A teenager from Benton, Pennsylvania understood the key ingredient to becoming a champion. He would then follow the recipe throughout his journey toward clinching gold on the world stage. From being a young wrestler conquering national titles to conquering the World Championship, this athlete’s story is one to remember.

A champion is not made in a day, but the mindset of a champion is set in the initial days. The secret ingredient is perseverance. Doing the hard work again and again, until it becomes muscle memory. Nobody is born a champion but everyone can work their way to become one. It is all about putting in the work through the journey and this is exactly what Zain Retherford stands for.

Retherford humble beginnings: Just a boy from Benton

“Never take anything for granted, it could always be taken away from you” Eleven years ago, a teenage champion Zain Allen Retherford said these words, which we still resonate with today. After winning the Super 32, Zain Retherford already laid the foundation of being a world champion. His throwback video was posted by Flowrestling on Twitter (now X). The Super 32 is what the rankings in North Carolina were called, 32 wrestlers were ranked at each weight. This inspired tournament directors Dave Barker and Sara Koening in 2000 to name the tournament “Super 32.” In 2012 the boy from Benton, Zain Allen Retherford after his fourth shot won the super 32 at 138. His perseverance and passion for wrestling is what pulled him to his goal.

He dominated the competition by achieving a flawless 47-0 record at Benton High School, culminating in a remarkable 130-3 overall career record, which included two state championships. In his freshman year, he clinched the PIAA title with an outstanding 40-1 record, and he secured a third-place finish as a sophomore. Zain Retherford joined Penn State after an impressive high school wrestling career in 2013. As he transitioned to Penn State, he was anticipated to compete at the 141-pound weight class.

World Champion Zain Retherford

Zain Allen Retherford is now an exceptional freestyle wrestler and a former Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling great. After taking home silver last year Zain returned with one goal; to clinch the top honors of the United World Wrestling 2023. The tournament was taking place in Belgrade, Serbia. He defeated Iranian wrestler Amir Mohammad Yazdani 8:5 in the final bout.

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It was an undefeated 4-0 tournament run for Zain. He ended the title run with a thrilling and exciting win over Iran’s Amir Mohammad Yazdani. It was an impressive undefeated run for Zain Retherford as he went on to defeat wrestlers from other parts of the world. The champion’s journey of Retherford is very impressive, from being a super 32 champion to being the world champion. The goals were met, visions set, championship achieved. Olympic gold medalist and champion wrestler, fellow Nittany Lion David Taylor also dominated his division winning the gold at world championship. From the “Super 32” championship belt to the “World Championship” Zain Retherford is now one of the most decorated wrestling greats of the nation.

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