2X NATIONAL CHAMPION
Senior Zain Retherford will head into his senior season having won the last two NCAA titles at 149. The 2017 Hodge Trophy winner and NCAA Most Dominant Wrestler, Retherford will be looking to win a third straight NCAA crown and become a four-time All-American.
Parents: Sarah and Allen Retherford -- Major: Finance.
Lion Career
2016-17: Ranked #1 by InterMat...opened season with tech fall at Army WP on 11/11 and pin vs. Stanford in Rec Hall on 11/13...pinned his way to the Keystone Classic title at Penn on 11/20, going 5-0 with five falls, earning tournament OW honors in the process...pinned #9 Laike Gardner of Lehigh on 12/4 (3:58) in BJC Dual, his seventh straight pin...picked up ninth-straight pin in B1G opener against Carson Brolsma of Minnesota (2:28) on 1/6...pinned #14 Ken Theobold of Rutgers (5:33) on 1/13...tough 8-8 (tb2) win over #3 Brandon Sorensen at Iowa on 1/20...pinned Wisconsin's Andrew Crone (4:30) on 1/27...furious 20-5 tech fall (7:00) over #5 Micah Jordan of Ohio State in the Nittany Lions' lop-sided 32-12 victory in Columbus on 2/3...pinned #19 Eric Barone of Illinois (4:09) on 2/10...2-1 decision over #2 Anthony Collica of Oklahoma State on 2/19...2017 Hodge Trophy winner as the nation's top collegiate wrestler...InterMat Wrestler of the Year...first-team CoSIDA Academic All-District...first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American.
Big Ten Championships (4-0, Champion, NCAA Qualifier): Rolled to second-straight Big Ten title with a 4-0 run in Indiana on 3/4-5, including three pins and a 16-1 TF (7:00) over #5 Micah Jordan of Ohio State in the final...named 2017 Big Ten Championships Outstanding Wrestler for his efforts.
NCAA Championships (5-0, Champion, All-American): 2017 NCAA Champion, his second-straight title...Penn State's 26th three-time All-American, is now tied for 17th on Penn State's all-time NCAA wins list with 14...seventh two-time NCAA Champion in school history...went 5-0 with four technical falls and a pin at the tournament and ends the season with a 28-0 mark with 17 pins, seven techs and a major...named the 2017 NCAA Championships Outstanding Wrestler for his effort...also honored for his season long dominance as the 2017 NCAA Most Dominant Wrestler...pinned #5 Brandon Sorensen of Iowa in the semifinals (2:36)...won title with 18-2 tech fall over #3 Lavion Mayes of Missouri in the final.
2015-16: Ranked #1 by InterMat...dominating 15-0 tech fall over #13 Sal Mastriani of Virginia Tech on 11/15...pinned CSUB's Coleman Hammond at the 1:17 mark on 11/20 and Stanford's Paul Fox at the 6:35 mark on 11/22...went 4-0 (plus a win vs. a non-collegiate) with a pin to win the Nittany Lion Open on 12/6...pinned Wisconsin's Ryan Lubeck (2:56) in the first BJC Dual of the year on 12/13...rolled to 2016 Southern Scuffle title (his second) with a 5-0 run through the field at 149, including three techs, a major and a pin...went 2-0 in Big Ten road swing at Purdue and Indiana on 1/8-10 with a tech fall and a pin...dominating 12-3 major over #5 Jake Sueflohn of Nebraska with 3:17 riding time on 1/15 (named B1G Wrestler of the Week, 1/19)...majored #4 Jason Tsirtsis of Northwestern two days later, 15-5, in Evanston...pinned #6 Alex Pantaleo of Michigan on 1/31, his fourth win over a top-ten ranked opponent...picked up a major at Lehigh on 2/12 and a tech fall at home vs. Michigan State on 2/13...strong 4-1 win over #12 Anthony Collica of Oklahoma State on 2/21, with 2:35 riding time...named 2016 NCAA Most Dominant Wrestler...first team CoSIDA Academic All-District At-Large...second team CoSIDA Academic All-America At-Large...first team NWCA Academic All-America...Penn State Male Athlete of the Year (the fifth straight wrestler to win the honor).
