NEWTON, Iowa — Penn State’s Zain Retherford for the second straight year has won the Hodge Trophy, given to the nation’s top college wrestler.
The three-time NCAA champion received 35 of 48 votes from a panel of journalists, former winners and retired coaches.
Retherford won titles this season at the Keystone Classic, Southern Scuffle and the Big Ten meet before winning the national meet at 149 pounds. He finished his career with a record of 126-3.
Retherford joined Ben Askren, former Penn State star David Taylor and his coach, Cael Sanderson, as the only multiple recipients of Hodge award, which is considered the Heisman Trophy of wrestling.
Nittany Lion Bo Nickal was second in the voting, followed by Seth Gross of South Dakota State.