Best Ever PSU wrestler

[wrestlingnerd 2,579]

Cenzo has a solid shot at making this topic irrelevant. Definitely not the guy I would’ve picked even a year ago, but after two Imart beatdowns in a row, you cannot deny the man. I think it’ll be Cenzo in two years.

Edited August 1, 2018 by wrestlingnerd

[Billyhoyle 1,946]

Not a knock on Zain and you can only beat who they put on the mat to oppose you, but he never faced anyone like Kyle Dake.

 

Zain is awesome still.

Stieber?  

[steen-hooph 57]

Aaron Brooks TBD.

[WillieBoy 712]

If you go ONLY when officially wrestling for PSU, who would you pick?

 

 

Zain Retherford-  126-3 with a nearly 75% bonus rate and finishes of 5th,1st,1st,1st

 

Ed Ruth-136-3 with a bonus rate of nearly 80% and finishes of 3rd,1st,1st,1st

 

-----------------------------------------------------

 

It is the difference in Bonus rate and the 5th/3rd finish the first year that does it for me.

 

Both were exciting to watch. Same with many of the others on the list.

 

Penn State under Coach Sanderson is building a legacy few have or will ever match.

[Billyhoyle 1,946]

If you go ONLY when officially wrestling for PSU, who would you pick?

 

 

Zain Retherford-  126-3 with a nearly 75% bonus rate and finishes of 5th,1st,1st,1st

 

Ed Ruth-136-3 with a bonus rate of nearly 80% and finishes of 3rd,1st,1st,1st

 

-----------------------------------------------------

 

It is the difference in Bonus rate and the 5th/3rd finish the first year that does it for me.

 

Both were exciting to watch. Same with many of the others on the list.

 

Penn State under Coach Sanderson is building a legacy few have or will ever match.

I go with Zain because all of his losses were during the true freshman year.  

Edited August 1, 2018 by Billyhoyle

[silver-medal 668]

PSU has put astonishing talents on the mat in recent years.  Joseph, Hall, Nickal and Nolf will all be returning and not one of them had more than a couple close matches last season.  Retherford just finished up one of the most dominant careers in NCAA history.  Ruth and Taylor were equally spectacular.  I don't have a clue who to pick as best of that bunch although Joseph can "win" the argument if he ends up a four timer.  

 

Cael does amazing work with his prize recruits.  He's as impressive as a coach as he was as a competitor.  

[HurricaneWrestling 1,123]

 

D.D. Detar, captain of Penn State's first national championship team (front row, middle).   Detar became head coach the following year.  He was better than Ruth, Taylor, Nolf, etc.  Detar was also undefeated against Dake.

Edited August 2, 2018 by HurricaneWrestling

[Eagle26 407]

Right now it's Ed Ruth. Next year it will probably be a debate between Nolf, Nickal, and Ruth with Nolf likely getting most of the votes assuming he dominates everyone this year. If Joseph becomes a 4 timer I think you have to give that title to him even though he wasn't as dominate as the others. You just can't count any of the current guys now because nothing is a guarantee and you don't how they will finish. So the correct answer is Ed Ruth.

[Eagle26 407]

Cary Kolat

This would probably be the answer if the OP asked who was the best wrestler to ever wear the Penn State singlet. But he said counting only the years they were at penn state. Kolat never won a national title for PSU so he's not in the conversation for that.

[TBar1977 3,676]

My reference to Zain's opposition was his three unbeaten years. Should have been more clear.

[JHRoseWrestling 134]

Is it college career? Pretty easy to quantify as detailed above. If we're talking best guy while still in college, please record one vote for peak Ruth. The subjective eye test tells me he was, for a time, the p4p best of this lot.

[Billyhoyle 1,946]

My reference to Zain's opposition was his three unbeaten years. Should have been more clear.

How good was Taylor’s opposition in his two unbeaten years? No better than Zain’s.

[cjc007 616]

How good was Taylor’s opposition in his two unbeaten years? No better than Zain’s.

4 time B1G champ is the tie breaker in Ruth's favor over Zain or Nolf.

 

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

[TBar1977 3,676]

How good was Taylor’s opposition in his two unbeaten years? No better than Zain’s.

