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Penn State Wrestling: Top 10 Nittany Lions of All-Time

By Chris Snyder

PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 23: Anthony Cassar of the Penn State Nittany Lions is introduced during the championship finals of the NCAA Wrestling Championships on March 23, 2019 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Hunter Martin/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 23: Anthony Cassar of the Penn State Nittany Lions is introduced during the championship finals of the NCAA Wrestling Championships on March 23, 2019 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Hunter Martin/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) /
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Penn State Wrestling
Zain Retherford of the Penn State Nittany Lions  (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) /

No. 2

Zain Retherford
Career Record: 126-3
B1G Titles: 3 (2016-2018)
NCAA Titles: 3 (2016-2018)
All-American: 4 (2014 & 2016-2018)

Awards
-2016 Dan Hodge Trophy Finalist
-2016 Schalles Award Winner
-2017 Dan Hodge Trophy Winner
-2017 Schalles Award Winner
-2018 Dan Hodge Trophy Winner

Now, we’re on to the final two. And boy was this hard.

You could almost flip a coin and you wouldn’t be wrong between Zain Retherford and David Taylor.

But I’m paid the big bucks to lay my opinion on the line so everyone else in the world can shred it to pieces. And I’m going with Zain as the 2nd best Penn State wrestler for this time period.

Zain has everything. You want a strong freshman season? Well you got it. Retherford went 33-3 which included a 2nd place finish in the B1G’s and a 5th place finish in the 2014 NCAA’s.

How about some undefeated seasons? Zain has that as well. How about three straight undefeated seasons from 2016-2018 in which he compiled a record of 93-0. This includes a stretch of 1,456 days between his last loss his freshman year and the final match he won at Penn State. That’s almost 4 full years.

How about some hardware? Like almost everyone on this list, Retherford has a full trophy case at home which includes 3 B1G Titles and 3 NCAA Titles.

But what separates Zain from the rest of them? He’s only 1 of 5 people to ever win the prestigious Hodge Trohpy more than once. Retherford was a finalist for the award in 2016 and he took home the award in both 2017 and 2018.

Zain Retherford isn’t just a Penn State wrestling legend, he’s a collegiate wrestling legend.

Speaking of legends.

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