Nickal’s pin clinches NCAA championship for Penn St.
CLEVELAND » Bo Nickal reversed an early attack from Ohio State’s Myles Martin and spun him on his back for a first-period pin that clinched Penn State’s seventh team title in eight years at the NCAA Wrestling Championships on Saturday.
Nickal won his second-straight title at 184 pounds and joined Zain Retherford (149 pounds) Jason Nolf (157), Vincenzo Joseph (165) as repeat champions for the Nittany Lions, who pulled away to beat the Buckeyes 141.5-133.5.
Iowa finished third with 97 points while Michigan and NC State tied for fourth with 80 points. Missouri was sixth with 61.5.
Martin, who beat Nickal in the 2016 finals, shot in on Nickal’s legs and planted him for an early lead. It didn’t last long as Nickal countered with a headlock, rolled over and fastened Martin’s shoulders to the mat in just 2:29.
Iowa’s Spencer Lee (125), South Dakota State’s Seth Gross (133), Cornell’s Yianni Diakomihalis (141), Arizona State’s Zahid Valencia (174), North Carolina State’s Michael Macchiavello (197) and Ohio State’s Kyle Snyder (285) also won individual titles in front of 19,776 — the largest crowd to watch a set of finals ever.
Snyder and Retherford won their third individual championships.
Retherford, last season’s Hodge Trophy winner, took Lock Haven’s Ronnie Perry down twice in the first period and fended off the sophomore the rest of the way to win his 94th-straight match and third straight title. Snyder, the reigning Olympic and World champion, battled Michigan’s Adam Coon and notched a takedown with 22 seconds left to win 3-2.
Nolf showed no ill effects from a knee injury on Jan. 28 that ended his regular season. He wrapped up two quick takedowns in the opening period with 1:31 in riding time to post the 6-2 win over North Carolina State’s Hayden Hidlay.
Joseph continued Penn State’s steak at 165 against Illinois’ Isaiah Martinez, who was going for his third title. Joseph used an inside trip, the same move he used to pin Martinez last season, and tilted the Illinois senior to his back for a 4-0 lead. He’d get another point when Martinez was called for unnecessary roughness after a second-period head butt and fought off Martinez’s attacks the rest of the way for the 6-1 win.
Valencia broke up Penn State’s run when he beat Mark Hall 8-2. Although Hall mustered an acrobatic scramble to avoid an early takedown, Valencia eventually landed three to pull away from the Nittany Lions’ defending champion.
Lee and Diakomihalis became the first pair of freshmen to win titles in the same tournament since 1947. Lee landed takedowns in the first and second period and fended off Rutgers’ Nick Suriano’s attacks throughout their bout at 125 to win 5-1.
Diakomihalis tangled with Wyoming’s Bryce Meredith in a wild bout at 141 where each wrestler led before the third period. But Diakomihalis locked up a cradle in a late scramble, put Meredith to his back for four points and won 7-4.