Zain Retherford

Zain Allen Retherford (born May 21, 1995) is an American freestyle wrestler and former folkstyle wrestler. As a folkstyle wrestler, Retherford was a 3-time NCAA Champion and 4-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.

Zain Retherford
Personal information
Full nameZain Allen Retherford
NationalityAmerican
Born (1995-05-21) May 21, 1995
Washington, D.C., U.S.
ResidenceBenton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Weight65 kg (143 lb)
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportWrestling
Event(s)Freestyle and Folkstyle
College teamNittany Lions
ClubNittany Lion WC
Coached byCael Sanderson
Medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing  United States
World Cup
2019 Yakutsk65 kg
Cadet World Championships
2012 Baku63 kg
Collegiate Wrestling
Representing the Penn State Nittany Lions
NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
2016 New York City149 lb
2017 St. Louis149 lb
2018 Cleveland 149 lb
Big Ten Championships
2014 Madison141 lb
2016 Iowa City149 lb
2017 Bloomington149 lb
2018 East Lansing149 lb

Early life

Retherford was born in Washington 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 dominat 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 eight.[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]

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.[24] 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.[25]

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.[26]

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.[27]

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.[28]

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.[29]

Retherford was scheduled to compete at the 20' US Olympic Team Trials on April 4 at State College, Pennsylvania.[30] 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.[31]

Freestyle record
Senior Freestyle Matches
Res. Record Opponent Score Date Event Location
2020 Pan American Olympic Qualification at 65 kg
Win 44-13 Álbaro Rudesindo Fall March 15, 2020 2020 Pan American Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament

Ottawa, Canada

Loss 43-13 Agustín Destribats Fall
Win 43-12 Wber Euclides Cuero Munoz TF 10-0
Win 42-12 Jose Rodriguez TF 10-0
2020 Matteo Pellicone RS at 65kg
Win 41-12 Vasyl Shuptar Fall January 15-18, 2020 2020 Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series Rome, Italy
Win 40-12 Joey McKenna 10-5
Loss 39-12 Bajrang Punia 4-5
2019 Alans International Tournament 7th at 65kg
Loss 39-11 Saiyn Kazyryk 4-6 December 7-9, 2019 2019 Alans International Tournament Vladikavkaz, Russia
Win 39-10 Iulian Gergenov TF 11-0
Win 38-10 Inar Ketiia TF 13-2
2019 World Championships 26th at 65 kg
Loss 37-10 Alejandro Valdés 9-10 September 14-22, 2019 2019 World Wrestling Championships

Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan

2019 Final X: Yianni vs Zain at 65 kg
Win 37-9 Yianni Diakomihalis 2-1 September 2, 2019 2019 Final X Wrestle-Off: Yianni vs Zain

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

2019 Grand Prix Yaşar Doğu 7th at 65 kg
Loss 36-9 Yianni Diakomihalis 5-9 July 11-14, 2019 2019 Grand Prix Yaşar Doğu

Istanbul, Turkey

2019 US World Team Trials at 65 kg
Win 36-8 Yianni Diakomihalis 6-6 June 7-8, 2019 2019 Final X: Rutgers

New Brunswick, New Jersey

Win 35-8 Yianni Diakomihalis 10-4
Win 34-8 Jordan Oliver 7-6 May 17-19, 2019 2019 US World Team Trials Challenge Tournament

Raleigh, North Carolina

Win 33-8 Jordan Oliver 7-6
Win 32-8 Frank Molinaro 6-1
Win 31-8 Dean Heil TF 10-0
2019 US Open at 65 kg
Loss 30-8 Yianni Diakomihalis 4-6 April 24-27, 2019 2019 US Open Wrestling Championships

Las Vegas, Nevada

Win 30-7 Jaydin Eierman 11-3
Win 29-7 Jayson Ness TF 10-0
Win 28-7 Mitch McKee TF 10-0
Win 27-7 Tristan Moran TF 10-0
Win 26-7 Peter Lipari TF 10-0
2019 World Cup at 65kg
Win 25-7 Daichi Takatani TF 10-0 March 16-17, 2019 2019 Wrestling World Cup Yakutsk, Russia
Win 24-7 Batmagnai Batchuluun TF 10-0
Win 23-7 Morteza Ghiasi 6-1
Win 22-7 Amiran Vakhtangashvili 9-2
2019 Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin 8th at 65 kg
Loss 21-7 Gadzhimurad Rashidov 3-4 January 24-27, 2019 Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin 2019

