Penn State Grapplers at Big Ten Tourney

AdminMarch 1, 2018Last Updated: March 1, 2018

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UNIVERSITY PARK – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestlers (14-0, 9-0 B1G) head to East Lansing, Mich., for the 2018 Big Ten Championships on Saturday and Sunday. The event, hosted by Michigan State, will take place in the Breslin Center and begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

Penn State is coming off another perfect regular season. The Lions shut-out Buffalo 55-0 in their dual finale on Feb. 18, capping off a 14-0 dual meet season that included a 9-0 Big Ten mark (and the outright 2018 Big Ten Regular Season crown), another Southern Scuffle title and the Keystone Classic crown. Penn State has now won 45 straight dual meets dating back to the end of the 2014-15 season.

The Big Ten Championships serve as the conference’s qualifier for the 2018 NCAA Championships on March 15-17 in Cleveland. The Big Ten received 80 automatic qualifiers: 10 at 125, seven at 133, eight at 141, nine at 149, eight at 157, 10 at 165, seven at 174, eight at 184, six at 197 and seven at 285.

Penn State will send a strong contingent to Michigan State, seeking its sixth Big Ten title in the last eight years. Senior transfers Carson Kuhn and Corey Keener will man 125 and 133 for the Nittany Lions, respectively. Kuhn joined the team in January and has wrestled in Penn State’s final three duals, going 1-2 (with the two losses coming to two of the nation’s top-ranked wrestlers). Keener has a 14-6 mark, is ranked No. 20 by the coaches and has an RPI of No. 21. True freshman Nick Lee went 22-4 at 141, is ranked No. 8 by the coaches and has a lofty RPI of No. 4. Senior Zain Retherford heads to Big Tens 23-0 at 149, ranked No. 1 by the coaches with a No. 3 RPI and sophomore Jason Nolf is 19-1 overall at 157, with his only loss being an injury default loss in a bout he was winning at the time. Nolf is ranked No. 1 by the coaches with a No. 3 RPI.

Sophomore Vincenzo Joseph sports a 17-1 overall record at 165 and is ranked No. 3 by the coaches and as the nation’s No. 1 RPI. Sophomore Mark Hall is 24-0 at 174 on the year, is ranked No. 2 by the coaches and has a No. 2 RPI. Junior Bo Nickal is 23-0 at 184 on the year, is ranked No. 1 by the coaches and has a No. 3 RPI. Junior Shakur Rasheed spots a 17-2 mark at 197, is ranked No. 5 by the coaches and has a No. 4 RPI. Junior Nick Nevills is 22-4 at 285, is ranked No. 4 by the coaches and has a No. 5 RPI.

The strength of Penn State’s schedule and overall performance is highlighted by the release of the 2/22 Coaches Ranking and RPI. Seven Lions (Retherford, Nolf, Joseph, Hall, Nickal, Rasheed and Nevills) are top 5 in both Coaches ranking and RPI, an eighth (Lee) is top 5 in RPI and one (Keener) is top 33 in Coaches Ranking and RPI. The Nittany Lions have soared in the Big Ten since 2009-10 with the arrival of head coach Cael Sanderson. The team owns five Big Ten titles, five Big Ten Regular Season (dual meet) titles, and has crowned 21 Big Ten individual champions. The Nittany Lions have had six Big Ten Wrestlers of the Year (including Nolf last year), four Big Ten Tournament Outstanding Wrestlers (including Retherford last year) and Sanderson has been named Big Ten Coach of the Year five times.

The 2018 NCAA Wrestling Championships will take place on March 15-17 in Cleveland, Ohio. The three day event will take place in Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena and begins on Thursday, March 15, at 12 p.m.

No. 1 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (14-0, 9-0 B1G)

WT NAME EL HT/HS REC

125 Carson Kuhn Sr. Sandy, Utah/Alta 1-2

Coaches Rank: NR — RPI: NR

133 Corey Keener Sr. Schuylkill Haven, Pa./Blue Mountain 14-6

Coaches Rank: #20 — RPI: #21

141 Nick Lee Fr. Evansville, Ind./Homeschool 22-4

Coaches Rank: #8 — RPI: #4

149 Zain Retherford Sr. Benton, Pa./Benton 23-0

Coaches Rank: #1 — RPI: #3

157 Jason Nolf Jr. Yatesboro, Pa./Kittanning 19-1

Coaches Rank: #1 — RPI: #3