Blue White Illustrated

L ess than an hour before the early sign- ing period opened on Nov. 8, Penn State's recruiting efforts took a hit. It was the first and perhaps only set- back that head coach Cael Sanderson and his coaches endured in assembling their Class of 2018, which many wrestling analysts said was shaping up to be one of the best the sport has seen. But before the clock struck midnight late Nov. 7, Travis Wittlake, who is the No. 1-ranked 182-pound high school wrestler in the country and the No. 2 prospect in the nation, announced on social media that he was backing out of his verbal commitment to Penn State to instead sign with Oklahoma State. "I went on a visit to Oklahoma State and felt like it was the place I should be," Wittlake told FloWrestling.com. "Aside from all the recruiting, the phone calls, the coaches, I felt Oklahoma State pro- vided my kind of atmosphere and peo- ple. Don't get me wrong. PSU is awesome, and I have great respect for the coaching staff there. I felt I could suc- ceed under John Smith or Cael Sander- son, as they're both great coaches, but it came down to a gut feeling and a place where I am going to be happy." When the sun rose the following day, Sanderson received signed letters of in- tent from Gavin Teasdale of Jefferson- Morgan High School in Jefferson, Pa., Roman Bravo-Young of Sunnyside High in Arizona, and Seth Nevills of Clovis, Calif. Formerly committed to Iowa, Teasdale projects as a 133- or 141-pounder and is ranked No. 9 overall in the country. Bravo-Young, who projects between 125 and 133, is ranked No. 13 overall, and Nevills comes in at No. 26 overall. He is the third-rated heavyweight in the country. None of those three have ever lost a match in high school, combining for a total of 327 victories. As of Nov. 10, those were the only three signatures confirmed to Blue White Il- lustrated. However, there are others who are expected to join the team next year. Michael Beard of Malvern (Pa.) Prep is ranked in the top 10 nationally. Project- ing as a 197-pounder, he joined Penn State's class in May after previously committing to Northwestern. Brody Teske, a three-time state cham- pion from Fort Dodge, Iowa, who proj- ects at 125 pounds, verbally committed in mid-October. He enters his senior season with a 135-0 record. Rounding out the Class of 2018 is Joe Lee of Evansville, Ind. Lee was the first recruit to join the class when he an- nounced for the Lions in September 2015 along with his brother, Nick. Nick Lee is now a Penn State freshman. Joe Lee, who projects to wrestle at 157 or heavier, is ranked No. 20 overall in the country. Following in the footsteps of his older brother, he is already residing in State College as he takes online classes to graduate high school early this winter, while training with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. – T.O. Lions land three at start of early signing period go out and support whoever it is and move on." No matter what his role, McCutcheon is going to enjoy every second of his final year as a PSU student. In addition to competing as a Nittany Lion wrestler, he recently joined the baseball team as a catcher, because it's a sport that he missed and is another way to maximize his college experience. That's part of his message to his buddy Zain, too. While different career goals await the two teammates – McCutcheon, a kinesiology major, is interested in chi- ropractics – both aim to savor their final go-around. If that rubs from McCutcheon off to Retherford, then the favor goes both ways. A former 184-pounder, Mc- Cutcheon made the jump up a weight class last year and fought some under- size issues despite finishing with his best overall record to date, 20-6. This past off-season, his aim was to gain as much lean mass as possible in order to better manage the larger opponents, and his roommate has helped him with his diet. "I've been working on trying to eat healthier," McCutcheon said. "Zain, he's a good guy to be around [because] he's al- ways eating healthy, so I'm learning from him. When I was at 184, I worked to keep my weight down but now it's about get- ting as big as I can." So regardless of whether he's in the lineup with Retherford on a weekly basis this season, McCutcheon will be right alongside him all the way through, help- ing his friend along, because Retherford has done the same for him. "You just learn how to treat people" by being around Retherford, McCutcheon said. "He obviously beats people up in the room, but I don't think there is anybody I know across campus, on any sports team, who is going to say something bad about Zain and how great he is to them." Ask wrestlers from other Big Ten pro- grams, however, they might characterize him differently. Retherford is known for his ruthless and brutal attacks, a relent- less motor that rarely runs at less than full-throttle, so friendly probably won't be the first word that comes to mind. And after his international events this past summer, in which he tasted a bit of his own medicine on the mat – it wasn't as good as the croissants or baguettes – col- lege 149-pounders might want to be ready for an extra course before saying goodbye to one of the best. One week before the start of Penn State's dual meet season, Retherford sent out a tweet to his 12.3 thousand followers informing them that he would be "going dark" on social media in order to focus on his senior campaign. Thirty-six minutes before he sent that tweet, he sent another one. It read, "Everything great is as rare to find as it is difficult to do." ■

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