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Retherford, Nickal Up For Hodge Trophy

Two Penn State wrestlers were nominated for the Daniel Hodge Trophy, the sport’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy.

Reigning Hodge winner Zain Retherford and teammate Bo Nickal were two of the four wrestlers on the ballot, along with South Dakota State’s Seth Gross and Arizona State’s Zahid Valencia.

Retherford capped off his career Saturday with his third national title and on a 94-match winning streak. He was 31-0 with 17 falls and five technical falls this season.

Last year, he beat teammate Jason Nolf, Ohio State’s Kyle Snyder, and Missouri’s J’Den Cox in a landslide after going 28-0 with 17 falls.

Retherford led the field in falls and bonus-point percentage on both ballots.

Nickal won his second-straight national title at 184 lbs., going 31-0 with 16 falls this season. The Allen, TX, native isn’t endorsing himself on social media, though.

You can place your vote here until Friday. The winner will be announced March 27.

The Hodge Trophy is named after Dan Hodge, one of the sport’s original superstars who was undefeated — pining 36 of his 46 collegiate opponents — en route to three national titles at Oklahoma. Every year, it is awarded to the most dominant wrestler in college, based on various weighted criteria such as record, number of pins, and sportsmanship.

Before Retherford, the only other Nittany Lions to win the award were David Taylor, who did so in 2012 and 2014, and Kerry McCoy, the 1997 recipient. Head coach Cael Sanderson was a three-time winner from 2000-2002 while competing for Iowa State.

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About the Author

Anthony Colucci

Anthony Colucci was once Onward State’s managing editor and preferred walk-on honors student who majored in psychology and public relations. Despite being from the make-believe land of Central Jersey, he was never a Rutgers fan. If you ever want to know how good Saquon Barkley's ball security is, ask Anthony what happened when he tried to force a fumble at the Mifflin Streak. If you want to hear the story or are bored and want to share prequel memes, follow @_anthonycolucci on Twitter or email him at [email protected]. All other requests and complaints should be directed to Onward State media contact emeritus Steve Connelly.

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