Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/904141
away is [improving from the neutral po- sition] and remembering to wrestle the way I want to wrestle, not let my oppo- nent dictate the way the match is going." Like many cultural influences, wrestling styles vary from country to country, and the nuances he observed are ones that will stick with Retherford going forward. Now that he's reached the pinnacle of college wrestling, his next goal, unabashedly, is to win an Olympic gold medal, and those are challenges that he needs to be prepared for in order to conquer them. He's off to a good start, but before wan- dering farther down that path, he has one more door to close on his career at Penn State. While the focus is to improve each day and to use the previous experiences to become a more well-rounded athlete, Retherford can't afford to look too far ahead. Riding the longest active win streak in the sport (65 matches as of this writing), he knows it would take just one lapse for it to be snapped. Future goals loom large, but for Retherford, the pres- ent receives priority. "I've got the rest of however long I want to stay competing to wrestle freestyle," he said. "I've got one more year here, to be all-in on this, and then [it will be time to] change gears again" toward international competition. Helping center it all is his roommate, Matt McCutcheon. Both in their fifth year at Penn State, Retherford and Mc- Cutcheon have lived together for nearly four years. This fall, they have identical class schedules, primarily filled by gen- eds. McCutcheon ventures that their most difficult course is ballroom dancing. They've grown close since joining the team as a pair of Pennsylvania state champions in the Class of 2013. As their final season of eligibility begins, however, they find themselves facing different cir- cumstances. Retherford, a three-time All-American, returns to his post at 149 pounds as the unquestioned force at his weight class – not just on the team but across the entire country. McCutcheon, meanwhile, is in a battle to retain his starting position, after spending his first three seasons as a fix- ture in the lineup. Qualifying for nation- als each time, most recently at 197, Mc- Cutcheon has yet to reach the medal rounds of the tournament. And now as a senior, he's being challenged for a place in the starting 10 by Anthony Cassar, who after two years of shoulder injuries is ready to vie for a spot. Penn State is still months away from determining its postseason starter, but in the meantime, McCutcheon has em- braced the challenge. "We're just going to keep making each other better throughout the year," said the Apollo native. "Everybody is going to NAME CLASS YR HOME SCHOOL Brady Berge 149/157 Fr. Mantorville, Minn. Kasson-Mantorville Francisco Bisono 174 So. Hauppauge, N.Y. Hauppauge Joey Blumer 141 Fr. Leechburg, Pa. Kiski Area George Carpenter 133 Jr. Chapel Hill, N.C. Carrboro Anthony Cassar 197 So. Rocky Hill, N.J. Montgomery Austin Clabaugh 125/133 Fr. York Springs, Pa. Bermudian Springs Jered Cortez 133/141 Jr. Carol Stream, Ill. Glenbard North Brian Friery 141/149 R-Fr. Lewisburg, Pa. Lewisburg Luke Gardner 149 R-Fr. Pottsville, Pa. Pottsville Dominic Giannangeli 133 So. Murrysville, Pa. Franklin Regional Mark Hall 174 So. Apple Valley, Minn. Apple Valley Patrick Higgins 133 So. Monroeville, N.J. Woodstown James Hoeg 184/197 Fr. Mattituck, N.Y. Mattituck Jan Johnson 285 So. Mohnton, Pa. Governor Mi?in Vincenzo Joseph 165 So. Pittsburgh, Pa. Central Catholic Corey Keener 133 Sr. Schuylkill Haven, Pa. Blue Mountain Nick Lee 141 Fr. Evansville, Ind. Mater Dei Mason Lindenmuth 133 R-Fr. Brockway, Pa. Brockway Justin Lopez 125 R-Fr. Yonkers, N.Y. Yonkers Mason Manville 165 Fr. Lorton, Va. Wyoming Seminary Richie McClanahan 149 Fr. Panama City Beach, Fla. J.R. Arnold Matt McCutcheon 197 Sr. Apollo, Pa. Kiski Area Nick Nevills 285 Jr. Clovis, Calif. Clovis Alex Nicholas 285 R-Fr. Allentown, Pa. Salisbury Twp. Bo Nickal 184 Jr. Allen, Texas Allen Jason Nolf 157 Jr. Yatesboro, Pa. Kittanning Scott Obendorfer 141 Fr. Germantown, Md. Damascus Bo Pipher 141/149 R-Fr. Paonia, Colo. Paonia Shakur Rasheed 184/197 Jr. Coram, N.Y. Longwood Zain Retherford 149 Sr. Benton, Pa. Benton Devin Schnupp 125 R-Fr. Lititz, Pa. Warwick Scott Stossel 133 Jr. Pittsburgh, Pa. North Allegheny Benjamin Tuohey 165 R-Fr. Chadds Ford, Pa. Malvern Prep Devon Van Cura 184 Jr. Washington, N.C. Washington Jarod Verkleeren 149 Fr. Greensburg, Pa. Hempfield Ethan Wissler 197/285 Sr. Holtwood, Pa. Penn Manor Kenneth Yanovich 125 Jr. E@ort, Pa. Pleasant Valley 2 0 1 7 - 1 8 R O S T E R