Mark Hall (wrestler)

Mark John Hall II (born January 11, 1997) is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler. As a folkstyle wrestler, he is an NCAA Champion and three-time Big Ten champion out of Pennsylvania State University and a six-time MSHSL champion as a high schooler. As a freestyle wrestler, Hall is a Pan American champion, Junior World Champion and Cadet World Champion.

Mark Hall

Personal information
Full name	Mark John Hall II
Nationality	American
Born	January 11, 1997 Davison, Michigan, United States
Height	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight	174 lb (79 kg)
Sport
Country	United States
Sport	Wrestling
Event(s)	Freestyle and folkstyle
College team	Nittany Lions
Club	Nittany Lion Wrestling Club
Coached by	Cael Sanderson
Medal record Men's freestyle wrestling Representing  United States Pan American Championships 2018 Lima 79 kg Junior World Championships 2016 Macon 74 kg 2017 Tampere 74 kg Cadet World Championships 2014 Sniva 76 kg Collegiate Wrestling Representing the Penn State Nittany Lions NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships 2017 St. Louis 174 lb 2018 Cleveland 174 lb 2019 Pittsburgh 174 lb Big Ten Championships 2017 Bloomington 174 lb 2018 East Lansing 174 lb 2019 Minneapolis 174 lb 2020 Piscataway 174 lb

Early life and school career

Middle and high school

Hall was born and grew up in Davison, Michigan, he started wrestling when he was 6 years old at Davison Middle School. He played soccer since he was 4 years-old until he was 10-years old and attributes his quickness on the mat to his background. He started 7th grade in Davison Middle School, but ended up moving to Union, Kentucky to wrestle for Ryle High School. The move was originated because the MHSAA doesn't allow 7th and 8th graders to wrestle in the varsity high school level, but the KHSAA does. In that year (2010), Hall compiled a 42–3 record and made it to the finals of the state championships at 119, where he finally lost to the defending state champion Myron Bradbury.

In 2011, Hall moved once again to wrestle at Apple Valley High School in Minnesota and decided to repeat 7th grade. He posted a 46–3 record as a seventh-grader and won a state title at 130 pounds. As an 8th-grader, he was unbeaten with a record of 43–0 and won his second state title now at 145-pounds. In his freshman year, he moved up another weight class and went on to win his third state title, this time at 152-pounds. As a sophomore, he moved up a weight class for the final time and went on to win his 4th state championship at 165-pounds, he also won became a Cadet World Champion in freestyle wrestling. In his two remaining years (junior and senior) he won two more state titles at 165-pounds, making him a 6-time Minnesota state champion and receiving the 2016 Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award.[1] He also won the Junior World Championships and reached quarterfinals in the Olympic Team Trials in 2016 as a high school senior.

Hall posted a 278–5 record overall and is often considered the best Minnesota high school wrestler in history due to his accomplishments.[2][3][4][5]

College career

He enrolled with the Penn State Nittany Lions as the most sought-after recruit in the nation.

2016–17

At the beginning of the season, Hall was having a good redshirt season as he was 13–1 with seven pins, but he surpassed the expectations so much by comfortably winning the Southern Scuffle that PSUs Head Coach Cael Sanderson pulled his redshirt. As a true freshman, Hall went on to compete at the Big Ten Championships, where he posted a 2–1 record, making him the tournament's runner-up and qualifying for the nationals. At the national tournament, he defeated all 5 opponents, including top-ranked Zahid Valencia and #2-ranked Bo Jordan, making him the 2017 NCAA Division I Champion and receiving the InterMat Freshman of the Year Honor.

2017–18

Posted an undefeated 22–0 record in regular season. Went on to win his first Big Ten title, defeated #6 ranked wrestler Myles Amine in the finals and qualified for the NCAA tournament. Advanced to his second-straight final at NCAAs, but ultimately lost to the top-ranked wrestler in the country Zahid Valencia, making him the 2018 NCAA Division I Runner-up at 174-pounds. After-season, Hall won a gold medal in the prestigious 2018 Pan American Championships in freestyle wrestling.

2018–19

Compiled a perfect 23–0 record during regular season and avenged last year's loss at the National Finals beating Zahid Valencia 4 points to none. Won second-straight Big Ten title downing #4-ranked Myles Amine in the finals and qualifying for the 2019 NCAA Division I National Tournament. Got to the finals for the third-consecutive time defeating multiple high-ranked wrestlers, ultimately lost a close 4–3 to Zahid Valencia, making him the 2019 NCAA National Runner-up.

