Dudley (Nebraska), Sammy Brooks (Iowa), Nolan Boyd (Okla- homa State), Myles Martin* (Ohio State) PSU OUTLOOK After bat- tling injuries much of last season, McCutcheon has had his best year yet as a junior, finishing third at Big Tens. He's also up a weight class from a year ago after Nickal bumped from 174 to 184. McCutcheon has settled in as the season has gone along, and All- America honors appear within reach for the first time in his career. He won't be re- lied upon heavily for bonus points in what will likely be a tight race for the team title, but McCutcheon has shown all year that he can't be counted out of a match. FRONT OF THE CLASS J'Den Cox** (Missouri), Brett Pfarr (Minnesota), Jared Haught (Virginia Tech), Kollin Moore (Ohio State), Jake Smith (West Virginia) PSU OUTLOOK With the youngest Olympic gold medalist in United States freestyle wrestling history at the top of this bracket, a wrestler who also happens to be the returning national champ, it's the best against the rest at heavyweight. Nevills finished third at Big Tens after losing in the semifinals to Wisconsin's Connor Medberry for the second time this season. He'll need to get past him and a couple of ACC heayweights in order to finish in the top three again at NCAAs. FRONT OF THE CLASS Nevills, Kyle Sny- der* (Ohio State), Connor Medberry (Wisconsin), Ty Walz (Virginia Tech), Jacob Kasper (Duke) ■ * 2016 NCAA champ ** multiyear NCAA champ 157 Jason Nolf 22-0 So. | Yatesboro, Pa. 165 Vincenzo Joseph 17-4 R-Fr. | Pittsburgh, Pa. 174 Mark Hall 26-3 Fr. | Apple Valley, Minn. 184 Bo Nickal 21-1 So. | Apollo, Pa. 197 Matt McCutcheon 18-4 Jr. | Apollo, Pa. 285 Nick Nevills 20-3 So. | Clovis, Calif.