Penn State’s national championship-winning wrestling team, others to be honored at White House
Representatives of Penn State’s national championship-winning wrestling team are set to visit the White House on Friday to be recognized by President Donald Trump as part of NCAA Champions Day on Friday.
USA Wrestling announced Monday that NCAA champions Jason Nolf and Bo Nickal, along with Senior Associate Athletic Director Rick Kaluza and fellow 2019 team members Nick Nevills and Mason Manville are expected to represent Penn State as honored guests at the White House.
Nolf, Nickal and Nevills graduated in 2019, and Manville is taking an Olympic redshirt as he trains to make the Greco-Roman team this summer.
Current and former athletes from Rutgers, Arizona State, Cornell, Virginia Tech and Northern Iowa are also scheduled to attend Friday’s event, where they will meet President Donald Trump.
NCAA champions Nick Suriano from Rutgers and Yianni Diakomihalis from Cornell tweeted about their visit on Monday, describing the invitation an honor.
Some wrestlers, like Penn State’s heavyweight champion Anthony Cassar, are unable to attend the event with the 2019-20 NCAA season underway. The Nittany Lions will travel to Arizona State for a 9 p.m. Friday matchup.
Among Penn State’s other 2019 NCAA champions are Danae Rivers and Ally McHugh, who competed in track and field and swimming, respectively. Rivers placed first in the women’s indoor 800 meter run, and McHugh earned the national title for the 1650 freestyle at last year’s championships. It is unknown whether either will be attending.
While college wrestlers have been recognized by the president before, this is the first time all NCAA Division 1 wrestling champions have been invited to the White House, reports USA Wrestling.
Former Penn State wrestlers Geno Morelli, Jimmy Gulibon and Kade Moss, along with Kaluza, were recognized at the White House in 2017. The top-ranked Nittany Lions are pursuing their ninth championship in the past 10 years this season.
