The awards and honors may never stop piling up for Zain Retherford. Shortly after he won his third straight Big Ten title at 149 pounds, Retherford was honored by the conference’s coaches as the Big Ten Wrestler of the Year.
During his senior season, Retherford is 26-0 with a conference-best 16 falls and three technical falls. Retherford’s 2-0 win against Iowa’s Brandon Sorensen in the championship bout was just the second time a match of his was decided by a decision this season. Sorensen challenged Retherford to his only other decision win this season in their teams’ dual meet.
With the victory in the title match, Retherford extended his winning streak to 89 matches dating back to his true freshman season in 2014, breaking the previous Penn State record of 88 set by Kerry McCoy.
Retherford, the reigning Hodge Trophy winner, last won Big Ten Wrestler of the Year in 2016 as a sophomore. Teammate Jason Nolf earned the honor in 2017.
