ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Bo Nickal, who spent eight years of his childhood in Torrington and now wrestles for Penn State, capped off his 31-1 record at 184 pounds with an NCAA national championship in St. Louis, Missouri on March 18.
Nickal posted a 26-1 record throughout the winter, earning him the second seed at 184 pounds for the national tournament. He won his first match via a 15-0 technical fall in the second period. Nickal pinned his next opponent at the 5:34 mark, advancing to the quarterfinals, where he pinned University of Nebraska’s T.J. Dudley in the
second period.
In the semi-finals, Nickal had his shortest match of the tournament, pinning Iowa’s Sammy Brooks in just over a minute. Nickal faced off against Cornell’s Gabe Dean, who was the No. 1 seed at 184 pounds, in the championship match. It was a closely contested battle, but Nickal came out on top, winning by a 4-3 decision.
“I’m just trying to be myself out there and give 100 percent and that is all I can ask of myself,” Nickal said.
Nickal began developing his wrestling style in Torrington. He was born in Rifle, Colo., but moved to Torrington when he was three. He spent a lot of time on the mat as a kid in Torrington. He started in the youth wrestling program when he was five.
The Nittany Lions wrestling career started when he was five, but the bug was planted much earlier, as wrestling runs through his blood. Gary Nickal, Bo’s grandfather who still lives in Torrington, and Jason Nickal, Bo’s father, both wrestled and coached for Torrington.
“I’m a true believer in generational wrestling,” Jason said. “It just seems like one of those sports that helps if you come from a wrestling family.”
Gary was a high school state champion wrestler in Nebraska, taking the 138-pound title for Scottsbluff, Neb. He went on to wrestle at the college level in Colorado. He moved to Torrington in 1977 and immediately began coaching for the Trailblazers. Gary coached football, wrestling and track until he retired in 2005.
“I like coaching all the sports, but wrestling was my first,” Gary said. “It’s so challenging and it really
takes discipline.”
Jason spent his high school wrestling days in Torrington, where he graduated in 1989. He was a two-time state placer while on the mat for the Blazers. After graduating, Jason went on to play football for Chadron State. As a college graduate, Jason got right back into the wrestling room as a coach in Colorado. He came back in 1999 to coach the Trailblazers in football, wrestling and track. Under Jason’s direction, Torrington recorded two team state titles and four team state runner-ups.

“Growing up as a kid and seeing my dad coach the high schoolers and seeing their success made me want to get better,” Bo said.
Jason did not take all the credit for Bo’s athletic ability, noting that his wife, Sandy, had a big impact. Sandy was a two-sport athlete at the college level and rose to play basketball for San Diego State University. She also dabbled in wrestling and coached Bo on occasion if Jason was unavailable.
Having Jason as a father also gave Bo a look at some of the top wrestlers around. Jason took Bo to every state wrestling tournament for the first 18 years of his life. Jason also took his son to several NCAA tournaments starting when Bo was a young teenager.
“Those types of experiences are something he has always had,” Jason said. “It was a good opportunity to spend time with my son. I got to hang out with my son while I worked.”
Following his time in Torrington, Jason, with Bo and the rest of the family in tow, moved to New Mexico. The family moved to Texas by the time Bo was in high school. Jason was an assistant wrestling coach  for the school Bo wrestled at, meaning he could still help Bo on the mat.
“I’m always constantly saying stuff to him,” Jason said. “For his whole career, I think I’ve found a nice balance between being dad and coach. It’s hard to separate, but I think I’ve found the right times to turn the coach switch on and off.”
While wrestling in high school, Bo captured three state and three national titles. As a freshman, Bo wrestled at 125 pounds. He then went on to wrestle at 145 pounds his sophomore year and 160 pounds as a junior. By his senior campaign, Bo was up to the 170-pound weight class.
“High school is where I really started getting serious about wrestling,” Bo said. “A lot of credit goes to my dad for just believing in me.”
Bo got an offer to wrestle for Penn State and he jumped on the opportunity. He was redshirted during his freshman year, but continued to work in the wrestling room to get better.
“I’d say my redshirt year was my biggest year as far as growing,” Bo said. “It was a sink or swim environment.”
After his redshirt year, Bo took the mat for Penn State in competitive action at 174 pounds. He went 29-1 during the regular season, earning him the top seed for the wrestling championships. All five of his matches during the final tournament went the distance. He reached the championship match, but fell via an 11-9 decision against Miles Martin (Ohio State).
Bo has spent a lot of time on the mat since he started wrestling in Torrington at five years old, but he has still kept a solid mindset about the sport.
“I really just enjoy wrestling. That’s the reason I do it,” Bo said. “I don’t do it for a national championship or an Olympic championship or even to win, I just have fun.”
Although it has been several years since Bo has taken the mat in Torrington, he still has several ties to the area.
“There are just some really awesome people in Torrington,” he said.
“His younger years were here and that’s really what got him started,” Gary said. “He’s got a great fan base in Torrington and everywhere he has been.”
One bond Nickal made in Wyoming, Bryce Meredith, has excelled on the mat as well. Meredith wrestles for the Cowboys in Laramie and he competed in the NCAA national championships at 141 pounds. He went 4-2 and finished fourth in his weight class.
“It’s impressive to see two Wyoming kids have great success and I’m proud to represent the state,” Bo said.
Bo was one of Penn State’s five champions this year. The Nittany Lions have taken the team title in six of the past seven years, including in 2017.
Bo has two more years to rack up the national titles for Penn State after a first and second-place finish over the past two years.
“He has an opportunity for two more, but he just has to take it one match at a time,” Gary, who is hoping to make the trip to two more national championships after attending the 2016 and 2017
tournaments, said.