Krasnoyarsk, Russia

2017 World Championships 11th at 65 kg
Loss 21-6 Adam Batirov 4-6 August 21-27, 2017 2017 World Wrestling Championships

Paris, France

Win 21-5 David Habat TF 10-0
2017 Spain Grand Prix at 65kg
Win 20-5 Vahid Ahangari TF 10-0 July 15-16, 2017 2017 Grand Prix of Spain Madrid, Spain
Win 19-5 Ilman Mukhtarov 6-0
Win 18-5 Maxime Fiquet TF 11-0
Win 17-5 Gabriel Janatsch 4-0
2017 US World Team Trials at 65kg
Win 16-5 Frank Molinaro 7-4 June 10, 2017 2017 US World Team Trials Lincoln, Nebraska
Win 15-5 Frank Molinaro 6-0
Loss 14-5 Frank Molinaro 6–7
Win 14-4 Bernard Futrell TF 10-0 June 9, 2017 2017 US World Team Trials Challenge Tournament
Win 13-4 Nick Dardanes TF 11-0
Win 12-4 Jaydin Eierman TF 14-2
2017 US Open at 65 kg
Win 11-4 Jimmy Kennedy 4-3 April 26-29, 2017 2017 US Open Wrestling Championships

Las Vegas, Nevada

Win 10-4 Evan Henderson TF 10-0
Loss 9-4 Jordan Oliver 3-5
Win 9-3 Nick Dardanes TF 10-0
Win 8-3 Koby Reyes TF 10-0
2016 US Olympic Team Trials at 65 kg
Win 7-3 Jimmy Kennedy 2-2 April 9-10, 2016 2016 US Olympic Team Trials

Iowa City, Iowa

Win 6-3 Jayson Ness 6-3
Win 5-3 Jason Chamberlain 7-2
Loss 4-3 Logan Stieber 6-8
Win 4-2 James Green 9-2
2015 Dave Schultz Memorial International 4th at 65 kg
Loss 3-2 Andrey Kvyatkovskyy 4-8 January 29-31, 2015 2015 Dave Schultz Memorial International

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Win 3-1 Murad Nukhadiev 9-2
Win 2-1 Evan Henderson 10-7
Loss 1-1 Jordan Oliver 2-6
Win 1-0 Michael Mangrum 7-6

NCAA record
NCAA Championships Matches
Res. Record Opponent Score Date Event
2018 NCAA Championships at 149 lbs
Win 18-2 Ronald Perry 6-2 March 15-17, 2018 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Win 17-2 Troy Heilmann 10-4
Win 16-2 Boo Lewallen TF 20-2
Win 15-2 Alfred Bannister Fall
Win 14-2 Kyle Springer TF 16-1
2017 NCAA Championships at 149 lbs
Win 13–2 Lavion Mayes TF 18-2 March 16-18, 2017 2017 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Win 13–2 Brandon Sorensen Fall
Win 12–2 Alex Kocer TF 19-2
Win 11–2 Jordan Laster TF 16-0
Win 10–2 Joshua Maruca TF 19-2
2016 NCAA Championships at 149 lbs
Win 9–2 Brandon Sorensen MD 10-1 March 17-19, 2016 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Win 8-2 Alec Pantaleo Fall
Win 7-2 Justin Oliver Fall
Win 5-2 Pat Lugo Fall
Win 4-2 Coleman Hammond TF 21-6
2014 NCAA Championships 5th at 141 lbs
Loss 3-2 Mitchell Port TB 1-3 March 21, 2014 2014 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Loss 3-1 Logan Stieber 3-7
Win 3–0 Joey Lazor 5-2
Win 2–0 Edgar Bright 3-0
Win 1–0 Ugi Khishignyam 5-0

