CLEVELAND (AP) — Bo Nickal isn’t known for demonstrative displays of raw emotion.
Clinching an NCAA championship with a vengeful pin over a longtime rival brought it out of the Penn State 184-pounder on Saturday night.
Nickal reversed an early attack from Ohio State’s Myles Martin and spun him to 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. He leapt from the mat, spiked his headgear, raised his arms and roared toward the sizable Penn State section inside Quicken Loans Arena and jumped into head coach Cael Sanderson’s arms.
“You go to Penn State to win titles as an individual and as a team,” Nickal said. “That’s what we do. And that’s what we trained for. And we have the best coaches in the country, best facilities, best fans and best wrestling, easily.”
It was also a tournament to celebrate Champaign County’s rich wrestling tradition, as local athletes earned three places and two more were in competition.
For Ohio State, Bo Jordan finished fifth at 174 pounds after being relegated to the consolation ladder in the quarterfinals. He won two matches there, then lost a bout and won his placement match.
Micah Jordan advanced to the semifinals at 157 pounds before being eliminated by Penn State’s Jason Nolf. Micah finished sixth after a pair of losses in the wrestlebacks.
Iowa’s Alex Marinelli did the same at 165 pounds. He also advanced to the semifinals, then lost three straight matches to place sixth.
Virginia Tech’s Brent Moore lost his first round match before winning one consolation bout at 141 pounds. Wisconsin’s Eli Stickley did the opposite – winning his first round match before losing a consolation.
Nickal won his second straight title at 184 pounds and joined Zain Retherford (149 pounds), 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.
The Nittany Lions, who trailed the Buckeyes by double digits early on Thursday after Corey Keener and Nick Lee were pinned in their opening matches, went 39-7 afterward.
“I think they remained calm and focused on their goals and that’s important,” Sanderson said. “I mean, you want to win. When there’s a team race, you know, that obviously adds just additional pressure to individuals. But I thought they did a great job staying focused.”
Nickal kept his as Martin blasted in on his legs in the opening moments of their bout.
Martin, who beat Nickal in the 2016 finals, shot in and planted Nickal 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.
“I think about that match every day almost,” Nickal said of his 2016 finals loss to Martin.
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.
“This year, the only difference was I knew that was the last time I was going to wear the singlet,” Retherford said. “Just as nervous as I was the first time doing this. That doesn’t go away. I think it was definitely fun and it’s kind of sad this is the last time I’m wearing this.”
Snyder, the reigning Olympic and World champion, battled Michigan’s Adam Coon and notched a takedown with 22 seconds left to win 3-2.
“It was an amazing (team) race,” Snyder said. “It would have been awesome to end my career at Ohio State with a team title. I still believe we have an amazing team.”
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.
Michael Macchiavello beat Virginia Tech’s Jared Haught 3-1 with a late takedown to win the 197-pound title.
