Penn State wrestling continues to roll through Olympic Team Trials

The Penn State wrestling program continued its strong showing at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials on Friday, sending eight wrestlers with Nittany Lion ties to the best-of-three finals series on Saturday. The Nittany Lion Wrestling Club will be represented in five of six weight classes in the championships, including three all-NLWC final series.

Penn State wrestling surges at Olympic Team Trials

Penn State wrestling and the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club put on a show Friday evening. Zain Retherford and Nick Lee both won their semifinal matchups and will now meet in the best-of-three championships at 65 kg in what will be an all-Penn State final.

The 86 kg championship will feature David Taylor versus Aaron Brooks in the best-of-three format. Brooks had a come-from-behind 7-6 victory over Zahid Valencia in the challenge tournament finals to earn his spot against the defending Olympic Gold Medalist on Saturday.

The 74 kg weight will feature an all-NLWC final, with Jason Nolf earning his way by defeating legendary wrestler Jordan Burroughs in the challenge tournament finals. Burroughs is considered by many to be the best wrestler to ever represent the United States at the international level. Nolf will now get another chance to try and beat fellow NLWC member Kyle Dake, who has had his number the past few years, winning the previous four matchups.

The NLWC will also have a finalist at 57 kg when Thomas Gilman takes on Spencer Lee. Gilman and Lee both attended Iowa, but Gilman ultimately decided to join the wrestling club in Happy Valley. The last final with an NLWC member is Kyle Snyder at 97 kg, who will take on Isaac Trumble in his best-of-three series.

Penn State wrestling and NLWC challenge tournament recap:

Semifinals:

57 kg:

Thomas Gilman (NLWC) def Daton Fix (Cowboy WC) by 6-0 decision

65 kg:

Nick Lee def Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado RTC) by 11-9 decision

Zain Retherford (NLWC) def Jesse Mendez (Ohio RTC) by 3-2 decision

74 kg:

No. 1 Jordan Burroughs (Penn RTC/Sunkist Kids WC) def No. 5 Mitchell Mesenbrink (NLWC) by 8-3 decision

No. 2 Jason Nolf (NLWC) def No. 12 Jarett Jacques (Tiger Style WC) by 9-2 decision

86 kg:

No. 1 Aaron Brooks (NLWC) def No. 4 Alex Dieringer (Cliff Keen WC) by 8-4 decision

125 kg:

No. 2 Gwiazdowski (Spartan Combat RTC) def No. 3 Greg Kerkvliet (NLWC) by 5-1 decision

Finals:

74 kg:

No. 2 Jason Nolf (NLWC) def No. 1 Jordan Burroughs (Penn RTC/Sunkist Kids WC) by 3-0 decision

86 kg:

No. 1 Aaron Brooks (NLWC) def Zahid Valencia (SKWC) by 7-6 decision

Olympic Team Trials finals series matchups

57 kg: Spencer Lee vs Thomas Gilman (NLWC)

65 kg: Zain Retherford (NLWC) vs Nick Lee (NLWC)

74 kg: Kyle Dake (NLWC) vs Jason Nolf (NLWC)

86 kg: David Taylor (NLWC) vs Aaron Brooks (NLWC)

97 kg: Kyle Snyder (NLWC) vs Isaac Trumble (WRTC)

Make sure to follow along with Basic Blues Nation here and on our social media channels for live on-site coverage of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

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