Big Ten Championships (4-0, Champion, NCAA Qualifier): 2016 Big Ten Champion with 4-0 run through tourney...pinned #5 Alec Pantaleo of Michigan in semis and shutout #2 Brandon Sorensen of Iowa 4-0 in finals...2016 Big Ten Wrestler of the Year.
NCAA Championships (5-0, Champion, All-American): Concluded unbeaten sophomore season by winning 2016 NCAA 149-pound crown with 5-0 run in Madison Square Garden...had three pins and a tech fall to get to the finals where he rolled to a 10-1 major over #2 Brandon Sorensen of Iowa.
2014-15: Red-shirt season, did not compete in open tournaments.
2013-14: First year of collegiate wrestling...rolled to the Binghamton Open title at 141 in his first collegiate tournament on 11/10, going 5-0 with two pins, a tech fall and a major....12-3 major over Paul Kirchner of Rider in Penn State dual meet debut on 11/16...made Rec Hall dual debut on 11/24 with strong 6-1 decision over Lock Haven's Dan Neff...thrilling 4-2 (SV) victory over #1 Logan Stieber of Ohio State on 12/15, sparking Penn State to 31-6 victory over Buckeyes in Rec Hall...he was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week (12/17) for his efforts...4-2 win over #9 Josh Dziewa of Iowa in Lions' dual win in CHA on 12/21/13...rolled to 2014 Southern Scuffle crown as a true freshman, downing the #11, #7 and #19 ranked grapplers on the way...5-0 run included a pin and a major...won four straight Big Ten dual meet bouts by major (1/12 through 1/24)...pinned MSU's Brian Gibbs on 1/31 (4:42)...7-1 win over #13 Steve Dutton of Michigan on 2/2...strong 4-0 win over #6 Chris Dardanes of Minnesota on 2/9...beat #19 Anthony Collica of Oklahoma State on 2/16...closed out perfect regular season (26-0) with 8-4 win over Clarion's Tyler Bedelyon on 2/23.
Big Ten Championships (3-1, 2nd, NCAA Qualifier): Advanced to Big Ten title bout as a true freshman before dropping 7-3 decision to defending NCAA champ Logan Stieber of Ohio State in the finals...the loss was Retherford's first after a 29-0 start to his collegiate career...went 3-1 to finish as Big Ten Runner-Up.
NCAA Championships (3-2, 5th, All-American): Went 4-2 at first NCAA tournament as a true freshman, placing fifth...both losses at NCAAs were to #1 and #2 seeds.
High School/Personal:
Zain Retherford came to Penn State after blazing to the 2013 Pennsylvania State title in 2013. Retherford posted a perfect 47-0 mark at Benton High School, closing out his high school career with a 130-3 career record, including two state titles. He won the PIAA title as a freshman with a 40-1 mark then placed third as a sophomore. Retherford was the No. 3 ranked overall recruit by Intermat coming out of high school. After winning his second state title as a senior, Retherford went on to win a world championship on the freestyle circuit as well. Retherford projects at 141 for Penn State.
| Career Statistics | |||||||
| YEAR | OVERALL | DUALS (B10) | TRN (B10/NCAA) | F | TF | M | Pts. |
| 2013-14 | 33-3 | 16-0 (8-0) | 17-3 (3-1/4-2) | 4-0 | 2-0 | 8-0 | 58 |
| 2014-15 | Red-shirt Season | ||||||
| 2015-16 | 34-0 | 15-0 (9-0) | 18-0 (4-0/5-0) | 15-0 | 8-0 | 7-0 | 81 |
| 2016-17 | 28-0 | 14-0 (9-0) | 14-0 (4-0/5-0) | 17-0 | 7-0 | 1-0 | 74 |
| Career | 95-3 | 45-0 (26-0) | 49-3 (11-1/14-2) | 36-0 | 17-0 | 16-0 | 213 |