Penn State Wrestling legends face off in Olympic Trials Finals
By Chris Snyder
Two of Penn State Wrestling’s greatest square off in prime time to see who’s going to the Olympics at 86 kg
Who wants to see a Penn State wrestling legend hit the mat tonight at 7:30 p.m. EST in the Olympic trials? How about two Penn State Wrestling legends?
And raise your hand if you would like to see these two toe the line opposite one another?
Okay, I didn’t say for you to put both hands in the air. You look like you’re trying to start a wave from your living room.
Well this is the case as David Taylor takes on Bo Nickal in the freestyle finals at 86 kg this evening in Fort Worth, Texas. The Championship Series finals are set to begin at 7:30 p.m. EST and air on NBCSN, NBCSports.com, and on the NBC Sports app.
It’s the irresistible force of a career record of 134-3, 4x NCAA finalist, 2x NCAA Champion, 4x B1G Champion, and 2x Dan Hodge Trophy winner squaring up against the immovable object of a career record of 120-3, 4x NCAA finalist, 3x NCAA Champion, 3x B1G Champion, 2019 B1G Athlete of the Year, and 1x Dan Hodge Trophy winner.
Wow.
To get here, Taylor had to take down the reigning US National Championships gold medalist in Cornell legend Gabe Dean. David cruised to the 4-0 victory in the semi finals.
Nickal’s matchup in the semi finals was none other than Zahid Valencia. I’m sure Penn State fans remember the former Arizona State standout as he and Mark Hall had one of the best wrestling rivalries in recent Penn State history.
I’m pretty sure a new PSU/Valencia rivalry isn’t going to brew anytime soon as Bo was able to easily handle Valencia in a 12-5 win.
On the national and world stage it’s clear Taylor has the experience and seemingly the advantage over Nickal. David owns a career freestyle record of 127-18, 3x US National gold medalist (2015, 2017, 2018), 2x Pan American Championship gold medalist (2018, 2019), World Cup runner-up (2017), World Cup gold medalist (2018), and World Championship gold medalist (2018).
I hope David Taylor’s trophy shelf at home is reinforced with titanium. That’s a lot of hardware.
As I mentioned, Nickal’s experience on the national and world stage is more limited, but it’s still incredibly impressive.
Bo has a career freestyle record of 28-8, 1x US National gold medalist (2019), and 1x U23 World Championship gold medalist (2019).
The interesting thing to look at here is Nickal took home his medals at 92 kg while Taylor has competed at 86 kg for most of his national and world matches. Has dropping down to 86 kg benefited Bo?
We are about to find out. Tune in at 7:30 p.m. EST and cheer on both Penn State greats in what could be an epic matchup.