Penn State's Bo Nickal wins U.S. Open title
Penn State senior Bo Nickal won five consecutive matches on his way to winning the 92 kg U.S. Open National Championship in Las Vegas.
He defeated 2018 197-pound NCAA champion Mike Macchiavello in the semifinals and then beat Hayden Zillmer, 13-3, in the finals. Nickal, who recently became a three-time NCAA champion, received a bye into the finals of the 2019 World Team Trials challenge tournament this summer.
Penn State wrestlers are competing for the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club.
Freshman Roman Bravo-Young finished second in the 61 kg weight class in the UWW National Championship in Vegas. He had won five consecutive matches before falling in the finals. Bravo-Young finished eighth at 133 pounds, earning All-American honors.
Senior Jason Nolf (Kittanning) went 6-1 at 70 kg. He lost a 6-6 criteria decision to two-time world medalist James Green in the semifinals. Nolf rebounded from the last-second loss to take the bronze medal.
Nolf, a four-time NCAA finalist, won his third NCAA title in March at PPG Paints Arena.
Redshirt freshman Mason Manville also earned a bronze medal for placing third in Greco at 77 kg. He went 4-1.
Redshirt freshman Jarod Verkleeren (Hempfield) placed fifth in Greco at 67 kg.
Nolf, Manville and Verkleeren have qualified for the World Team Trials later this summer.
Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.
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