The Penn State Nittany Lions wrestling program is an

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

team competing as members of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

. The team is coached by

Olympic Champion This article includes lists of all Olympic medalists since 1896, organized by each Olympic sport or discipline, and also by Olympiad. Medalist with most medals by sport Summer Olympic sports Winter Olympic sports A. Including military patrol e ...

Cael Sanderson Cael Norman Sanderson ( ; born June 20, 1979) is an American former folkstyle and freestyle wrestler who is the current head coach of Penn State University's wrestling team. As a wrestler, he won an Olympic Gold medal and was undefeated in four ...

(Athens 2004) 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 The Dan Hodge Trophy is awarded each year to the United States of America’s best college wrestler. The trophy is presented at the end of the season by W.I.N. Magazine (''Wrestling Insider Newsmagazine'') and Culture House. It is the collegiate w ...

Winners Kerry McCoy (1997),

Zain Retherford Zain Allen Retherford (born May 21, 1995) is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who competes at 65 kilograms. In freestyle, Retherford is a three-time US World Team Member. He was a silver medalist at the 2022 Worl ...

(2017, 2018),

Bo Nickal Bo Dean Nickal (born January 14, 1996) is an American professional mixed martial artist, former Freestyle wrestler, freestyle and graduated Collegiate wrestling, folkstyle wrestler who currently competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UF ...

(2019), and

David Taylor (2012, 2014).

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

, the Penn State wrestling program competed as members of the

Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association The Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) is an NCAA Division I collegiate wrestling conference. It held its first championship tournament in 1905, making it the oldest wrestling conference in the NCAA; the charter members were Colu ...

(1918-1974) and the

Eastern Wrestling League The Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) was an NCAA Division I wrestling-only conference. It was made up mostly of schools from the northeastern United States whose primary conferences did not sponsor wrestling as an NCAA-qualifying event. The teams ...

(1975-1992).

Starting lineup 2022-2023

National championships

Team Championships

In 1921, Penn State defeated Indiana, 32-14, and

Iowa Agricultural College Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

, 28-18, in post-season dual meets among conference champions. In addition, Penn State has won eleven

NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships have been held annually since 1928, except for a hiatus in 1943–45 during World War II and in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. In 1928 and from 1931–1933, there was only an unofficial team tit ...

as a team.

Individual Championships

The program’s record for most NCAA Champions in one season was set in 2017 and repeated in 2022, with 5 NCAA Champions crowned. In 2017,

(149 lbs),

Jason Nolf Jason Michael Nolf (born January 10, 1996) is an American freestyle and former folkstyle wrestler. In freestyle, Nolf is the Pan American Champion at the 79-kilograms division. As a folkstyle wrestler, he is a three-time NCAA Division I Ch ...

(157 lbs), Vincenzo Joseph (165 lbs), Mark Hall (174 lbs), and

(184 lbs) and in 2022,

Roman Bravo-Young Roman Guillermo Bravo-Young (born January 28, 1999) is an American freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who competes internationally at 61 kilograms and collegiately at 133 pounds. In freestyle, he was the 2019 Junior Pan American champion and t ...

(133 lbs), Nick Lee (141 lbs),

Carter Starocci Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to: Geography United States * Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Carter, Montana, a census-designated place * Carte ...

(174 lbs), Aaron Brooks (184 lbs), and Max Dean (197 lbs). The following table counts the achievements of Nittany Lion wrestlers by name as opposed to year.

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 The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

and in professional

Mixed Martial Arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

(MMA).

Coaching

Current coaching staff

Head coach history

Facilities

The Lorenzo Wrestling Complex, widely considered among the best in the nation, gives Penn State athletes a world-class facility for training. The facility encompasses over 24,000 square feet and includes the practice room, weight room, locker room, and academic support space. Home dual meets are held in the main gym at Rec Hall and on occasion at the Bryce Jordan Center. (The Lorenzo Wrestling Complex also serves as the training facility for th
Nittany Lion Wrestling Club
a designated U.S. Olympic Regional Training Center.)

Notable Nittany Lion wrestlers

Sanshiro Abe is a Japanese former wrestler. He competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics, where he finished in ninth place in the 57kg freestyle class. Abe competed collegiately for Penn State, where he was an NCAA champion and four-time All-American. He garne ...

– represented

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestling ...

, NCAA National Champion and four-time All-American *

– two-time NCAA National Champion * Aaron Brooks – two-time NCAA National Champion, Cadet World Champion and Junior World silver medalist in freestyle wrestling *

Anthony Cassar Anthony Cassar (born March 9, 1996) is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler. He is a one-time NCAA Division I champion and a one-time Big Ten Conference champion out of Penn State University, as well as a one-time ...

– NCAA National Champion * Ken Chertow – Olympian in freestyle wrestling at

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

, three-time NCAA All-American * Patrick Cummins – former

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

fighter, NCAA runner-up and two-time All-American * Phil Davis – former UFC fighter and Bellator Light Heavyweight World Champion, NCAA National Champion and four-time All-American * Mark Hall – 2021 US Open National Champion, one-time Cadet and two-time Junior World Champion in freestyle wrestling, NCAA National Champion and three-time finalist * Kerry McCoy – two-time Olympian in freestyle wrestling at

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

and

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, World silver medalist in 2003, two-time NCAA National Champion and three-time All-American * Frank Molinaro – Olympian at

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

in freestyle wrestling, NCAA National Champion, two-time finalist and four-time All-American *

– UFC fighter, gold medalist at

U23 World Wrestling Championships The World U23 Wrestling Championships are the Amateur Wrestling World Championship for athletes under 23 years old and is organized by United World Wrestling. The tournament began in 2017. Editions * 2020 U23 World Wrestling Championships in Ta ...

in freestyle wrestling, three-time NCAA National Champion and four-time finalist *

– gold medalist at

2020 Pan American Wrestling Championships The 2020 Pan American Wrestling Championships was held in Ottawa, Canada, from 6 to 9 March 2020. Team ranking Medal table Medalists Men's freestyle Men's Greco-Roman Women's freestyle References External linksOfficial website
{{ ...

, three-time NCAA National Champion and four-time finalist *

– two-time US World Team member in freestyle wrestling, Cadet World Champion, three-time NCAA National Champion and four-time All-American *

Ed Ruth Edward Lee Ruth (born October 21, 1990) is an American former professional mixed martial artist and freestyle and folkstyle wrestler. He competed in the Middleweight division of Bellator MMA. As a folkstyle wrestler, he was a three-time NCAA ...

– MMA fighter, three-time NCAA National Champion and four-time All-American * David Taylor – Olympic gold medalist at

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

in freestyle wrestling, two-time World Champion, two-time NCAA National Champion and four-time finalist

References

External links

* {{Big Ten Conference wrestling navbox