How the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club’s dominance led to bittersweet victory for 2 former Penn Staters

There is a price, on some level, to the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club’s dominance. One that was on display Saturday afternoon in the bowels of the Bryce Jordan Center.

There stood Zain Retherford, bloodied and bandaged, speaking to the media after his victory in the 65 kg finals at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. And 10 yards away stood NLWC head coach Jake Varner with his arms wrapped around Retherford’s teammate and opponent Nick Lee, the unfortunate victim that stood in Retherford’s path to his Olympic dream.

The club and program’s dominance ultimately produced two winners from the weekend’s team trials who both spent their college career at PSU before joining the NLWC. But it also ended up with two wrestlers who lost to their teammates in the finals after spending similar sweat equity with the program and club.

That is the price — a club so talented that in a competition with so few weights that teammates will eventually dash the dreams of their own.

Even in victory, it was evident that there was pain for Retherford.

“It is tough,” he said. “Nick Lee is a brother to me. We were roommates in his freshman year. ... He’s been my training partner. ... He’s just a great human being. It’s an unfortunate part about six classes. You’re gonna butt heads. Nothing but love for Nick Lee. He’ll always be a brother to me.”

Just 24 hours prior, the pair shared mutual joy wrestling in the semifinals Friday night in side-by-side mats. Lee was waiting for a replay to confirm his victory when Retherford wrapped up his win. As he celebrated, he made eye contact with his teammate and pointed at him in celebration.

And there are others from the club who didn’t have their college careers at PSU — Kyle Dake, Thomas Gilman and Kyle Snyder also represent it, but spent their college careers at Cornell, Iowa and Ohio State, respectively — but who harbor that same bond with their teammates.

Gilman, fresh off a loss to Spencer Lee in the 57 kg finals, came up to Retherford for a hug during his media availability, with Retherford telling his NLWC teammate that he loved him.

“That man right there, Thomas Gilman,” Lee said, taking a deep breath to compose himself. “He’s a world class human being. I wanted to do this one more time with these guys. And it’s been a lot of fun.”

The ‘one more time’ Retherford referenced wasn’t always a guarantee. He almost didn’t compete this year, with retirement a likely option before a game plan from Penn State assistant coach Cody Sanderson set the wheels in motion for him to give it a go.

The allure of the Olympics, and of his teammates, led to him making the call to compete.

But it wasn’t just finalists like Gilman who stuck around, either. Carter Starocci, who was eliminated Friday, came back Saturday to watch his teammates compete, including Aaron Brooks — who, like Starocci, won his fourth NCAA title in March.

Brooks defeated all-time great David Taylor to secure his spot on the Olympic team and shared a moment on the mat with his teammate afterward.

Both rested on their knees after the final bout, with Brooks hugging him and delivering a heartfelt message.

“I told him I love him,” Brooks said. “... It’s been a blessing to be around him.”

Starocci looked on from the lower level seats as Brooks secured the win over Taylor and was able to find plenty of joy in his longtime teammates’ success.

The Nittany Lion, who has said he’s yet to make a decision on his future but is 60/40 with the lean toward returning to Penn State, told the Centre Daily Times how much Brooks’ win means to him, despite his stay in the tournament coming to an end sooner.

“It’s different,” Starocci told the CDT. “It’s almost like I’m cheering for him more, just because he’s a good dude, through and through. I’ve watched him grow into a man. It’s awesome to see and I’m really happy for him. I’m proud of him and I can’t be more excited.”

Starocci said there’s difficulty in watching matchups like the one between Taylor and Brooks because of the relationship he has with them.

“It’s definitely something that you don’t really know how to navigate,” Starocci said. “Because it’s not something that you can prepare for or know how to operate. Because you want both of those guys to achieve their goals and dreams. It’s just one of those things where you kind of just hope for the best for both of them.”

That’s the price the wrestlers pay. They’re getting world class training ahead of competitions and putting themselves in prime position to succeed by going to the NLWC.

But to achieve their goals, they have to rip them away from people they grow close with.

And at a club as dominant as the NLWC in men’s freestyle, it’s a price that almost any great wrestler has to pay.

Jon Sauber

Centre Daily Times

(814) 231-6461

Jon Sauber covers Penn State football and men’s basketball for the Centre Daily Times. He earned his B.A. in digital and print journalism from Penn State and his M.A. in sports journalism from IUPUI. His previous stops include jobs at The Indianapolis Star, the NCAA, and Rivals.