Zain Retherford
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| Full name | Zain Allen Retherford | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | American | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | May 21, 1995 Washington, D.C., U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 65 kg (143 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wrestling | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | Freestyle and Folkstyle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Nittany Lions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Nittany Lion Wrestling Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Cael Sanderson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Zain Allen Retherford (born May 21, 1995) is an American freestyle wrestler and former folkstyle wrestler. As a folkstyle wrestler, Retherford was a three-time NCAA Champion and four-time All-American. In 2017 and 2018, he was awarded the Dan Hodge Trophy as the most outstanding folkstyle wrestler in the nation. In freestyle, he is a World Cup champion and a Cadet World champion.
Early life
Retherford was born in Washington, D.C., but moved to Benton, Pennsylvania, early in his life. He started high school at Line Mountain, where he won a state title as a freshman and took third place as a sophomore. He went on to compile a record of 84-3 before moving to Benton High School in his junior year. According to the PIAA the move was entirely because of "athletic intent", however, Retherford claims there were other factors like bullying, health reasons and being closer to his father's business.
As a result of the move, Retherford was declared enable to compete that season (2011-2012). Russ Hughes (his coach back then) states that it was in this time when Retherford started to really focus and grow as a wrestler. As a senior, he compiled an unbeaten record of 47-0 and collected his second state title. After the season, he became a Cadet World Champion in freestyle at 65-kilograms.
Retherford graduated of high school with a 131–3 record and two PIAA titles.[1][2]
College career
As the #3 recruit in the country, Retherford committed to the Nittany Lions, at Penn State University.[3][4]
2013-14
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 (eventual four-timer) Logan Stieber, whom he lost to by 4 points, making him the runner-up of the tournament.[5] At the NCAA championships, Retherford defeated an unseeded opponent in the first round and also the eleventh and fourteenth seeds before losing to the second-seeded Logan Stieber once again. After losing in the semifinals, he faced and lost to top-seeded Mitchell Port in the consolation semis, ending his run at the tournament and placing fifth, which earned him All-American status.[6]
2014-15
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]
2015-16
As a sophomore, Retherford moved up to 149-pounds and closed the regular season undefeated with a 26–0 record before the Big Ten's. At the tournament, he defeated the eight and fifth seeds to make his way to the finale. where he downed second-seeded Brandon Sorensen to win the championship. At the NCAA's, he dominated with a technical fall (21-6) to start the tournament, accumulated 3 pins in a row and a major in the finals to close the tournament and claim his first NCAA title. He was named the year's NCAA Most Dominant Wrestler, Penn State Male Athlete of the Year and Big Ten Wrestler of the Year.[9]
2016-17
In his junior year, he continued to establish dominance, staying in the top-spot of the division through the regular season. At the Big Ten Championships he downed four opponents with three falls and a technical fall (16-1) to become a two-time Big Ten Champion. At the 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 NCAA and Big Ten Championships Outstanding Wrestler. He ended the season with a 28–0 mark with seventeen pins, seven techs and a major, near to a 90 percent of bonus points in matches.
He then earned the Dan Hodge Trophy award as the most dominant wrestler in NCAA Division I and was named the year's NCAA Most Dominant Wrestler for the second time in a row.[9]
2017-18
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 by decision (10-4 and 6-2), claiming his third-straight NCAA title.
After the season, he became only the fourth person to be awarded the prestigious Dan Hodge Trophy twice. Be 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 as a freshman).[10]
Overall, Retherford is a two-time Dan Hodge Trophy winner, three-time NCAA Champion, four-time All-American, three-time Big Ten Champion and four-time Big Ten finalist.[11]
Freestyle career
As a cadet and a junior, Retherford already had prestigious freestyle accomplishments; Cadet World and National champion and three-time Junior National runner-up.[11]
2015
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 bronze-medal match, he faced Andrey Kviatkovski, whom he lost to (4-8), placing fourth in his first competition as a senior.[12]
2016
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) and Jimmy Kennedy (2-2) to place third in the tournament.[13]
2017
At the US Open, Retherford placed third after losing to Jordan Oliver in the semifinals, 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 subsequently lost to Adam Batirov (4-6), getting eliminated and placing eleventh.[17]
2019
At the Ivan Yarygin Golden Grand Prix, he lost in the opening bout to Gadzhimurad Rashidov (3-4) and got eliminated, placing eighth.[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 on criteria 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] He was then scheduled to compete at the Pan American Games, however, he was forced to pull out a week before the event and was replaced by Jaydin Eierman.[24]
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.[25] 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 twenty-sixth.[26]
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 seventh.[27]
In his last tournament of 2019, he competed at the prestigious World Cup, where he ended up undefeated at 65 kilograms with four victories, claiming the individual championship and helping Team USA reach the bronze-medal.[28]
2020
In his first competition of the year, Retherford competed at the Matteo Pellicone RS. He faced 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.[29]
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.[30]
Retherford was scheduled to compete at the 20' US Olympic Team Trials on April 4 at State College, Pennsylvania.[31] However, the event was postponed for 2021 along with the Summer Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving all the qualifiers unable to compete.[32]
