The dust had barely settled on the Penn State wrestling team’s third consecutive NCAA championship and seventh in the past eight years on March 17, when fans’ thoughts turned to 2019.
The 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships are scheduled for March 21-23 in Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena. That close proximity to State College isn’t the only thing that should install the Nittany Lions as the clear favorite to win their fourth in a row and eighth in nine years.
Even with the loss of three-time champion Zain Retherford, who is the only major loss to graduation Penn State will have to endure, the Nittany Lions will return plenty of firepower.
Based on scoring from this year’s tournament, Penn State returns 117 points for the 2018-19 season. That’s 32 more than the team that returns the second-most, Iowa (85). Ohio State is next with 77.5, then Missouri 57, Michigan 51, Cornell and Nebraska, 49 each and North Carolina State with 37.5.
Penn State will be attempting to duplicate the four-peat it put together in 2011-14. Only two other schools have won at least four titles in a row on two separate occasions.
Not surprisingly, Oklahoma State has done it three times: from 2003-06 and from 1937-42 and 1946 (no championships were held during World War II) and from 1928-31, the first four years the championships were held. During those last two stretches Oklahoma State was known as Oklahoma A&M. Iowa won six straight from 1995-2000 and set the standard with nine straight from 1978-86.
Oklahoma State sits atop the all-time championships leaderboard with 34, followed by Iowa with 23. Penn State and Iowa State are tied with eight apiece. The only other teams to win more than one championship are Oklahoma (7) and Minnesota (3). Only six other teams have won championships: Ohio State, Arizona State, Michigan State, Northern Iowa, Cornell and Indiana.
AN EARLY LOOK AT THE 2018-19 LINEUP
Lots can happen between now and November, so take these lineup projections with a grain of salt.
Unless there are unforeseen defections or weight changes, Penn State should return seven starters: sophomore Nick Lee (141), senior Jason Nolf (157), junior Vincenzo Joseph (165), junior Mark Hall (174), senior Bo Nickal (184), senior Shakur Rasheed (197) and senior Nick Nevills (285).
That leaves openings at 125, 133 and 149.
Two of three incoming freshmen figure to fill the slots at 125 and 133: Brody Teske, Gavin Teasdale and Roman Bravo-Young.
One of two redshirt freshmen figure to step in at 149, either Brady Berge or Jerod Verkleeren.
SPEAKING OF RECRUITS
It’s not exaggerating to say that Penn State might welcome the most talented recruiting class in NCAA wrestling history this fall.
The seven wrestlers that are considered part of the Penn State’s Class of 2018 have a combined record of 1,052-13, for a .9877 winning percentage.
That class consists of (name, high school weight, career record):
Michael Beard (195) 97-3
Roman Bravo-Young (132) 182-0
Aaron Brooks (182) 163-2
Joe Lee (152) 102-4
Seth Nevills (285) 169-1
Gavin Teasdale (126) 162-2
Brody Teske (126) 177-1
Reportedly Beard and Brooks won’t be in the Lorenzo Wrestling Complex until 2019, as both have expressed plans to take a year off to train before starting their collegiate careers.
HODGE WATCH
When the finalists for the WIN Magazine/Culture House Dan Hodge Trophy were announced, it was no surprise that two of the four names on the list were Nittany Lions.
Retherford, who won it again this year, was the reigning trophy holder. Teammate Nickal went undefeated in winning his second straight NCAA title. Those two were joined by South Dakota State junior 133-pounder Seth Gross and Arizona State sophomore 174-pounder Zahid Valencia.
That Retherford and Nickal were finalists was expected. Those two and teammates Nolf and Hall gave Penn State four of the top five most dominant wrestlers in Division I, as calculated by the NCAA. The final 5 were Retherford, Nolf, Nickal, Missouri’s Daniel Lewis and Hall.
IF NOT MICHIGAN, THEN WHO?
The day after this year’s NCAA championships concluded came news that 19-year Michigan head coach Joe McFarland was retiring.
McFarland had been a good steward for the Wolverines’ program, guiding UM to three Big Ten titles and 11 top 10 finishes in the NCAA tournament, including a runner-up finish in 2005 and a fourth-place finish this year.
It’s a plum job that surely drew the interest of a host of qualified head coaches and top assistant coaches alike.
For years, many have wondered what it would take to pry one of Cael Sanderson’s prize assistants, older brother Cody Sanderson or trusted lieutenant Casey Cunningham, out of Happy Valley.
Based on nothing but intuition, it seemed unlikely that the Michigan job would have as much appeal to Cody as it might have to Cunningham, a Michigan native.
A source in the Michigan athletic department said the Wolverines are close to naming a coach. That coach, however, won’t be Cunningham.
Many would argue that the Penn State coaching staff is the best in the business. Cael, Cody and Casey’s ability to work together and complement one another has produced unrivaled results. That’s a powerful lure to keep the staff together.
One has to wonder, though, what will happen when 26-year Central Michigan coach Tom Borelli, Cunningham’s coach, retires? What if the CMU administration made overtures to Cunningham, the school’s only national champion? Would the prospect of running the program at his alma mater be enough to entice Cunningham to leave Penn State?
Until Borelli decides to retire, that’s a question Nittany Lion fans would rather not have to ponder.
