Jason Nolf

Jason Michael Nolf (born January 10, 1996) is an American freestyle and former folkstyle wrestler. In freestyle, Nolf is the Pan American Champion at the 79-kilograms division. As a folkstyle wrestler, he is a three-time NCAA Division I Champion, four-time finalist and two-time Big Ten Champion.

Jason Nolf

Personal information
Full name	Jason Michael Nolf
Nationality	American
Born	January 10, 1996 Yatesboro, Pennsylvania, United States
Weight	157 lb (71 kg) 74 kg (163 lb) 79 kg (174 lb)
Sport
Country	United States
Sport	Wrestling
Event(s)	Freestyle and folkstyle
College team	Nittany Lions
Club	Nittany Lion Wrestling Club
Coached by	Cael Sanderson
Medal record Men's freestyle wrestling Representing  United States Pan American Championships 2020 Ottawa 79 kg US Open Championships 2019 Las Vegas 70 kg Collegiate Wrestling Representing the Penn State Nittany Lions NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships 2016 New York City 157 lb 2017 St. Louis 157 lb 2018 Cleveland 157 lb 2019 Pittsburgh 157 lb Big Ten Championships 2016 Iowa City 157 lb 2017 Bloomington 157 lb 2019 Minneapolis 157 lb

High school

Nolf attended Kittanning High School in where he was a three-sport athlete, lettering four times in wrestling, twice in cross country and once in track and field. He was also an Outstanding Student with a 4.5 GPA. As a wrestler, (apart from four-time letterman) he was a three-time PIAA champion and compiled a record of 176 wins and a lone loss (later avenging it) throughout his career. He was also a one-time captain of the varsity team.[1]

College

After graduating, Nolf was recruited by Pennsylvania State University to wrestle as a Nittany Lion.[2]

2014–15

Redshirt: and wrestled unattached in open tournaments, compiling a record of 15 wins and 1 defeat.[3]

2015–16

Freshman: Became the runner-up of the Big Ten Championships after losing to Isaiah Martinez in a tie-breaker loss. At the NCAA tournament, he dominantly made his way to the finals, where he ended up suffering a close 5–6 loss to Martinez again. He was named Freshman of the Year by Intermat and compiled a record of 33 wins and 2 losses, both coming from Martínez.[4]

2016–17

Sophomore: Became the Big Ten Conference Champion. At the NCAA Championships, he absolutely dominated with 2 technical falls, 1 fall and 2 majors to claim the title and help Penn State to win its sixth Team Championship.[5] After the tournament, he finished second at the NCAA Outstanding Wrestler after his teammate Zain Retherford won the award. He posted an undefeated record of 27 wins and no losses[6]

2017–18

Junior: Nolf reached the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Conference championships, however, he was forced to medical forfeit at the semis and finals.[7] At the NCAA championships, he downed five opponents (two wins by technical fall) to claim his second title in a row and help Penn State win its third Team Championship in a row. He finished the season with a record of 26 wins and 1 lone loss, which was an injury.[8]

2018–19

Senior: Became the Big Ten Conference Champion. At the NCAA Championships, he dominated his competition, defeating 5 opponents (2 wins coming by technical fall, 1 by fall and 1 by major) to claim his third consecutive title and once again help Penn State win his fourth consecutive title.[9]

Overall, Nolf is a three-time NCAA Champion, four-time finalist, four-time All-American and two-time Big Ten champion as a collegiate wrestler.[1] Two of his three losses came as a freshman, both against Isaiah Martinez and the last one was an injury default.[10]

Freestyle

Prior to competing as a senior, Nolf competed as a cadet and a junior, competing in prestigious tournaments such as the US Open and the United World Wrestling World Team Trials.

2017

After his sophomore season in college, Nolf competed at the US Open. He opened up with three technical falls before losing a tough 8–9 to two-time World Medalist James Green. He came back with a victory but came up short in the third-place match.[11]

After finishing fourth at the US Open, he qualified and competed at the US World Team Trials. He won his first match by technical fall but ended up losing to Jimmy Kennedy. He came back with a victory to earn a bronze medal at the tournament.[12]

2019

Coming fresh out of college, Nolf competed at the US Open. He teched four opponents prior to losing to James Green in a criterion decision. After the loss, he managed to come back and win his next two bouts to earn himself a bronze medal.[13]

Due to the medal he earned at the US Open, Nolf was able to compete at the World Team Trials Challenge and decided to move up to 74 kilograms.[14] He defeated his first three opponents and went on to face collegiate rival Isaiah Martinez in a best-of-three. He lost the first match but managed to come back with a victory, leading to a third bout in which he lost by technical fall.[15]

In his first senior international competition, Nolf competed at the Bill Farrell Memorial. He defeated four of his opponents (two of them by technical fall) to reach the finals in where he faced Isaiah Martinez. He lost the bout by technical fall to claim the silver medal of the tournament.