Stats


Season Year School Rank Weigh Class Record Win Bonus
2018 Senior Penn State University #1 (1st) 149 31-0 100.00% 83.87%
2017 Junior #1 (1st) 28-0 100.00% 89.29%
2016 Sophomore #1 (1st) 34-0 100.00% 88.57%
2014 Freshman #4 (5th) 141 33-3 89.47% 39.47%
Career 126-3 96.37% 75.30%

Awards and honors
2020
2019
  • World Cup (65 kg)
  • US World Team Trials (65 kg)
  • U.S Open Championship (65 kg)
2018
2017
2016
2014
gollark: Coooool.
gollark: What, literally that?
gollark: I wonder if you could work out a scheme to buy/sell interest rates in some way, since those affect the economy.
gollark: And economists say that getting closer to *full* employment increases inflation, which is bad, so you could sell off your excess employment to reduce inflation!
gollark: They can just have negative GDP.

See also

References
  1. "PA-Wrestling.com : Your online resource for Pennsylvania Wrestling". www.pa-wrestling.com. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  2. Collegian, Jake Aferiat | The Daily. "How Penn State wrestling's Zain Retherford ascended to legendary status". The Daily Collegian. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  3. "BlueWhiteIllustrated - Wrestling: PSU signs three". bwi.rivals.com. 2012-12-04. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  4. "Cadet World champ Retherford commits to Penn State". InterMat. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  5. www.trackwrestling.com https://www.trackwrestling.com/predefinedtournaments/MainFrame.jsp?newSession=false&TIM=1585975043986&pageName=. Retrieved 2020-04-04. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. NCAA, Brackets. "2014 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships" (PDF). Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  7. "Cael Sanderson's decision five years ago helped set up Penn State's dominant wrestling run". York Dispatch. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  8. "Zain Retherford". Team USA. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  9. "Zain Retherford - Wrestling". Penn State University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  10. LLC, ACS. "Zain Retherford (Penn State) Profile". www.wrestlestat.com. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  11. "About Zain | Zain Retherford, 2019 World Team Member". www.zainretherford.com. Retrieved 2020-04-04.
  12. www.trackwrestling.com https://www.trackwrestling.com/opentournaments/MainFrame.jsp?newSession=false&TIM=1586105383521&pageName=. Retrieved 2020-04-05. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. www.trackwrestling.com https://www.trackwrestling.com/opentournaments/MainFrame.jsp?newSession=false&TIM=1586104317161&pageName=. Retrieved 2020-04-05. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. "FLOARENA". arena.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  15. "See the results for the 2017 Junior and Senior World Team Trials wrestling event on FloWrestling.org". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  16. "2017 Spain Grand Prix" (PDF). Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  17. jeandaniel. "World Championships". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  18. jeandaniel. "Grand Prix Ivan Yariguin". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  19. "FLOARENA". arena.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  20. "Zain Retherford Beats Yianni Diakomihalis in Wrestleoff, Makes 2019 World Team". Roar Lions Roar. 2019-09-03. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  21. "Zain Retherford Beats Yianni Diakomihalis in Wrestleoff, Makes 2019 World Team". Roar Lions Roar. 2019-09-03. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  22. Smith, Earl (2019-08-15). "Arbitrator Rules in Yianni/Zain Controversy". The Open Mat. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  23. Gallo, Ed (2019-07-16). "Wrestling breakdown: Yianni Diakomihalis vs. the World". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2020-04-08.
  24. "Diakomihalis vs. Retherford 65 kg wrestle-off set for Sept. 2 in Pennsylvania". Team USA. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  25. jeandaniel. "World Championships". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 2020-04-08.
  26. "Green, Macchiavello and Snyder advance to Alans International semifinals". December 7, 2019. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  27. Eric. "Russia Rolls Over Iran, Wins Freestyle World Cup Title". United World Wrestling. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  28. "Matteo Pelicone Final Recap". January 18, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  29. "Men´s Freestyle Pan-Am OQ". March 15, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  30. Goodwin, Cody. "Wrestling: Iowa's Spencer Lee wins Senior Nationals, qualifies for 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials". Hawk Central. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  31. Goodwin, Cody. "USA Wrestling announces that 2020 Olympic Trials are postponed". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
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