Penn State wrestler Zain Retherford on verge of cementing legacy as one of sport’s best

Zain Retherford is on the verge of history, just days away from cementing his legacy as one of college wrestling’s great athletes. Just don’t ask the Nittany Lion to talk about it.

The Penn State senior recoiled Monday at the mere though of his legacy, stifling a laugh before saying “No, no, no” when asked if he’s thought about how his collegiate career will be remembered ahead of the NCAA championships, which kick off noon Thursday in Cleveland.

“No, I think I just focus on wrestling and giving it my best,” he said. “What other people think is outside my control, so I just focus on what I can do.”

Retherford doesn’t have to do much talking because his accolades speak for themselves. He’s just two pins shy of Penn State’s all-time falls record. He would become just the second Nittany Lion in program history to win his third national championship. And the four-time All-American is on pace to become the third back-to-back Hodge Trophy winner.

He sets precedents more often than Saquon Barkley sets records and is a candidate for a weekly award virtually every Tuesday. Even Penn State coach and wrestling legend Cael Sanderson didn’t hold back in his praise for the softspoken Pennsylvania native.

“Zain will always be remembered as one of the great college wrestlers, certainly one of the best Penn State wrestlers for sure,” Sanderson said. “And he can only add to that this weekend.

“I don’t think he’s worried about his legacy, at least I hope not. I don’t think he is. You’ve heard him talk the last four years, he’s as down to earth as they get.”

Retherford didn’t want to talk about how much he’s meant to this program, or how fans of the blue-and-white will long remember him after he steps off the mat for the last time. He’s never done that before — “I’ve never really thought about stuff like that ever, really,” he said — and he’s not about to start now.

That’s where his greatness comes from, Sanderson and his teammates said, his consistency. Since high school, Retherford has set a simple goal that a lot of athletes eye but not many achieve: Work so hard that the word “potential” becomes an insult. Be the best you can; tap all of that potential.

“Zain’s one of those guys you’ve got to respect everything he does,” teammate Vincenzo Joseph said. “He just does everything right.”

Added teammate Mark Hall: “He’s just someone you want to put yourself around.”

Retherford hasn’t felt the sting of a loss since his true freshman season, when he dropped a 3-1 decision to Edinboro’s Mitchell Port, of Bellefonte, in the NCAA championship wrestlebacks. Since then, he’s won 58 straight bouts — the most among active wrestlers — and has gone 1,454 days without tasting defeat.

During that time, even as a true freshman when he lost three bouts, Retherford put any frustration aside and never grew angry. Sanderson took a few moments to recall if he had ever even seen his star athlete mad. After a few seconds, Sanderson chuckled to himself.

“He doesn’t really show that,” Sanderson said. “If someone scores on him in practice, I wouldn’t say he gets mad. He just speeds up. It’s usually not a good thing for his opponents. But I can’t say I’ve ever really seen him mad; it’s interesting.”

Retherford tries to approach every tournament, every dual and every bout in precisely the same way. That’s why Thursday, Friday and Saturday are no different than Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. He’s not putting any added importance on his final tournament than he did last season’s.

“Just looking at it like I would every other year, like another opportunity,” Retherford added. “Just excited for that.”

Sanderson said he couldn’t have predicted all this success back when Retherford was just a teenager with a dream. Sometimes, the coach said, wrestlers lose their fire as time goes on. But that never happened with Retherford; success was a journey and not a destination.

He didn’t sulk when he redshirted his second year with the program. His workouts didn’t let up after his first national title. And he wasn’t satisfied with his first Hodge Trophy.

Retherford has strived to bring the same intensity every day, and Sanderson said he’s succeeded. “He’s the same all the time,” the coach said. And, no matter what happens this week, that’ll be a big part of Retherford’s legacy — whether he thinks about that or not.

This story was originally published March 14, 2018 at 11:37 PM with the headline "Penn State wrestler Zain Retherford on verge of cementing legacy as one of sport’s best."