UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State Nittany Lion true freshman Zack Ryder has been named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the week ending Jan. 5, 2025. Penn State has now won six weekly awards this season.
Ryder was one of nine Penn State Nittany Lion wrestlers to head to the 2025 Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Jan. 4-5. Ryder rolled through a strong field at 184 to claim the 184-pound title as a true freshman. Ryder went 5-0 overall with a pin and a tech fall.
He posted a dominant 9-2 win over No. 22 DJ Parker of Oklahoma in the quarterfinals and then pinned No. 25 TJ Stewart of Virginia Tech in the semifinals. He downed Northern Colorado's Al Heeg 6-1 (sv) in the finals. Ryder is now 8-0 on the year with two pins and a tech.
The Nittany Lions are 6-0 overall, 0-0 B1G. Penn State opens up the Big Ten portion of its dual meet schedule this Friday, Jan. 10, when it hosts Michigan State in Rec Hall. The Big Ten Network national telecast is set to start at 8 p.m.
Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via X/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.