Jason Nolf finished his freshman season with a record of 33-2 (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Nolf was the top vote-getter on a total of seven ballots out of ten, for a total of 82 votes. Although Nittany Lion teammate Bo Nickal did not receive any first-place nominations, he placed second in the overall vote totals, with 56. Ohio State's Myles Martin was listed at the top of the remaining three InterMat staff members' ballots, earning a total of 45 votes.
When Jason Nolf committed to wrestle at Penn State in the summer of 2013, one media report at the time described the three-time Pennsylvania state champ from Kittanning High as being a "baby-faced assassin" who will "get his hand raised often at Rec Hall [home gym for the Nittany Lion wrestling program]." Coming off a redshirt freshman year where he lost only one match (the finals at the Southern Scuffle), Nolf made a major impact this season, compiling a 33-2 record in 2015-16, including 15 pins, 11 tech falls, and five major decisions. He made headlines in January by pinning defending 157-pound champ Isaiah Martinez of Illinois in a regular-season bout, snapping Imar's 61-match win streak. Nolf's only two losses the entire season were to the Fighting Illini Martinez (last year's InterMat Freshman of the Year) in the 2016 Big Ten Wrestling Championships finals, and in the title bout at the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.
"Though he came up short in the NCAA finals, Jason Nolf captivated wrestling fans this year by not only pinning previously undefeated Imar, but dominating all other opponents," according to InterMat senior writer T.R. Foley. "He is special and the next three years are sure to be exciting."
On Wednesday, InterMat revealed it had selected Nolf's teammate Zain Retherford as its 2016 Wrestler of the Year. The website will announce its choice for Coach of the Year in the coming days.
2016 InterMat Freshman of the Year Voting Results
1st-5th Place Votes: 9-7-5-3-1
Total Votes/(First-Place Votes)
1. Jason Nolf (Penn State) 82 (7)
2. Bo Nickal (Penn State) 56
3. Myles Martin (Ohio State) 45 (3)
4. Joey McKenna (Stanford) 29
5. Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech) 17
6. Daniel Lewis (Missouri) 10
7. Joe Smith (Oklahoma State) 7
8. David McFadden (Virginia Tech) 3
9. Brett Velasquez (St. Cloud State) 1
Past Winners -- InterMat Freshman of the Year
2015: Isaiah Martinez, Illinois
2014: Jason Tsirtsis, Northwestern
2013: Alex Dieringer, Oklahoma State
2012: Logan Stieber, Ohio State
2011: David Taylor, Penn State
2010: Kyle Dake, Cornell
2009: Andrew Howe, Wisconsin
2008: Mike Grey, Cornell
2007: Jake Varner, Iowa State
2006: Dustin Schlatter, Minnesota
 
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