Bo Nickal’s pin over Ohio State’s Myles Martin clinches the team title for Penn State

The last time Bo Nickal took on Ohio State’s Myles Martin in the NCAA finals was two years ago in New York.

Martin came out on top that year.

“I think about that match every day almost,” Nickal said. “It’s something that sticks in my mind. One of my goals was to be a four-time national champion coming to Penn State. So not being able to accomplish that, it hurts.”

Saturday night was a different story.

The duo started with a flurry of action. At one point, Nickal almost came off the raised mat trying to escape a Martin shot attempt.

Martin shot in and earned a takedown with 41 seconds remaining in thefirst period and nearly stuck Nickal. Nickal, though, stayed cool sunk in a reverse half, flipped Martin over for a reversal and stuck him in 2:29.

“I’ve been doing that move for a really long time,” Nickal said. “I try it a lot in practice, just messing around and play wrestling with guys and stuff like that. So it’s a position that I’m comfortable in. And I knew what I was doing. I didn’t have to think too much about it.”

The win gave Nickal his seventh over Martin in their collegiate careers.

For his efforts, Nickal was named the tournament’s most Outstanding Wrestler.

This story was originally published March 18, 2018 at 12:14 AM with the headline "Bo Nickal’s pin over Ohio State’s Myles Martin clinches the team title for Penn State."