NCAA’s ‘Most Dominant Wrestler’ Zain Retherford of Penn State is back to defend his title

Retherford takes down Iowa's Brandon Sorensen en route  to winning the 2016 NCAA title at 149 pounds. Photo: Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com

“You are your own worst enemy,” Allen Retherford would say, standing over his 13-year-old son Zain, who was holding the down position of a pushup in the kitchen. He was at the tail end of his 1,000 pushups for the night.


It was a tactic Allen used to motivate his son to give his best effort at all times. It was a strategy that Zain bought into at a young age and one that has kept him on the path to success.


“My dad saying that was basically asking ‘how badly do you want to win?’” Retherford said. “I wanted to win so I did it to myself. I held that position as long as I could. If I fall, it’s one me, and I just want to get the best out of what I could do at that point. It definitely made me hungry for wrestling. I liked it and kept coming back for more.”


Retherford, who was named the 2016 Most Dominant Wrestler by the NCAA, based upon season-long statistics, had a sold work ethic instilled in him at a young age.


He grew up as a farm kid, working at his parents’ produce stand in a flea market. When he wasn’t at wrestling camp, he was pulling weeds or moving rocks out in the sun.


To him, wrestling, although equally hard work, became a luxury.


“Working on the farm made me appreciate wrestling because it was hard work,” Retherford said. “I would be out in the fields all summer working if I wasn’t at wrestling camp. All the other kids would be crying about wrestling camp and be ready to go home, but I thought it was sweet because I got to wrestle and didn’t have to work.”


Retherford played several sports growing up, and decided at a young age to add wrestling to his resume, although it wasn’t what he expected.


“I think the thing that sparked my interest was that my friends were doing it. I thought it was WWE at first. Watching The Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin inspired me. I realized quickly that it wasn’t the same thing, but I still liked it a lot,” he said with a chuckle.


About fifth grade, Retherford noticed that kids his age started to get bigger with each passing year and he remained smaller. He decided wrestling was the best path for him. He dropped the other sports and pursued wrestling full force.


“One night after I did my pushups, my dad sat me down and asked what I wanted to do, if I wanted to run with this wrestling thing and try to get a scholarship to college,” Retherford said. “That was pretty much my ticket out of farm life. That talk was pretty much a turning point for me. I wrote down my goals and my parents worked with me to reach them. The next year, I finally won my first PJW state title.”


Club practice after club practice, Retherford saw posters of NCAA champions on the walls of the facility, and at 9 years old, he decided to strive for the pinnacle of college wrestling.


“When I saw them, I thought, ‘wow, I want to be that guy someday.’ This isn’t something that I just envisioned last year. It’s been years in the making for me,” Retherford said.


In 2016, Retherford made that dream a reality, winning his first NCAA title as a redshirt sophomore for Penn State under Cael Sanderson.


As a freshman, Retherford put together a perfect record, heading into championship season. He took second to four-time NCAA champion Logan Stieber of Ohio State at the Big Ten Championships and finished fifth at the NCAA tournament. His most notable win came over Stieber in the dual against Ohio State. It was the last loss Stieber suffered in his collegiate career.


During 2014-15 season, he took a redshirt year to put on size and perfected his technique, taking the year off from any competition.


This past year, Retherford came back hungry to compete, compiling an unblemished season that saw him earn a Big Ten title, an NCAA title and a second-place finish in the Hodge Trophy voting. He emerged as one of the most dominant wrestlers in the country as 29 of his 34 wins came with bonus points attached, including seven major decisions, seven technical falls and 15 pins.


Not only did Retherford capture an individual title in 2016 but the Nittany Lion squad also took home its fifth NCAA team title in six years. It was the second time Retherford was part of a championship team—something most college wrestlers can only dream about.


“That’s our goal at the end of the year,” he said. “To do that with your teammates that you work hard with and hang out with every day is a pretty great feeling. There was a lot of momentum. Nico (Megaludis) was coming in hungry and ready to go, and we also had some tough freshmen that were stepping into the lineup like Jason Nolf and Bo Nickal. The whole team was eager to compete all season. It was a lot of fun.”


The work ethic he established as a child helped him stay focused on his goals and do everything to get him there.


“Coming into practice every day, you should carry a similar mindset as when you’re competing,” Retherford said. “I can’t control any of what people say or think about me, but I can control whether or not I win an NCAA title through my wrestling. I just have to stay present, focused, clear on what I want and block out all the garbage.”


His national-championship performance earned him a bid to compete at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.


Although he won a 2012 FILA Cadet World championship in freestyle, he was relatively new to the Senior-level scene, having only competed in one major Senior freestyle competition, the Dave Schultz International, prior to the Olympic Trials.


Competing in an incredibly deep 65 kg weight class, Retherford finished in third place, securing him on the U.S. National Team roster. His training partner Frank Molinaro earned the Olympic spot.


“I wanted to be the guy, going into the Olympic Trials. I expected to do well,” Retherford said. “I don’t go into stuff like that and not expect to perform. There were a lot of good guys at that weight. It was a pretty dense weight class. Being able to finish top three, I was pretty excited with that being my first go at it. Wrestling is wrestling to me so Folkstyle or freestyle doesn’t matter. If it’s a competition on the world stage, that’s a place I want to be.”


While he has his eye on the prize of being a World and Olympic champion one day, his focus is on his immediate future and taking home another NCAA title, a journey he’s excited to embark on.


“It’s a new season and I’m ready to compete again. I think everyone on the team is feeling the same way and ready to get this thing started,” he said. “I’m looking forward to traveling and, believe it or not, I’m looking forward to making weight. I’m excited about every aspect of it. I love this time of year, and I think the team is the same way. They’re competitive and eager to compete. This year I’ll just to continue to give my best effort. All I can do is focus on every match and take it one at a time like I did last season. I have to be present, stay focused and go get what I want.”


This year, Retherford is viewed as a Hodge Trophy frontrunner and NCAA favorite at 149 pounds. His dominance and dedication on the wrestling mat goes back to what he learned on a little produce farm in Pennsylvania all those years ago. He stays true to his roots and returns to it whenever he can.


“I like to go home and help my parents on the farm when I have a free weekend. They don’t have a lot of help. It’s mainly them running the show,” he said. “When I have free time, I like to give them a hand. When I come back to school, even if I have an exam or a paper due or a tough match coming up, I think ‘man, this is easy, a lot easier than being on the farm.’”