Penn State Wins Third Straight NCAA Wrestling Championship
Nittany Lions claim four individual titles en route to program’s eighth NCAA Championship
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Penn State won the 2018 NCAA Wrestling Championships on Saturday at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, capturing the eighth NCAA wrestling title in school history and third in a row. The Nittany Lions’ title marked the 12th straight year that a Big Ten school has claimed the NCAA Championship, with seven of Penn State’s crowns coming in the last eight years.
The Nittany Lions’ Zain Retherford earned his third straight 149-pound title, while Jason Nolf claimed the 157-pound championship for the second time. Vincenzo Joseph won the 165-pound title, while Bo Nickal was victorious in the 184-pound division.
Penn State amassed 141.5 points, while fellow Big Ten member Ohio State came in second with 134.5 points. Three other Big Ten schools also finished among the top 10 — Iowa in third place (97 points), Michigan tied for fourth (80.0), and Nebraska in ninth (47.0).
Two other Big Ten wrestlers claimed individual titles at the NCAA Championships. Iowa’s Spencer Lee secured the 125-pound championship, while Ohio State’s Kyle Snyder earned his third-straight 285-pound crown.
Iowa’s Sam Stoll was awarded the Gorriaran Trophy following the championships. The award is presented annually to the wrestler who records the most pins in the least amount of time at the national tournament. Stoll placed fifth at 285 pounds, recording a tournament-best three falls in a combined time of eight minutes, 50 seconds. He is the sixth Hawkeye in program history to earn the award and the first since Mark Perry in 2006.
Thirty-one Big Ten wrestlers earned All-America honors. The full list of Big Ten All-Americans, along with their weight class, can be found below.
All-Americans
Nick Suriano, Rutgers, 125
Spencer Lee, Iowa, 125
Nathan Tomasello, Ohio State, 125
Luke Pletcher, Ohio State, 133
Stevan Micic, Michigan, 133
Joey McKenna, Ohio State, 141
Zain Retherford, Penn State, 149
Ke-Shawn Hayes, Ohio State, 149
Tyler Berger, Nebraska, 157
Alec Pantaleo, Michigan, 157
Jason Nolf, Penn State, 157
Michael Kemerer, Iowa, 157
Micah Jordan, Ohio State, 157
John Van Brill, Rutgers, 157
Isaiah Martinez, Illinois, 165
Alex Marinelli, Iowa, 165
Vincenzo Joseph, Penn State, 165
Isaiah White, Nebraska, 165
Evan Wick, Wisconsin, 165
Myles Amine, Michigan, 174
Bo Jordan, Ohio State, 174
Mark Hall, Penn State, 174
Bo Nickal, Penn State, 184
Domenic Abounader, Michigan, 184
Myles Martin, Ohio State, 184
Kollin Moore, Ohio State, 197
Shakur Rasheed, Penn State, 197
Kyle Snyder, Ohio State, 285
Youssif Hemida, Maryland, 285
Nick Nevills, Penn State, 285
Adam Coon, Michigan, 285
