Penn State Nittany Lions wrestling
The Penn State Nittany Lions wrestling program is a NCAA Division I Wrestling team competing as members of the Big Ten Conference.
The team is coached by Olympic Champion Cael Sanderson and have maintained status as one of the top collegiate wrestling programs in the country, with a four-year NCAA Team Championship streak from 2011-2014, and an additional four-year NCAA Team Championship streak from 2016-2019. From February 22, 2015 to November 22, 2019, the team achieved a 60 dual meet win streak.
Former wrestlers include Dan Hodge Trophy Winner Kerry McCoy and Bo Nickal, and two-time Dan Hodge Trophy Winners David Taylor and Zain Retherford.
History
The Penn State wrestling program was established in 1909 and was declared national dual meet champion in 1921.In 1925, Penn State won all seven team duals in which they competed, finishing the dual meet season undefeated.
Charlie Spiedel coached the team from 1927-1942 and 1947-1964, taking a four-year break to serve during World War II. He is credited with laying the groundwork for the Nittany Lion wrestling program's standard of excellence. He guided the team to the 1953 national title.
Prior to competing in the Big Ten Conference, the Penn State wrestling program competed as members of the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association and the Eastern Wrestling League.
Current Roster 2019-2020
Weight | Name | Year |
125 lbs. | Brandon Meredith | R-Fr. |
133 lbs. | Roman Bravo-Young | So. |
141 lbs. | Nick Lee | Jr. |
149 lbs. | Jarod Verkleeran | R-So. |
157 lbs. | Bo Pipher | R-Jr. |
165 lbs. | Vincenzo Joseph | Sr. |
174 lbs. | Mark Hall | Sr. |
184 lbs. | Aaron Brooks | Fr. |
197 lbs. | Shakur Rasheed | Sr. |
285 lbs. | Seth Nevills | Fr. |
National championships
Team Championships
In 1921, Penn State was declared the National Dual Team champion after defeating Indiana University & Iowa State.In addition, Penn State has won nine NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships as a team.
Year | Coach | NCAA Meet Points | Duals Record |
1921 | William E. Lewis | N/A | 6-1 |
1953 | Charlie Speidel | 21 | 9-0 |
2011 | Cael Sanderson | 107.5 | 17-1-1 |
2012 | Cael Sanderson | 143.0 | 13-1 |
2013 | Cael Sanderson | 123.5 | 13-1 |
2014 | Cael Sanderson | 109.5 | 15-1 |
2016 | Cael Sanderson | 123.0 | 16-0 |
2017 | Cael Sanderson | 146.5 | 14-0 |
2018 | Cael Sanderson | 141.5 | 14-0 |
2019 | Cael Sanderson | 137.5 | 14-0 |
Individual Championships
The program’s record for most NCAA Champions in one season was set in 2017, with 5 NCAA Champions crowned - Zain Retherford, Jason Nolf, Vincenzo Joseph, Mark Hall, and Bo Nickal.Year | NCAA Champion | Weight Class |
1935 | Howard Johnston | 165 lbs |
1952 | Joe Lemyre | 167 lbs |
1953 | Hud Samson | 191 lbs |
1955 | Larry Fornicola | 137 lbs |
1955 | Bill Oberly | Heavyweight |
1957 | Jon Johnston | 130 lbs |
1971 | Andy Matter | 167 lbs |
1972 | Andy Matter | 167 lbs |
1975 | John Fritz | 126 lbs |
1984 | Carl Destefanis | 118 lbs |
1984 | Scott Lynch | 134 lbs |
1988 | Jim Martin | 126 lbs |
1991 | Jeff Prescott | 118 lbs |
1992 | Jeff Prescott | 118 lbs |
1994 | Kerry McCoy | 275 lbs |
1995 | John Hughes | 142 lbs |
1996 | Sanshire Abe | 126 lbs |
1997 | Kerry McCoy | 275 lbs |
1999 | Glen Pritzlaff | 174 lbs |
2000 | Jeremy Hunter | 125 lbs |
2008 | Phil Davis | 197 lbs |
2011 | Quentin Wright | 184 lbs |
2012 | Frank Molinaro | 149 lbs |
2012 | David Taylor | 165 lbs |
2012 | Ed Ruth | 174 lbs |
2013 | Ed Ruth | 184 lbs |
2013 | Quentin Wright | 197 lbs |
2014 | David Taylor | 165 lbs |
2014 | Ed Ruth | 184 lbs |
2015 | Matt Brown | 174 lbs |
2016 | Nico Megaludis | 125 lbs |
2016 | Zain Retherford | 149 lbs |
2017 | Zain Retherford | 149 lbs |
2017 | Jason Nolf | 157 lbs |
2017 | Vincenzo Joseph | 165 lbs |
2017 | Mark Hall | 174 lbs |
2017 | Bo Nickal | 184 lbs |
2018 | Zain Retherford | 149 lbs |
2018 | Jason Nolf | 157 lbs |
2018 | Vincenzo Joseph | 165 lbs |
2018 | Bo Nickal | 184 lbs |
2019 | Jason Nolf | 157 lbs |
2019 | Bo Nickal | 197 lbs |
2019 | Anthony Cassar | 285 lbs |
The following table counts the achievements of Nittany Lion wrestlers by name as opposed to year.
