Zain Retherford

Retherford had incredible success as a true freshman, going 27-0 in regular season. He made his way to the Big Ten Conference finals to face defending NCAA Champion (future 4-time NCAA Champion) Logan Stieber, whom he lost to by 4 points, making him the runner-up of the tournament and qualifying to the NCAA tournament.[5] At the annual Nationals, Retherford beat three ranked wrestlers including #2-ranked Joey Lazor before losing to top-ranked Logan Stieber once again. After losing his chance at first place, he faced and lost to #1 seeded Mitchell Port, ending his run at the tournament and placing 5th, which earned him All-American Status.[6]

In this season, Retherford chose to redshirt to focus on training and freestyle, placing second at the Junior World Team Trials and fourth at the 2015 Dave Schultz Memorial International.[7][8]

As a sophomore, Retherford moved up to 149-pounds and closed the season undefeated with a 26-0 record before the Big Ten's. At the tournament, he defeated #2-ranked Brandon Sorensen in the first bout and downed three more ranked opponents via major and two falls to win the championship. At the NCAA Championships, he dominated with a technical fall (21-6) to start the tournament, accumulated 3 pins in a row and a major at the finals to close the tournament and claim his first NCAA Title. He was named 2016 NCAA Most Dominant Wrestler, Penn State Male Athlete of the Year, Big Ten Wrestler of the Year and was the top-ranked wrestler at 149-pounds.[9]

In his junior year, he continued to establish dominance, staying in the top-spot of the division through the season. At the Big Ten Championships he downed 4 opponents with 3 falls and a technical fall (16-1) to become a two-time Big Ten Champion. At the 2017 NCAA Championships, he went 5-0 with four technical falls and a pin at the tournament to claim his second-straight NCAA Championship, making him the seventh Nittany Lion to do so. Due to his efforts, he was named the 2017 NCAA and Big Ten Championships Outstanding Wrestler. He ended the season with a 28-0 mark with 17 pins, seven techs and a major.

He was awarded the Dan Hodge Trophy as the best wrestler in the NCAA and was named the 2017 NCAA Most Dominant Wrestler for the second time in a row.[9]

As a senior, he remained unbeaten at 149-pounds with a 31-0 record. At the Big Ten's, he defeated three ranked wrestlers with two majors and one decision by points to claim his third-straight B1G Championship. At the NCAA Championships, he opened up with a tech (16-1) and a pin before another tech (20-2) in the quarterfinals. In his next two matches he won on points (10-4 and 6-2), claiming his third-straight NCAA title.

After the season, he was awarded the prestigious Dan Hodge Trophy for the second time straight, he was also named NCAA Most Dominant Wrestler for the third straight time and Big Ten Wrestler of the Year for the second time. In his four seasons at PSU, he graduated with a 128-4 record (all of his losses coming in his freshman year).[10]

Overall, Retherford is a 3-time NCAA Champion, 4-time All-American, 2-time Dan Hodge Trophy recipient, 3-time Big Ten Champion and 4-time Big Ten finalist.[11]

At the Dave Schultz Memorial, Retherford lost to Jordan Oliver in the quarterfinals (2-6). In the repechage matches, he made his way to the third place match by beating Evan Henderson (10-7), Borislav Novachkov (injury default) and Murad Nukhadiev (9-2). In the third-place match, he faced Andrey Kviatkovski, whom he lost to (4-8), placing 4th in his first competition as a senior.[12]

At the US Olympic Team Trials, Retherford defeated James Green (9-2) in the preliminary match and advanced to the quarterfinals, where he faced Logan Stieber, whom he lost to (6-8). In the repechage matches, he downed Jason Chamberlain (7-2), Jayson Ness (6-3), Reece Humphrey (forced to withdraw from the tournament) and Jimmy Kennedy (2-2) to place third in the tournament.[13]

At the US Open, Retherford placed 3rd as he lost in his second bout against the defending World Champion Logan Stieber and won every repechage match in the tournament, qualifying for the World Team Trials Tournament. He won the Challenge Tournament and went on to face Frank Molinaro at the wrestle-offs. He won the 2-out-of-3 matches, losing the first one (6-7) and dominantly winning the other two (6-0, 7-4).[14][15]

Retherford competed at the Spain Grand Prix before the World Championships. He dominated his opponents, not getting scored a single point and winning all of his matches (4-0, TF 11-0, 6-0, TF 10-0).[16]

At the World Championships, Retherford teched (10-0) David Habat in the opening match but went on to lose to Adam Batirov (4-6), getting eliminated and placing 11th.[17]

At the Ivan Yarygin Golden Grand Prix, he lost in the opening bout to Gadzhimurad Rashidov (3-4) and got eliminated, placing 8th.[18]

At the US Open, he downed 5 opponents before losing to Yianni Diakomihalis in the finals, this qualified him for the World Team Trials.[19] At the Challenge Tournament, he defeated Dean Heil, Frank Molinaro and Jordan Oliver twice before competing at Final X: Rutgers against Yianni Diakomihalis.[20] In the first match, Retherford beat Diakomihalis 10-4. The second match ended with a lot on controversy; Retherford was down 4-6 when he got a takedown for two points, Diakomihalis ended up earning two more to apparently win the match 8-6, however, there were problems with the scoring and that led to the match being scored 6-6 with an advantage to Retherford, winning the match and the Final X series.[21][22]

He once again faced Yianni Diakomihalis in the qualification round of the Grand Prix Yaşar Doğu. He lost the match by points (9-5).[23]

Due to the past controversy at Final X: Rutgers, Retherford faced Diakomihalis for the fifth time in their freestyle career in a wrestle-off called Final X: Yianni vs. Zain to determine who was going to represent the United States at the World Championships.[24] He defeated Diakomihalis by two points to one.[21]

Retherford competed at the World Championships weeks after his wrestle-off. He lost a close bout in the first round against Alejandro Valdés (9-10) and was eliminated, placing 26th.[25]

Retherford competed at the Alan International in Russia. He downed Inar Kettia and Iulian Gergenov (TF 13-2, TF 11-0) prior to losing to Saiyn Kazyryk (4-6), placing 7th.[26]

In his first competition of the year, Retherford competed at the Matteo Pellicone RS. Hefaced Bajrang Punia, whom he lost a close decision (4-5) in the opening round. He went on to place third as he beat Joey McKenna (10-5) and pinned Vasyl Shuptar in the repechage matches.[27]

In an attempt to make his way to the Olympics, Retherford competed at the Pan American Olympic Qualification Tournament. He started strong, winning by technical superiority (10-0) in both of his first two bouts. In the semifinals, he faced Agustín Destribats. Retherford took him down early, however, Destribats was able to adjust and worked his way to the victory by fall, being the first wrestler to get the win in that fashion against Retherford in freestyle competition. In the third-place match, he faced Álbaro Rudesindo, whom he pinned.[28]

Retherford was scheduled to compete at the 2020 US Olympic Trials, however, the event was postponed (along with the Summer Olympics) for 2021, leaving him and all the qualifiers unable to compete.[29]