2020

In his first competition of the year, he competed at the prestigious Pan American Championships at the non-olympic 79 kilograms division. He defeated two opponents with a technical fall and a fall respectively to win the championship and qualify for the US Olympic Team Trials.[16]

Nolf was scheduled to compete at the US Olympic Team Trials on April at State College, Pennsylvania. However, the event was postponed for 2021 along with the Olympics due to the coronavirus pandemic.[17]

Nolf competed against the accomplished Jordan Oliver on June 28 at Rumble on the Rooftop.[18] He won the match by points.[19]

He returned to the mats against David McFadden on September 19, at the NLWC Event I.[20] He won the match on points.[21]

Nolf wrestled Bubba Jenkins on October 20, at the NLWC Event II.[22] He won the match with a 10-0 technical fall.[23]

Personal life

On June 30 of 2018 (at the age of 22), Nolf married Penn State women's soccer player Maddie Elliston.[1]

Awards and honors

2020

• Rumble on the Rooftop (79 kg)
• Pan American Championships (79 kg)

2019

• Bill Farrell Memorial (74 kg)
• US World Team Trials Challenge (74 kg)
• US Open (70 kg)
• NCAA Division I (157 lbs)
• Big Ten Conference (157 lbs)

2018

• NCAA Division I (157 lbs)

2017

• US World Team Trials (70 kg)
• NCAA Division I (157 lbs)
• Big Ten Conference (157 lbs)

2016

• NCAA Division I (157 lbs)
• Big Ten Conference (157 lbs)

Freestyle record

NCAA record

Stats

References

1. "Jason Nolf – Wrestling". Penn State University Athletics. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
2. "Penn State recruit Jason Nolf dominates, finishes high school career with third PIAA Championship gold medal". pennlive. March 8, 2014. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
3. Collegian, Sara Perlowitz | The Daily. "Greatness breeds greatness: How Cael Sanderson bred Jason Nolf and Bo Nickal into national champions". The Daily Collegian. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
4. "Nolf named InterMat Freshman of the Year". InterMat. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
5. "2017 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships" (PDF).
6. "Wrestler Awards handed out at NCAA championships | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
7. Collegian, Jake Aferiat | The Daily. "Penn State wrestling's Jason Nolf will medically forfeit rest of Big Ten tournament, report says". The Daily Collegian. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
8. "Penn State edges Ohio St. for seventh team title in eight years | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
9. "NCAA wrestling championships: Penn State wins 2019 national title | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
10. LLC, ACS. "Jason Nolf (Penn State) Profile". www.wrestlestat.com. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
11. "FLOARENA". arena.flowrestling.org. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
12. "See the results for the 2017 Junior and Senior World Team Trials wrestling event on FloWrestling.org". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
13. "FLOARENA". arena.flowrestling.org. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
14. "Nolf bumps up to 74 kg, plus other interesting stories leading into Raleigh's World Team Trials". Retrieved April 29, 2020.
15. "#FreestyleFriday: Relive Martinez and Nolf best-of-three series at World Team Trials". Retrieved April 29, 2020.
16. Collegian, Jake Aferiat | The Daily. "Penn State wrestling legend Jason Nolf qualifies for 2020 Olympic Team Trials". The Daily Collegian. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
17. "US Olympic Wrestling Trials At Bryce Jordan Center Postponed". Onward State. March 13, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
18. "Olympic hopefuls set to compete at Rumble on the Rooftop June 28". InterMat. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
19. Cain, Brandon M. (June 29, 2020). "Oklahoma State wrestling: Jordan Oliver gets upset by Jason Nolf at Rumble on the Rooftop". Cowboys Ride For Free. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
20. "NLWC Set to Host Freestyle Event Live On Rokfin September 19 | News & Updates | Nittany Lion Wrestling Club". www.nittanylionwrestlingclub.com. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
21. Collegian, Jake Aferiat | The Daily. "Nittany Lion Wrestling Club dominates at freestyle event taking nine of 13 bouts". The Daily Collegian. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
22. "Nittany Lion Wrestling Club on Instagram: "Oct 20th. Nolf v. Jenkins. Watch on Rokfin. Link in bio."". Instagram. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
23. PennLive, Jim Carlson | Special to (October 21, 2020). "NLWC wrestlers dominate Rofkin event in State College". pennlive. Retrieved October 21, 2020.

External links

• Jason Nolf's Rokfin Channel

• Jason Nolf at United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee
• Jason Nolf at United World Wrestling