Oct. 19, 2017
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" The Penn State wrestling team, winner of six of the last seven NCAA titles, will enter the season ranked No. 1 in the nation in InterMat's preseason Tournament Power Index (TPI). Eight Nittany Lions are listed in InterMat's pre-season weight-by-weight rankings as well.
Head coach Cael Sanderson's squad is ranked No. 1 with 147.5 points while Ohio State is second at 136.0, Michigan third at 100.5, Oklahoma State fourth with 85.5 and Missouri fifth with 68.0. The Nittany Lions are also No. 1 on InterMat's preseason dual meet rankings list.
Penn State's five returning national champions are all ranked No. 1 at their respective weights to begin the season. Senior Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), two-time champion and a three-time All-American, is No. 1 at 149; junior Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), national champion and two-time finalist, is No. 1 at 157; sophomore Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), returning NCAA champ, is No. 1 at 165; sophomore Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), returning NCAA champ, is No. 1 at 174; and junior Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), national champion and two-time finalist, is No. 1 at 184.
Returning All-American Nick Nevills (Clovis, Calif.), a junior, is ranked No. 4 at 285 and senior Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), a three-time NCAA qualifier, is ranked No. 4 at 197, giving Penn State seven individuals ranked in the top four. Senior transfer Corey Keener (Schuylkill Haven, Pa.), a three-time qualifier at Central Michigan, is ranked No. 15 at 133.
The Nittany Lions are coming off a 14-0 dual meet season and their sixth NCAA title in the last seven years. Penn State opens up the 2017-18 season with home duals against Army West Point on Thursday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. and Bucknell on Sunday, Nov. 12, at 2 p.m. Both duals are in Rec Hall. With all home dual meets sold out, a limited number of Standing Room Only (SRO) tickets are available to select Rec Hall duals based on availability. Call 1-800-NITTANY for information or to purchase tickets.
The 2017-18 Penn State wrestling season is sponsored by The Family Clothesline. Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at @pennstateWREST, on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here.