Penn State Wrestling Sends Off Senior Class
Penn State wrestling wrapped up dual meet action for the 2018-2019 season when they took on the Buffalo Bulls in non-conference action Sunday afternoon in front of sold out Rec Hall. Penn State dominated the dual meet, winning 47-3.
Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson and his staff, along with fans, sent six Penn State wrestlers off with a bang. Currently, four Penn State seniors will leave the program after Big Ten championship and the NCAAs later in March.
Those seniors are currently Scott Stossel, Bo Nickal, Jason Nolf and Nick Nevills. Shakur Rasheed and Anthony Cassar are also seniors. However, Rasheed and Cassar have recently filed waivers with the NCAA asking for sixth-year eligibility due to injuries from previous seasons. There is no word yet whether either one will be granted a sixth-year or not.
Jason Nolf
Nolf was recruited out of Kittanning high school. Nolf is from Yatesboro, Pennsylvania. During his time at Kittanning, Nolf won three state titles at weight classes 103, 132 and 145. Nolf amassed a career high school record of 176-1 and was a four-year letterman for Kittanning. Currently, Nolf is 109-3 which includes his 23 wins this dual season. Nolf also has 13 pins this season. Likewise, Nolf currently holds the program record for pins at 58. Nolf's record year-by-year transpires like this:
2015-16: 33-2 overall, Duals (B1G): 16-0, (9-0), tournaments (B1G/NCAA): 17-2 (3-1/4-1), 83 points.
2016-17: 27-0 overall, duals (B1G): 14-0, (9-0), tournaments (B1G/NCAA): 13-0 (3-0/5-0), 75 points.
2017-18: 26-1 overall, duals (B1G): 10-1 (6-1), tournaments (B1G/NCAA): 16-0, (2-0/5-0), 54 points.
This season: 23-0 overall, duals (B1G): 14-0 (9-0), 13 pins.
Nolf is a two-time NCAA champion and three-time All-American.
Bo Nickal
Nickal was recruited out of Allen, Texas, where he was 183-7 during his high school career. Nickal won three Texas state titles and was a runner-up one year. Nickal took Allen High School to four-straight dual meet titles and four-straight state team championships. Nickal has a unique style that caught the Penn State fans attention early on. Nickal will go down at Penn State as a wrestler who would bring the energy to every match, but find the quickest way to end a match. Career is as follows:
2015-16: overall: 33-2, duals (B1G) 15-1 (8-1), tournaments (B1G/NCAA): 18-1 (3-0/4-1), 71 points.
2016-17: overall: 26-1, duals (B1G) 14-0 (9-0), tournaments (B1G/NCAA): 12-1 (3-1/5-0), 71 points.
2017-18: overall: 31-0, duals (B1G) 14-0 (9-0), tournaments (B1G/NCAA): 17-0 (3-0/5-0), 1 tech fall, 6 majors, 69 points.
Overall: 112-3 record which includes Nickal 22 wins this season.
Scott Stossel
Stossel was recruited out of North Allegheny high school. Stossel is from Pittsburgh. During his time at Penn State, Stossel didn’t wrestle that much. However, he has wrestled when Cael has needed him so here is his career:
2015-16: 3-5 overall, went 3-5 in tournaments.
2016-17: 1-2, went 1-2 in tournaments.
2017-18: 6-3, went 6-3 in tournaments.
This season, Stossel is 5-6 overall and 1-2 in B1G duals.
Overall, Stossel is 15-16 for his Penn State career.
Nick Nevills
Nevils was recruited out of Clovis, California. During his time at Clovis high school, Nevills had a 200-5 career record. Nevills holds Clovis high school pin record with 146 falls. Also won four-straight California state titles. Career is as follows:
2015-16: overall: 6-3, duals (B1G): 1-1 (1-0), tournaments (B1G/NCAA): 5-2, (1-2/0-0), 3 points.
2016-17: overall: 25-5, duals (B1G): 12-2 (7-2), tournaments (B1G/NCAA): 13-3 (4-1/5-2), 49 points.
2017-18: overall: 30-7, duals (B1G): 12-2 (7-2), tournaments (B1G/NCAA): 18-5 (4-1/4-2), 48 points.
This season Nevills is 8-2. Overall, his career record is 69-17
Anthony Cassar
Cassar was recruited out of the state of New Jersey. Cassar didn’t wrestle the year before last year due to injury. Cassar posted a career high school record of 116-30, going 45-0 in his senior year. His only Penn State wrestling experience is last year.
2017-18 overall: 16-2, dual (B1G): 8-1 (5-0), tournament (B1G/NCAA): 8-1 (0-0/0-0), 28 points.
This season: dual (B1G): 14-0, (9-0), overall record 21-1.
Shakur Rasheed:
Rasheed was recruited out of the state of New York.
2015-16: 17-7, duals (B1G) 8-3 (4-1), tournament (B1G/NCAA): 7-3 (0-0/0-0), 34 points.
2016-17: overall: 5-1, dual (B1G): 0-1 (0-0), tournament (B1G/NCAA): 5-0 (0-0/0-0), 0 points.
2017-18: overall: 24-5, dual (B1G): 5-0 (4-0), tournament (B1G/NCAA): 19-5, (3-1/4-2), 25 points.
It is not clear if Shakur Rasheed and Anthony Cassar will be back or not. They’ve both filed petitions for a sixth year.
Tom Johnston is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email taj5211@psu.edu.
