Blue White Illustrated

nals didn't lack them. First, Zain Retherford won his third consecutive 149-pound championship, but he was tested far more than he had been in his final bouts the two previous years – this time by that Cinderella No. 15 seed, Ronnie Perry of Lock Haven. Jason Nolf overcame a significant late-season knee injury to win his second consecutive 157-pound title, topping previously un- defeated Hayden Hidlay of North Car- olina State. Then, in a rematch of last year's 165-pound final against Illinois great Isaiah Martinez, Joseph sent a feeling of déjà vu through the arena, in- side-tripping Martinez to his back once again. He didn't get the fall like he did last year, but the move boosted him to a commanding five-point victory. In what was arguably the most thrilling 7- minute match of the finals – how about that scramble?! – Mark Hall fell short of repeating at 174, dropping an 8-2 deci- sion to Arizona State's Zahid Valencia. But showing uncommon graciousness in the wake of defeat, Hall was the first one out to congratulate Nickal after he sealed the deal. It was only moments after Nickal pinned Martin with a counter move. The move has many names –cement job, mixer, elevator to a Rico – but whatever you call it, Nickal has been doing it since he was 6 years old. As he walked off the mat, Hall hus- tled out to greet him. The gesture hadn't yet settled in when the ESPN crew corralled an exuberant Nickal for an interview, one that has since gone viral across social media. "You come to Penn State, you win big matches, you win team titles!" he pro- claimed. Nickal is normally extremely com- posed in public settings, so when I asked him if his emotions had gotten the best of him, I described his response as demonstrative, admitting that there was probably a better word for it. Animated, maybe. Spirited. Mostly, though, it was genuine, a moment of true authenticity – and maybe more than anything, that's what this tournament offers. "It's a crazy moment, and the inter- view is straight after, so you don't have 141 Jimmy Gulibon Round of 12 DNP Round 1 No. 11 Dom Forys, Pittsburgh LBF (4:57) Consolation 1 Cam Sykora, North Dakota State W 9-7 dec. Consolation 2 Rico Montoya, Northern Colorado LBF (4:27) lee Round 1 Ryan Diehl, Maryland LBF (2:12) Consolation 1 No. 9 Josh Alber, Northern Iowa W 7-3 dec. Consolation 2 No. 10 Mason Smith, Central Michigan W 5-0 dec. Consolation 3 No. 16 Cole Weaver, Indiana W 13-5 maj. dec. Round of 12 No. 12 Tyler Smith, Bucknell W 13-6 maj. dec. Con. Quarterfinals SaDarien Perry, Eastern Michigan W 12-4 maj. dec. Con. Semifinals No. 2 Jaydin Eirman, Missouri L 12-4 maj. dec. 5th Place No. 5 Kevin Jack, North Carolina State W 9-7 (SV) dec. retherford Round 1 Kyle Springer, Eastern Michigan W 16-1 (TF; 7:00) Round 2 No. 16 Alfred Bannister, Maryland WBF (7:00) Quarterfinals No. 8 Boo Lewallen, Oklahoma State W 20-2 (TF; 5:00) Semifinals No. 4 Troy Heilmann, North Carolina W 10-4 dec. Final No. 15 Ronnie Perry, Lock Haven W 6-2 dec. nolf Round 1 Colin HeBernan, Central Michigan W 22-7 (TF; 7:00) Round 2 No. 14 Andrew Crone, Wisconsin W 6-1 dec. Quarterfinals No. 6 Michael Kemerer, Iowa W 6-2 dec. Semifinals No. 7 Micah Jordan, Ohio State W 16-0 (TF; 4:28) Final No. 1 Hayden Hidlay, North Carolina State W 6-2 dec. joseph Round 1 Jonathan Schleifer, Princeton W 15-4 maj. dec. Round 2 No. 14 Branson Ashworth, Wyoming W 3-1 dec. Quarterfinals No. 11 Isaiah White, Nebraska W 4-2 (SV2) Semifinals No. 2 David McFadden, Virginia Tech W 3-1 dec. Final No. 1 Isaiah Martinez, Illinois W 6-1 dec. hall Round 1 Austin Rose, Drexel W 12-2 maj. dec. Round 2 No. 15 Dylan Lydy, Purdue W 21-3 (TF; 6:54) Quarterfinals No. 7 Taylor Lujan, Northern Iowa W 6-2 dec. Semifinals No. 3 Daniel Lewis, Missouri WBF (6:22) Final No. 1 Zahid Valencia, Arizona State L 8-2 dec. nickal Round 1 Martin Mueller, South Dakota State W 16-4 maj. dec. Round 2 No. 16 Jordan Ellingwood, Central Michigan W 10-4 dec. Quarterfinals No. 9 Max Dean, Cornell W 13-7 dec. Semifinals No. 5 Domenic Abounader, Michigan W 6-3 dec. Final No. 2 Myles Martin, Ohio State WBF (2:29) rasheed Round 1 Sawyer Root, The Citadel W 13-5 maj. dec. Round 2 Daniel Chaid, North Carolina W 14-2 maj. dec. Quarterfinals No. 4 Michael Macchiavello, North Carolina St. L 5-4 dec. Round of 12 No. 7 Frank Mattiace, Penn W 6-5 dec. Con. Quarterfinals No. 1 Kollin Moore, Ohio State L 7-4 dec. 7th Place No. 6 Willie Miklus, Missouri W 11-3 maj. dec. nevills Round 1 Stephen Suglio, Kent State WBF (5:24) Round 2 No. 14 Michael Boykin, North Carolina State W 5-4 (TB2) Quarterfinals No. 6 Amar Dhesi, Oregon State L 4-2 dec. Round of 12 Jere Heino, Campbell W 6-1 dec. Con. Quarterfinals No. 5 Sam Stoll, Iowa L 3-1 (SV) 7th Place No. 12 Youssif Hemida, Maryland W 7-5 dec. 133 COREY KEENER DNP 141 NO. 8 NICK LEE All-American (fifth place) 149 NO. 1 ZAIN RETHERFORD Four-time All-American, three-time national champion 157 NO. 3 JASON NOLF Three-time All-American, two-time national champion 174 NO. 2 MARK HALL Two-time All-American, national runner-up 184 NO. 1 BO NICKAL Three-time All-American, two-time national champion 165 NO. 3 VINCENZO JOSEPH Two-time All-American, two-time national champion 197 NO. 5 SHAKUR RASHEED All-American, 7th place 285 NO. 3 NICK NEVILLS All-American, 7th place P E N N S T A T E R E S U L T S

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