After 6 months without being able to compete, Retherford returned to the mats against three-time NCAA Division I All-American Alec Pantaleo on September 19 at the NLWC I,[33] whom he outscored 3 points to 2.[34] He then won by technical fall against three-time US National Champion and World Team Member Reece Humphrey on November 24, at the NLWC III.[35] Retherford avenged his loss to Bajrang Punia at the Matteo Pellicone, when he flawlessly defeated him 6-0 at the NLWC IV of December 22.[36]
Freestyle record
NCAA record
Stats
Awards and honors
- 2020
Pan American Wrestling Olympic Qualification (65 kg)- Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series (65 kg)
- 2019
World Cup (65 kg)- US World Team Trials (65 kg)
U.S Open Championship (65 kg)
- 2018
- NCAA Division I (149 lbs)
- Big Ten Conference (149 lbs)
- Dan Hodge Trophy winner
- NCAA Most Dominant wrestler
- Big Ten Wrestler of the Year
- 2017
- US World Team Trials (65 kg)
- U.S Open Championship (65 kg)
- Spain Grand Prix
- NCAA Division I (149 lbs)
- Big Ten Conference (149 lbs)
- Dan Hodge Trophy winner
- NCAA Division I Championships Outstanding Wrestler
- NCAA Most Dominant wrestler
- Big Ten Championships Outstanding Wrestler
- 2016
- US Olympic Team Trials Challenge Tournament (65 kg)
- NCAA Division I (149 lbs)
- Big Ten Conference (149 lbs)
- NCAA Most Dominant wrestler
- Penn State Male Athlete of the Year
- Big Ten Wrestler of the Year
- 2014
- NCAA Division I All-American (141 lbs)
- Big Ten Conference (141 lbs)
See also
References
- ^ "PA-Wrestling.com : Your online resource for Pennsylvania Wrestling". www.pa-wrestling.com. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
- ^ Collegian, Jake Aferiat | The Daily. "How Penn State wrestling's Zain Retherford ascended to legendary status". The Daily Collegian. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
- ^ "BlueWhiteIllustrated - Wrestling: PSU signs three". bwi.rivals.com. 2012-12-04. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
- ^ "Cadet World champ Retherford commits to Penn State". InterMat. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
- ^ www.trackwrestling.com https://www.trackwrestling.com/predefinedtournaments/MainFrame.jsp?newSession=false&TIM=1585975043986&pageName=. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ NCAA, Brackets. "2014 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships" (PDF). Retrieved April 4, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Cael Sanderson's decision five years ago helped set up Penn State's dominant wrestling run". York Dispatch. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
- ^ "Zain Retherford". Team USA. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b "Zain Retherford - Wrestling". Penn State University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
- ^ LLC, ACS. "Zain Retherford (Penn State) Profile". www.wrestlestat.com. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
- ^ a b "About Zain | Zain Retherford, 2019 World Team Member". www.zainretherford.com. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
- ^ www.trackwrestling.com https://www.trackwrestling.com/opentournaments/MainFrame.jsp?newSession=false&TIM=1586105383521&pageName=. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ www.trackwrestling.com https://www.trackwrestling.com/opentournaments/MainFrame.jsp?newSession=false&TIM=1586104317161&pageName=. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "FLOARENA". arena.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
- ^ "See the results for the 2017 Junior and Senior World Team Trials wrestling event on FloWrestling.org". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
- ^ "2017 Spain Grand Prix" (PDF). Retrieved April 7, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ jeandaniel. "World Championships". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
- ^ jeandaniel. "Grand Prix Ivan Yariguin". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
- ^ "FLOARENA". arena.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
- ^ "Zain Retherford Beats Yianni Diakomihalis in Wrestleoff, Makes 2019 World Team". Roar Lions Roar. 2019-09-03. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
- ^ a b "Zain Retherford Beats Yianni Diakomihalis in Wrestleoff, Makes 2019 World Team". Roar Lions Roar. 2019-09-03. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
- ^ Smith, Earl (2019-08-15). "Arbitrator Rules in Yianni/Zain Controversy". The Open Mat. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
- ^ Gallo, Ed (2019-07-16). "Wrestling breakdown: Yianni Diakomihalis vs. the World". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2020-04-08.
- ^ "Jaydin Eierman replacing Zain Retherford at 65 kg at Pan American Games". Team USA. August 5, 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Diakomihalis vs. Retherford 65 kg wrestle-off set for Sept. 2 in Pennsylvania". Team USA. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ jeandaniel. "World Championships". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 2020-04-08.
- ^ "Green, Macchiavello and Snyder advance to Alans International semifinals". December 7, 2019. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Eric. "Russia Rolls Over Iran, Wins Freestyle World Cup Title". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
- ^ "Matteo Pelicone Final Recap". January 18, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Men´s Freestyle Pan-Am OQ". March 15, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Goodwin, Cody. "Wrestling: Iowa's Spencer Lee wins Senior Nationals, qualifies for 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials". Hawk Central. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
- ^ Goodwin, Cody. "USA Wrestling announces that 2020 Olympic Trials are postponed". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
- ^ "NLWC Set to Host Freestyle Event Live On Rokfin September 19 | News & Updates | Nittany Lion Wrestling Club". www.nittanylionwrestlingclub.com. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
- ^ Collegian, Jake Aferiat | The Daily. "Nittany Lion Wrestling Club dominates at freestyle event taking nine of 13 bouts". The Daily Collegian. Retrieved 2020-09-20.
- ^ PennLive, Jim Carlson | Special to (2020-11-25). "Taylor, Retherford, Lee brothers and Starocci among winners at Nittany Lion Wrestling Club event". pennlive. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
- ^ PennLive, Jim Carlson | Special to (2020-12-23). "Zain Retherford defeats world's No. 2-ranked wrestler; Penn State wrestlers dominate NLWC Live Event 4". pennlive. Retrieved 2020-12-23.
External links
- Zain Retherford at the International Wrestling Database
- Zain Retherford at Olympics.com
