Athletes › NLWC Resident Athletes
Josh Rodriguez (61 kg/134 lbs)
From Guadalupe, California, Josh attended North Dakota State University before joining the R.A. program in late summer, 2017. During the 2018-19 season, he won a Pan American gold medal, earned bronze at the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament, and won a gold medal at the Grand Prix of Spain. Josh battled some injuries but came back strong this past season, winning a silver medal at U.S. Open National Championships. Josh is a hard worker, outstanding teammate, and tough competitor. His success in the 2022 season has shown that when healthy, he is one of the top 61 kg wrestlers in the U.S. and the world.
Jordan Conaway (61 kg/134 lbs)
A 2X All-American while competing for Penn State, Jordan joined the NLWC Resident Athlete Program in the summer of 2016. In addition to being a top competitor, Jordan’s outstanding technique, positive attitude, and work ethic have made him an excellent addition to the Club’s Regional Training Center practices, and his contributions as a training partner have played a pivotal role in the success of the other NLWC lightweights.
Zain Retherford (70 kg/154 lbs)
Zain joined the R.A. Program in April, 2018 after completing his collegiate career as a 3X NCAA Champion with 94 straight wins. Zain also won two Hodge Trophies as the nation’s most dominant wrestler and won the NCAA Most Dominant Award three straight years. During the 2018-19 season, Zain went undefeated at the World Cup Championships, finished 2nd at the U.S. Open National Championships, won the World Team Trials Challenge tournament, won the Final X, and represented team U.S.A. at the 2019 World Championships. Zain has had an outstanding 2022 season, winning the 70 kg spot on the U.S. World Team. He will compete at the World Championships in September. An tremendous person, student (who is currently earning his MBA), and wrestler, Zain sets an outstanding example for the Club’s younger wresters to follow.
Franklin Gomez (74 kg/163 lbs)
A NCAA Champion and All-American for Michigan State, Franklin has been with the Resident Athlete Program for many years. Representing his native Puerto Rico, Franklin earned a silver medal at the 2011 World Championships, was a 2012 Olympian, competed at the 2013 and 2014 World Championships, and also competed at both the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games to become a rare 3X Olympian. Franklin will also wrestle at the World Championships in September. Franklin has been a model wrestler, teammate, and person, and as the Club’s longest tenured Resident Athlete, he has contributed greatly to the Club’s culture that has led to the success of all of the wrestlers in the program.
Bo Nickal (92kg/202lbs)
Bo joined the R.A. Program in spring, 2019 after an outstanding career at Penn State where he was a 3X NCAA Champion and earned the Hodge Trophy as the nation’s most dominant collegiate wrestler during the 2018-19 season. Bo transitioned to freestyle without missing a beat. He won the 2019 U.S. Open National Tournament and followed that by winning the world team trials best of three final. After dropping two close bouts to the returning world champion in the Final X series, Bo challenged for the U23 World Team spot which he won. Bo then went on to capture the 2019 U23 World Title! Bo looked outstanding in 2021 as he reached the finals of the Olympic Trials and made the U.S. National team. In addition to wrestling, Bo has also begun to compete in MMA and is off to a very successful start in the Octagon.
Kyle Snyder (97kg/213.4lbs)
Kyle joined the NLWC Program in fall, 2019. A 3X NCAA Champion for Ohio State, Kyle made U.S. history by becoming the youngest American to win a World title (2015) at 19 years old and the youngest American to win an Olympic gold medal (2016) at 20 years old. Kyle has now won 2015 World Gold, 2016 Olympic Gold, 2017 World Gold, 2018 World Silver, 2019 World Bronze, 2020 Olympic Silver, and 2021 World Silver Medals! Kyle is considered one of the top pound for pound wrestlers in the world, and combined with his positive attitude and work ethic, he is an outstanding representative of the NLWC program. Kyle will soon be competing at the 2022 World Championships in September.
Anthony Cassar (125kg/275lbs)
Anthony, a former Penn Stater, joined the NLWC program in January, 2020 after a phenomenal collegiate career where he won an NCAA title in 2019. Anthony had a lot of freestyle success early in his collegiate career but had some injury setbacks. He is working hard and looks forward to returning to full strength. When healthy, he will once again be in the hunt for National, World, and Olympic medals.
Nick Lee (65 kg/143 lbs.)
Nick Lee joined the Club’s Resident Athlete Program in Spring, 2022, after posting a 22-0 record in NCAA action in the 2021-22 Season, where he won his 2nd NCAA championship at 141 lbs. and became Penn State’s first-ever five-time All-American. A tremendous student and person off of the mat, Nick trains hard and competes at an exciting and relentless and exciting pace. The NLWC is very excited to have him join Club’s program!
Morgan McIntosh (92 kg/202 lbs.)
As a 3X NCAA All-American and NCAA finalist, Morgan was an outstanding collegiate wrestler at Penn State. After his graduation from PSU, he joined the U.S. Army and became a Green Beret, the elite special forces unit of the U.S. Army. An outstanding freestyle competitor, Morgan is now back on the mat and training with the NLWC as a member of the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program (WCAP). Tough as nails and an excellent wrestler, Morgan is set to make an impact on the U.S. and World freestyle scenes.
