Bo Nickal selected as USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week

Bo Nickal (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC) has been selected as USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week on Nov. 5, 2019.

Nickal won a gold medal at 92 kg in men’s freestyle at the 2019 U23 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

A three-time NCAA champion and 2019 Hodge Trophy recipient, Nickal went 4-0 at his first international competition since 2013.

In the first round, Nickal defeated returning U23 World bronze medalist Hossein Shahbazigazvar of Iran, 12-2. He followed it up with a pin in 1:13 over Takumi Tanizaki of Japan.

In the semifinals, Nickal rolled past reigning U23 World Champion Shamil Zubairov of Azerbaijan, 9-1.

For the U23 title, Nickal dominated 2019 Russia Nationals champion Batyrbek Tsakulov of Russia with another 12-2 technical fall.

With the win, the three-time NCAA champion for Penn State became only the second U23 World gold medalist in any style in U.S. history. He also qualified for the 2020 Olympic Team Trials, set for April 4-5 in State College, Pa.

Each week USA Wrestling will select an Athlete of the Week based upon performance within wrestling for that week. The selection committee will consider any level of wrestling from youth programs through the senior level. Twitter fan votes also play a part in decision.

To nominate a wrestler for this honor please send the athlete's name, wrestling program, weekly accomplishments and career accolades to USA Wrestling Communications Coordinator Taylor Miller at tmiller@usawrestling.org.