By: Salina Williford and Corrina Williams
STATE COLLEGE, Pa- The Penn State Wrestling team has been a force to be reckoned with since 2011, with the exception of 2015. Penn State’s athletic department has won 76 national championship; the wrestling team has brought them seven of those championships. Two rising stars on the wrestling team could be who to thank for their astonishing success.
All-American, Nico Megaludis, Senior, and Zain Retherford, Sophomore, were the only two players to take home both the individual and national championship. They both worked extremely hard to earn such huge accomplishments and they don’t plan to stop there. Both gentlemen plan to continue their career after college.
Megaludis said that after coming in second and third place over the past year, it’s a sense of relief to finally win.
“It’s a really been a sense of relief for me. I’ve taken second, second, third so it’s really frustrating when you’re in the finals and things don’t go your way. So this year, pretty much all I wanted was to win”.
Retherford said he started wrestling at a really young age and from there he gained an undeniable love for the sport.
Although Megaludis and Retherford are still basking in their victory championships, they know that this is only the beginning. They both will start training for next season very soon, but until then, they are studying for finals and catching up with family friends.