Penn State Wrestling recently concluded its regular wrestling season on a solid note with fifteen consecutive victories, including the mammoth victory against the Princeton Tigers. However, the joyous occasion was marred by the early retirement of wrestler Aaron Nagao.
Nagao competed in the men’s 141 lbs. category and originally hails from La Habra, California. He was forced to retire from the sport due to recurring injuries.
Head Coach of Penn State Wrestling Opens Up About Aaron Nagao’s Early Retirement
The head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions wrestling team, Cael Sanderson, recently shared his thoughts on Nagao’s medical retirement due to early injuries. Sanderson mentioned in the post-duel interview after the match between Penn State Wrestling and the Princeton Tigers,
“He’s been very special to our program. Just a wonderful kid. Just classy, happy, grateful obviously, a tremendous competitor. Unfortunately, got the injury bug the last couple years.”
Nagao was in his junior year of collegiate wrestling and had even won a silver medal at the 2022-23 Big Ten Championships. However, his next two seasons were affected by injuries, and he underwent surgery last year. In a media conference before his return to the mat, the wrestler expressed his excitement as he said,
“I am excited. I haven’t wrestled: it’s been almost two years since I’ve competed. Just hopefully shake the dust off, if there is any, glorify God and let the hard work show.”
However, the excitement unfortunately didn’t last long. Nagao was injured yet again during a bout at the Black Knight Invitational meet held in November and was unfortunately removed for the rest of the season. In a press conference in January, Sanderson shared his thoughts on the unfortunate situation as he stated,
“The reality of what Aaron was coming back from, just an uphill battle. Shoulders are really challenging in our sport. It’s complicated, obviously, joint positions you get put in wrestling, but if anyone could do it, it was Aaron. So, we want to give him the best support and opportunity we could give him.”
Despite the setback, Sanderson is hopeful of his boys. The Penn State Nittany Lions have more or less sealed the deal for the Big Ten Championships, whose knockouts would be held on March 7 & 8, respectively. The Nittany Lions will then aim for a fifth consecutive NCAA title, with the finals held between March 19 and March 21 at the Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
