Penn State wrestling legend makes major change ahead of U.S. Olympic Trials

Wrestling returns to State College this week, with the U.S. Olympic Team Trials taking place at the Bryce Jordan Center on Friday and Saturday. An event crawling with Penn State wrestling greats, one of the best to ever do it in the Cael Sanderson era will have a new look when he takes the mat this weekend. Recently, Nittany Lions legend and Olympic Champion David Taylor announced a brand new partnership with Nike Wrestling.

Penn State wrestling great David Taylor joins Nike

After a historic career at Penn State, David Taylor has continued his success at the international level. The former Nittany Lion star won two National Championships and two Dan Hodge Trophies during his time in Happy Valley.

While it took a few years for Taylor to find his place in freestyle wrestling, for the last six years, the ex-Penn State wrestling star has been dominant. David Taylor took home the Olympic Gold at 86 kg during the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. He then won a World Championship at the weight class in 2018, 2022, and 2023, while taking home silver in 2021.

Now, the former Penn State wrestler announced he will be the newest member of the Nike Wrestling family. Per FloWrestling on Friday, David Taylor will be wearing a Nike singlet when he steps on the mat for the Olympic Team Trials this weekend at the Bryce Jordan Center.

BREAKING: David Taylor will be in Nike when he steps on the mat next week at the Olympic Trials!

@magicman_psu and @AthletePS reach a deal to make the 4-time World & Olympic Champion the newest member of the Nike Wrestling family. pic.twitter.com/57tETZGlLR

— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) April 12, 2024

Familiar stomping grounds for Olympic Team Trials

Since he is the defending champion at the 86 kg weight, David Taylor will face the winner of the challenge tournament in a best-of-three championship series on Saturday. The challenger field will feature multiple former Penn State wrestling greats, including Aaron Brooks, Mark Hall, and Max Dean. Future Penn State wrestler and 2024 recruit Connor Mirasola will also participate in the bracket.

Both Brooks and Dean are also members of the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club, and have been around the Penn State wrestling room with Taylor over the past few seasons.

David Taylor and the rest of the Nittany Lions will face familiar territory with the arrival of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials to State College. The 2020 Trials were supposed to take place at the Bryce Jordan Center, but were moved to Texas due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Friday and Saturday will each feature morning and evening sessions, beginning at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.

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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