UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Sophomore wrestler Bo Nickal has been named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week for the week ending Feb. 20. The honor is the fourth for Nickal, who won twice last year and now twice this year, and the third for Penn State this season.
Nickal continued his torrid 2016-17 by pinning #4 Nolan Boyd of Oklahoma State in just 0:38 to lead Penn State to the NWCA Dual Championship Series title. Nickal's pin was one of seven Nittany Lion victories in Penn State's dominating 27-13 win in Stillwater in front of an OSU record crowd of 14,059. Nickal caught Boyd quickly in a cradle and flattened the fourth-ranked Cowboy for his 13th fall of the year and sparked Penn State to its second straight NWCA National Dual title. Nickal is now 18-0 on the year and finished the dual season 14-0. He did not give up a takedown in a dual meet all season long. His 18-0 mark includes 13 pins and three majors.
Penn State finished its dual season with a perfect 14-0 mark, won the 2017 Big Ten regular season (dual meet) crown and the NWCA National Dual title. The Nittany Lions have won 31 straight duals dating back to the end of the 2014-15 campaign.
The Nittany Lions, now Big Ten regular season (dual meet) champions and 2017 NWCA National Dual Meet Champions, will prep for the 2017 Big Ten Wrestling Championships on March 4-5. The two-day event, which serves as the NCAA qualifier for the conference, takes place at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. Penn State is the defending Big Ten champion and has won five of the last six Big Ten crowns.