Nick Lee Leads Lions in Medal Round
CLEVELAND, Ohio; March 17, 2018 – The Penn State Nittany Lions (14-0, 9-0 B1G) will head into the championship finals of the 2018 NCAA Championship with its destiny in its own hands. Head coach Cael Sanderson’s team, looking for its seventh NCAA team title in the last eight years, has five individuals in the national finals and finds itself trailing Ohio State by only six points in the team race after the conclusion of today’s medal round.
Penn State is in second place with 124.5 points while Ohio State leads with 130.5. Penn State, with a school-record tying eight All-Americans, cemented a fifth and two seventh place finishes in the medal round. Penn State has five finalists tonight, Ohio State two, including one head-to-head.
True freshman Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), the No. 8 seed at 141, took on No. 2 Jaydin Eierman of Missouri in the consolation semifinals. Eirman notched two takedowns to Lee’s one to lead 5-3 after one period. Lee chose neutral to start the second period but Eirman scored on another counter takedown to up his lead to 7-3. Eirman chose down to start the second period and immediately reversed Lee to up his lead to 9-3. The Tiger tacked on another takedown and a riding time point and posted a 12-4 major, sending Lee to the fifth place match-up. Lee met No. 5 Kevin Jack of North Carolina State for fifth place.
The true freshman All-American took an early lead with two takedowns in the opening period to lead 4-1 with :41 riding time after one period. He chose neutral to start the second period and was solid on his feet for the period, taking the same lead into the third stanza. Jack chose down to start the third period, Lee gave up a locked hands point and an escape. Lee took Jack down and then got reversed to lead 7-4 with :40 left in the bout with just under 1:00 in riding time. Lee escaped and then gave up a late takedown and the bout moved into sudden victory. Lee forced a scramble with :30 left and iced the win with a takedown for the 9-7 (SV) victory. Lee took fifth place as the No. 8 seed in his first appearance at the NCAA Championships. He went 6-2 with a major and ends the year with a 32-7 record and a true freshman All-American as a fifth place finisher.
Junior Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.), the No. 5 seed at 197, met No. 6 Willie Miklus of Missouri in the seventh place bout. Rasheed came out fast, notching two takedowns in the first :30 to open up an early 4-1 lead. He then reeled off two straight two point near falls and led 8-1 with 2:31 in riding time after a furious opening period. Miklus chose neutral to start the second period and Rasheed made him pay with another takedown and a 10-1 lead with 1:10 left in the middle stanza. Rasheed, leading 10-2 with 2:56 in time, chose neutral to start the third period. The Lion would tally 2:56 in riding time and post a huge 11-3 major decision, picking up important bonus points and taking seventh place in his first trip to NCAAs. Rasheed ends his tournament run with a 4-2 record, including three majors for huge team bonus points. Rasheed went 24-5 this year.
Junior Nick Nevills (Clovis, Calif.), the No. 3 seed at 285, met No. 12 Youssif Hemida of Maryland in the seventh place bout. The Lion quickly took Hemida down and rode the Terrapin for over two minutes before Hemida escaped during a Nevills turn attempt. Leading 2-1, Nevills chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 3-1 lead. The duo battled evenly for the next minute plus and Nevills gave up a stall point for going out of bounds. Hemida chose neutral to start the third period with Nevills owning 2:16 in riding time. The duo scrambled through a flurry as the clock hit 1:00 but a stalemate stopped action. Hemida took Nevills down to take a brief lead, but the Lion escaped and then countered a late Hemida shot for another takedown and walked away with a thrilling 7-5 win. Nevills’ victory, notching huge team points to close out the session, gave him seventh place as a two-time All-American. Nevills went 4-2 with a pin and closes out his season with a 30-7 record.
Senior Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), junior Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), sophomore Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), sophomore Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Utah) and junior Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas) will all be in action tonight during the 2018 NCAA Championship finals at 8 p.m., airing live on ESPN2. Retherford faces No. 15 Ronnie Perry of Lock Haven in the finals at 149, Nolf takes on No. 1 Hayden Hidlay of North Carolina State in the finals at 157, Joseph meets No. 1 Isaiah Martinez of Illinois in the finals at 165, Hall battles No. 1 Zahid Valencia of Arizona State in the finals at 174 and Nickal meets No. 2 Myles Martin of Ohio State in the finals at 184.
Senior Corey Keener (Schuylkill Haven, Pa.), unseeded at 133, bowed out of the tournament during session three with a 1-2 record, ending his Penn State season with a 17-10 record and as a four-time NCAA qualifier.
Penn State went 3-1 in session five, grabbing one more bonus points off Rasheed’s major. The Nittany Lions are 35-8 overall with 24.5 bonus points off eight majors, five techs and three pins. Heading into tonight’s finals, Retherford has 18 NCAA tournament wins as a Nittany Lion, tied for second all-time at Penn State. He now has 125 career wins, seventh all-time, and is the school’s 10th four-time All-American. Nolf and Nickal became Penn State’s 27th and 28th three-time All-Americans on Friday. Nevills became a two-time All-American Friday and both Lee and Rasheed earned their first All-America honors. Penn State’s haul of eight total All-Americans (tying a school record for All-Americans in a year) moves the school’s all-time All-American total to 214, 51 in Sanderson’s eight years.
The 2018 NCAA Championships will conclude tonight at 8 p.m. The National Finals will air live on ESPN2 and will stream live on ESPN3. Penn State will send five returning National Champions into action tonight in the finals. Retherford is seeking his third straight while Nolf, Joseph, Hall and Nickal are looking for their second in a row.
