UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State Nittany Lion wrestler Mark Hall won the 74 kg title at the 2016 Junior World Wrestling Championships in Macon, France. Hall is a true freshman on head coach Cael Sanderson's squad this year.
The six-time Minnesota state high school champion opened up his tournament with a 3-2 win over Japan's Yajuro Yamasaki. He then hammered Ukraine's Roman Zinchenko, posting a 10-0 technical fall in the quarterfinals. The new Nittany Lion rolled to the semifinals with a second straight tech fall, a 12-1 victory over Georgia's Tariel Gaphrindashvili. He then posted a 5-5 win over Murad Suleymanov of Azerbaijan in the semifinals. In the championship finals, Hall took just :31 to post a 10-0 technical fall (his third in four matches during his title run) over Iran's Yousef Bazrighaleh. Hall outscored his international competition 40-8.
Hall, winner of the 2016 Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award, became the first person ever to win six Minnesota State High School Championships. He concluded an amazing high school career with a 277-4 record, including 171 consecutive wins and 189 career pins.