former pennsylvania state university national wrestling champion mark hall announced his retirement From sports at the U.S. Olympic Trials on Saturday.
Hall wrestled Trent Hidley in the 86kg repechage and fought his way back to a third-place finish. He ended the tournament with a 9-4 loss.
After the match, he became emotional and walked away without putting on his shoes, a symbolic gesture for the sport of wrestling.
Hall had a storied career as a wrestler from a young age. The 27-year-old is a six-time state champion in Minnesota, winning high school titles in seventh and eighth grade.
The book was quickly translated at Penn State University during his college years. As a freshman in 2016-17, Hall was expected to redshirt, but head coach Cael Sanderson was impressed.
The Nittany Lions eventually redshirted him, but he ultimately pulled through and won the NCAA title at 174 pounds. He upset his future rival Zahid Valencia (Arizona State University) in the semifinals before defeating Ohio State's Bo Jordan.
The following year, Hall advanced to the NCAA finals undefeated. He would face Valencia again, but Valencia won by an 8-2 decision, leaving Hall as runner-up.
The two sides will clash twice again from 2018 to 2019. Hall defeated him 4-0 in the regular season, but lost 4-3 in the NCAA finals, his only loss of the year.
Hall is a three-time NCAA finalist and won the title in 2017. Despite a 22-1 record and a No. 1 seed in 2020, Hall was unable to compete in the NCAA. The tournament was canceled at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hall finished his collegiate career with a record of 115-6, making him one of the most decorated wrestlers in team history.
After his college career ended, Hall focused solely on freestyle wrestling. He won the US Open in 2021 and eventually the World Cup in 2022.
However, he was not selected for the Olympic team in his lifetime.he pen He joined the coaching staff as an assistant coach in 2021 and trained at the Pennsylvania Regional Training Center.
As for the future, if this is indeed the end of his wrestling career, Hall will likely end up wandering the sidelines for Penn in 2024-2025.
