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Zain Retherford Wins Second Straight Hodge Trophy

Zain Retherford was named the Daniel Hodge Trophy winner for the second straight year Tuesday.

Coming off a 31-0 senior season and his third consecutive NCAA title, Retherford beat out teammate Bo Nickal, Arizona State’s Zahid Valencia, and South Dakota State’s Seth Gross for the award.

Better known as college wrestling’s Heisman equivalent, the award is named after Dan Hodge, one of the sport’s original superstars who was undefeated in college, pinned 36 of his 46 collegiate opponents, and won 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.

The award is determined by both fan vote and a panel of voters that includes national media, representatives of national wrestling organizations retired former college coaches, and all former winners. Two extra votes are granted to the winner of the fan vote, which was Retherford, after earning 13,008 of the 25,188 votes cast, or 52 percent.

Rather than split up the Penn State contingent, Nickal selflessly campaigned for fans to vote for Retherford, rather than himself.

2018 is the fifth time a Penn State wrestler has won the award. Retherford joins David Taylor as the program’s only two-time honorees. Taylor earned the honor in 2012 and 2014. Kerry McCoy received it in 1997.

Head coach Cael Sanderson collected three Hodge Trophies during his undefeated college career at Iowa State.

Along with being one of only two two-time Hodge Trophy winners in program history, Retherford is also just the second three-time national champion, following in the footsteps of Ed Ruth. He is also tied with Taylor and Josh Moore for the program record for most falls in a career with 53.

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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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