Wrestler | NCAA Championships | NCAA Runners-up | Hodge Trophy |
Bo Nickal | 3 | 1 | 2019 |
Jason Nolf | 3 | 1 | |
Ed Ruth | 3 | 0 | |
Zain Retherford | 3 | 0 | 2017 & 2018 |
David Taylor | 2 | 2 | 2012 & 2014 |
Quentin Wright | 2 | 1 | |
Vincenzo Joseph | 2 | 1 | |
Andy Matter | 2 | 0 | |
Jeff Prescott | 2 | 0 | |
Kerry McCoy | 2 | 0 | 1997 |
Mark Hall | 1 | 2 | |
Nico Megaludis | 1 | 2 | |
Frank Molinaro | 1 | 1 | |
Jeremy Hunter | 1 | 1 | |
Jim Martin | 1 | 1 | |
John Hughes | 1 | 1 | |
Matt Brown | 1 | 1 | |
Phil Davis | 1 | 1 | |
Sanshire Abe | 1 | 1 | |
Anthony Cassar | 1 | 0 | |
Bill Oberly | 1 | 0 | |
Carl Destefanis | 1 | 0 | |
Glen Pritzlaff | 1 | 0 | |
Howard Johnston | 1 | 0 | |
Hud Samson | 1 | 0 | |
Joe Lemyre | 1 | 0 | |
John Fritz | 1 | 0 | |
Jon Johnston | 1 | 0 | |
Larry Fornicola | 1 | 0 | |
Scott Lynch | 1 | 0 | |
Troy Sunderland | 0 | 2 | |
Aaron Anspach | 0 | 1 | |
Bubba Jenkins | 0 | 1 | |
Cary Kolat | 0 | 1 | |
Clint Musser | 0 | 1 | |
Dan Mayo | 0 | 1 | |
Dan Vallimont | 0 | 1 | |
Greg Elinsky | 0 | 1 | |
Greg Haladay | 0 | 1 | |
Josh Moore | 0 | 1 | |
Morgan McIntosh | 0 | 1 | |
Pat Cummins | 0 | 1 | |
TOTALS | 44 | 30 | 6 |
Olympics and post-graduate careers
Penn State wrestlers have gone on to have success beyond their NCAA achievements. Wrestlers have had career success in the Olympics and in professional Mixed Martial Arts.Wrestler | Competition | Notable Achievements |
Katsutoshi Naito | Olympics | Bronze Medal |
Ken Chertow | Olympics | |
Sanshiro Abe | Olympics | |
Kerry McCoy | Olympics World Championships | 5th place, 7th place Silver Medal |
Phil Davis | Bellator | Light Heavyweight World Champion |
Patrick Cummins | UFC | |
Frank Molinaro | Olympics | 5th place |
Zain Retherford | World Championships | |
David Taylor | World Championships | Gold Medal, UWW Wrestler of the Year |
Bo Nickal | U23 World Championships | Gold Medal |
Coaching
Current coaching staff
Position | Name |
Head Coach | Cael Sanderson |
Associate Head Coach | Cody Sanderson |
Head Assistant Coach | Casey Cunningham |
Assistant Coach | Jake Varner |
Director of Operations | Adam Lynch |
Head coach history
Years | Name |
1927–1942, 1947–1964 | Charlie Spiedel |
1965–1978 | Bill Koll |
1979–1992 | Rich Lorenzo |
1993–1998 | John Fritz |
1999–2009 | Troy Sunderland |
2010–present | Cael Sanderson |