I am comparing Zain's last 3 yrs vs Taylor's last 3 years. With no Dake, Taylor also would have been unbeaten those last 3 yrs.

[wrestlingnerd 2,579]

You can’t talk about DT without mentioning he lost to one of the very best ever. How that’s even arguable is beyond me. He would’ve easily been the best PSU guy ever if not for Dake, in my opinion.

Edited August 2, 2018 by wrestlingnerd

[Lurker 1,263]

Not a knock on Zain and you can only beat who they put on the mat to oppose you, but he never faced anyone like Kyle Dake.

 

Zain is awesome still.

Well he did lose to, but also beat, a four time NCAA champ and would be world champ. In all fairness to everyone, Taylor never beat Dake and (to this point) Dake hasn’t won a world championship. Zain gets the nod on this one.

[cjc007 616]

Zain would have been a 4 time champ if he redshirted his true freshman year.

 

Well he did lose to, but also beat, a four time NCAA champ and would be world champ. In all fairness to everyone, Taylor never beat Dake and (to this point) Dake hasn’t won a world championship. Zain gets the nod on this one.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

[wrestlingnerd 2,579]

Well he did lose to, but also beat, a four time NCAA champ and would be world champ. In all fairness to everyone, Taylor never beat Dake and (to this point) Dake hasn’t won a world championship. Zain gets the nod on this one.

But DT beat an Olympic champ at home. Whether you think that was at a JV event or not (I don’t), it’s significant and he has backed that up ever since. Anyway, these arguments about what happened years after college hold little water to me, but DT still has a very good if not better case even with those future outcomes considered.

Edited August 2, 2018 by wrestlingnerd

[TBar1977 3,676]

You can’t talk about DT without mentioning he lost to one of the very best ever. How that’s even arguable is beyond me. He would’ve easily been the best PSU guy ever if not for Dake, in my opinion.

 

This.

 

Zain lost 2x to Stieber and 1x to Port. Taylor 2x to Dake and 1x to Jenkins. Pretty much similar results. The best part isn't the 3 L's, it is the 100+ wins for each of them almost all of which are via bonus. 

Edited August 2, 2018 by TBar1977

[WRfan1 142]

Based on college only, its Ruth.  Highest average placing, only 3 loses, ridiculous bonus percentage. 

[TBar1977 3,676]

Based on college only, its Ruth.  Highest average placing, only 3 loses, ridiculous bonus percentage. 

 

If Nolf runs the table this year he will eclipse Ruth, and one of Nolf's losses isn't a loss in the sense most of us think of wins and losses. He'd have won that match via bonus had he not got injured. I guess you could say the same for the Ruth loss at NCAA as there was an injury involved in that too. 

[Perry 1,175]

Sanshiro Abe has my vote for going 4,3,2,1 in order

[Cletus_Tucker 889]

I wont go into "ever" but the best I've seen at Penn State is Taylor.   Zain is  close in terms of "best" but   Taylor gets it.   Too many images of a high schooler beating Zain down time and time again for me to give it to him.  

[pennsyrules 209]

What high schooler did Zain lose to in college?  Also, regarding DT's losses, I would factor in that Zain never lost after his freshman year and his win over Stieber as a freshman was very more impressive than DT's wins.  Plus DT has 2 titles to Zain's 3.  I will say based on arguments presented at this point, Ruth would be the closest to Retherford.

 

Now, after next year, Nolf is real close and if Cenzo runs the table and especially if he doesnt' lose, he's got to be the top guy.

 

 

ps, didn't John Hughes finish 1,2,3,4?

[cjc007 616]

What high schooler did Zain lose to in college? Also, regarding DT's losses, I would factor in that Zain never lost after his freshman year and his win over Stieber as a freshman was very more impressive than DT's wins. Plus DT has 2 titles to Zain's 3. I will say based on arguments presented at this point, Ruth would be the closest to Retherford.

 

Now, after next year, Nolf is real close and if Cenzo runs the table and especially if he doesnt' lose, he's got to be the top guy.

 

 

ps, didn't John Hughes finish 1,2,3,4?

But, if Zain doesnt redshirt he's likely only a two time champ.

 

It's very subjective, but I'll go with Ed Ruth best in NCAA with McCoy being the best overall.

 

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk