Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/83706
W RE S T LI NG The Sanderson brothers travel to Benton, and leave with a world-champion recruit HARD SELLIN' BY TIM OWEN Blue White Illustrated much a reality. It began in April, when he won back- I to-back national freestyle titles at the NHCA Junior Championships and the FILA Cadet National Championships. He won a Junior National title in July, and in August he traveled to Baku, Azerbaijan, and won the FILA Cadet world championship at 66 kilograms (145.5 pounds.) Retherford won three national titles and a world championship in a five- month span, and then put the cherry on top on Sept. 6 when he verbally committed to wrestle at Penn State. "That was my goal coming into the summer," Retherford said. "I had a lot of motivation going in, since I didn't wrestle last year." Retherford was ineligible to compete during his junior high school season. After he transferred to Benton from neighboring Line Mountain High, the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association upheld District 4's ruling that the transfer was at least partially motivated by athletics. (The decision came one day before the wrestling sea- son began.) Benton is coached by Russ Hughes, an All-American for Penn State in 1996, and it's a perennial small- school wrestling powerhouse in the northeastern part of the state. He wasn't able to compete, but Retherford didn't let the missed season throw his wrestling career off-track. Instead, he took an alternate route. Retherford acted as a student-coach for Benton during his junior season, while training as a full-time student- athlete. And when the time came for him to compete again – nationally rather than scholastically – the 17- year-old was ready. His world title and t might have seemed like a dream, but for Zain Retherford of Benton, Pa., the summer of 2012 was very ZAIN RETHERFORD "Cael was like, 'Let's just call it right now. Are you ready?' " Photo courtesy of The Daily Item three national crowns attest to that. Now eligible according to the PIAA, Retherford is hoping the on-mat success continues into his senior season. He won a state title with Line Mountain in 2009, and his goal for this season is obvious: a second state title – likely at 138 pounds – and nothing less. That's his only focus for his senior year, especially with his college decision already made. He had put recruiting on the back burner during the summer. "I had Cornell, Lehigh and Penn State at my house for visits," said Retherford, who is ranked by FloWrestling as the 10th-best pound-for-pound high school wrestler in the country. "After that, I told them all I wanted to do was focus on Fargo. So they let me focus on Fargo. I got to talk to them again after Fargo, and then I just kept my distance while I trained for worlds." After winning his world title, Rether- ford switched his focus to recruiting. Cornell and Lehigh both were in hot pursuit, with the latter school seemingly having the inside track. (John Hughes, an NCAA champion for Penn State in 1995, is the twin brother of Benton's head coach. He's also an assistant at Lehigh and a Benton alumnus.) The two schools encouraged Retherford to take all of his official visits, check out his opportunities and get back to them with his decision. (He had already taken an official visit to Lehigh.) Cael and Cody Sanderson, however, sat in the Retherford home and laid it out flat. If he wanted to be part of Penn State, winner of back-to-back national team titles, he would have to act right away. "[The Sandersons] were different from everybody else," Retherford said. "They had it in their heads and they were confident. They were more about coming in right away, tackling it right now and getting it over with. … Most schools were like, 'We want you to come in, come for an official visit, take every single one of your visits. Cael was like, 'Let's just call it right now. Are you ready?' " He was more than ready, especially after hearing he was the top-rated light- weight on Penn State's recruiting board. "They came right out and said that," said Retherford, who projects as a 141-pounder in college. "They said, 'We're not out looking for other guys. Other guys might be coming to us, but [when] we go out fishing for a guy, that's the guy we want. Obviously, we're here, so we want you. We don't just make trips.' It made me feel special, you know?" Just like that, Retherford's verbal com- mitment to Penn State was delivered. "Penn State is the place where I feel like I could get the job done," Retherford said. "I know I can get the job done. It's close to home, too. My friends, my family, my fans, the whole community of Benton love the idea that they can come watch. If I want to come home to do my laundry, I can do my laundry, too."