Penn State University junior Bo Nickal, who spent eight years of his childhood in Torrington, picked up his second NCAA national title in as many years last weekend in Cleveland.
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CLEVELAND, Ohio – Penn State University junior Bo Nickal, who spent eight years of his childhood in Torrington, picked up his second NCAA national title in as many years last weekend in Cleveland.
Nickal started his tournament run with a 16-4 major decision over San Diego State’s Martin Mueller, before picking up a 10-4 decision over Central Michigan’s Jordan Ellingwood. In the quarterfinals, Maxwell Dean (Cornell) pushed Nickal to the final whistle, but the Nittany Lion secured the 13-7 win.
Nickal had his lowest scoring match of the tournament in the semi-finals, where he bested Michigan’s Domenic Abounder in a 6-3 decision, putting Nickal in the championship match at 184 pounds against second-seeded Myles Martin (Ohio State).
In the title match, Martin went for a throw against Nickal, but Nickal made him pay by rolling through and ending the match at the 2:29-mark with a pin.
The win made Nickal the back-to-back 184-pound national champion. He is a three-time all-American, finishing second at the hands of OSU’s Martin during the 2016 campaign. Nickal finished this year with a 31-0 record, putting his career mark at 90-3.
Not only did Nickal pick up an individual title, but he cemented a team title for the Nittany Lions. The championship pin by Nickal secured the top team spot for Penn State, a team that has won the team title in seven of the past eight years.
As a three-time all-American and two-time national champion, Nickal has grown a lot since his time in Torrington, where he started wrestling at five years old. After leaving Torrington, Nickal spent time in New Mexico before heading to Texas, where he won three state titles and three national titles.
Nickal still has ties to Torrington. His grandfather, Gary, who still lives in the area, and his father, Jason, both coached Torrington sports, including wrestling. Jason spent time on the mat as a Blazer, placing at the state tournament twice. After college, he returned to Torrington and coached the wrestling team to two state team titles and four state runner-up finishes.
As a junior with two national championships under his belt, Nickal still has one season with Penn State to try and shoot for a three-peat.
