Former Penn State national champion Mark Hall signals retirement at US Olympic Trials

Hall had a storied wrestling career since his younger days. The 27-year-old was a six-time state champion in Minnesota, winning high school titles while he was in 7th and 8th grade.

It translated immediately at Penn State during his collegiate career. As a freshman in 2016-17, Hall was expected to redshirt but head coach Cael Sanderson was impressed.

The Nittany Lions ultimately pulled his redshirt and he ended up making a run, winning an NCAA title at 174 pounds. He beat Ohio State’s Bo Jordan after upsetting future rival Zahid Valencia (Arizona State) in the semifinals.

The following year, Hall was undefeated going into the NCAA finals. He would wrestle Valencia once again, but the latter got the 8-2 decision, making Hall the runner-up.

The two would clash again, twice, in 2018-19. Hall beat him 4-0 in the regular season but fell 4-3 in the NCAA finals, giving him his only loss of the year.

Hall was a three-time NCAA finalist, winning the title in 2017. Despite a 22-1 record and No. 1 seed in 2020, Hall did not get to compete at NCAAs. The tournament was canceled at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hall finished his collegiate career with a 115-6 record, becoming one of the most decorated wrestlers in team history.

With his college career over, Hall focused solely on freestyle wrestling. He won the US Open in 2021 and eventually a World Cup in 2022.

However, he did not make an Olympic team during his career. He joined the Penn coaching staff in 2021 as an assistant coach and trained at the Pennsylvania Regional Training Center.

As for what’s next, if this is truly the end of his wrestling career, Hall will presumably roam the sidelines for Penn in 2024-25.