2019–20

Hall recorded a 21–1 record during regular season. In the 2020 Big Ten Conference Championships, he went 3–0, remarkably downing #6-ranked Dylan Lydy and avenging his loss in regular season by beating #2-ranked Michael Kemerer in the finals, winning his third-straight title. Going into the 2020 NCAA Wrestling Championships, Hall was seeded #1 and was a favorite to reach the finals for the fourth time and win the title a second time. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event wasn't able to take place, as it got cancelled. Hall wasn't able to finish his college career with an NCAA Title but was able to finish it with a Big Ten Championship in Minnesota, the same state where he finished his high school career. After the season, Hall earned All-American honors due to his performance throughout the season.[6][7]

Overall, Hall is a one-time NCAA Champion, three-time NCAA Finalist, four-time NCAA All-American, three-time Big Ten Champion and four-time Big Ten Finalist as a college wrestler.[8][9][10]

Freestyle career

2015-16

After making his senior debut in 2015 with a third-place finish at the Grand Prix of Spain,[11][12] Hall qualified for the 2016 US Olympic Team Trials after winning the Last Chance Qualifier at 74 kilograms,[13] but lost in the second round to the US Open champion Andrew Howe.[14] He then went on to defeat Iran's Ahmad Bazrighaleh in a charity match at the annual Beat The Streets event.[15]

2018-20

He made his return to the senior freestyle scene at the 2018 Pan American Championships, where he won the 74 kilograms championship and outscored his three opponents combined by 21 points to 1.[16] In 2019, he once again won the Last Chance Qualifier now for the World Team Trials,[17] but was stopped in his third match, this time by his collegiate rival Zahid Valencia.[18]

Hall was then scheduled to wrestle Tommy Gantt on August 30, 2020 at Chael Sonnen's Wrestling Underground I.[19] However, an injury forced him to pull out of the bout on August 27.[20]

Personal life

Hall holds a very close relationship with his father Mark Hall (senior), stating he always keeps him in the right path and is very grateful for it.[21] His father, who was a state runner-up in 1976, also inspired him to wrestle along his older brother and one of his former coaches. This coach was an accomplished wrestler in Chase Metcalf, Brent Metcalf's older brother, whom Hall was very close to and considered him an older brother or father and the person who pushed him the most while wrestling. When Hall was 8 years old, Metcalf died in an automobile accident, and that experience helped him to push himself more than ever. Hall still uses Metcalf's wrestling bag to this day.[22]

Freestyle results

NCAA Record

Stats

Awards and honors

• 2020
  • NCAA Division I First Team All-American (174 lbs)
  • Big Ten Conference (174 lbs)[23]
• 2019
  • NCAA Division I (174 lbs)[24]
  • Big Ten Conference (174 lbs)[25]
• 2018
  • Pan American Championship (79 kg)[26]
  • NCAA Division I (174 lbs)[27]
  • Big Ten Conference (174 lbs)[28]
• 2017
  • NCAA Division I (174 lbs)[29]
  • Big Ten Conference (174 lbs)[30]

References

1. "Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award State, Regional Winners Announced | National Wrestling Hall of Fame". Retrieved 2020-04-03.
2. "Minnesota freshman Mark Hall is top-ranked wrestler in U.S. – MaxPreps". MaxPreps.com. 2012-12-29. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
3. "Apple Valley's Hall is mature beyond his years". InterMat. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
4. "State wrestling: Mark Hall wins state-record sixth individual title". Twin Cities. 2016-02-28. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
5. "Mark Hall of Apple Valley Wins Record Sixth Minnesota HS Wrestling State Title". MyMMANews.com. 2016-02-28. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
6. "NWCA Division I Coaches Group announces 2020 All-America Teams". Team USA. April 17, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
7. "2020 NWCA Division I First Team All-Americans" (PDF). National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA).
8. "Mark Hall – Wrestling". Penn State University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
9. "Penn State Wrestling: Celebrating the Career of Mark Hall". Roar Lions Roar. 2020-03-27. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
10. LLC, ACS. "Mark Hall (Penn State) Profile". www.wrestlestat.com. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
11. "USA wins seven golds and 17 medals in all styles at Grand Prix of Spain". The Guillotine. 2015-07-11. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
12. truewrestling. "Spanish Grand Prix Results- The United States won the team title in men's freestyle with 6 Golds – True Wrestling". Retrieved 2020-08-27.
13. "Mark Hall advances to next weekend's U.S. Olympic wrestling Team Trials". Twin Cities. 2016-04-02. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
14. "Olympic wrestling trials: Mark Hall out early; Chaska's Andy Bisek gets spot". Twin Cities. 2016-04-11. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
15. "See the results for the 2016 Beat The Streets wrestling event on FloWrestling.org". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
16. "Mark Hall Wins Pan-American Games Title". Penn State University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
17. "Mark Hall Qualifies For World Team Trials, Zahid Awaits In Raleigh". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
18. "Penn State Wrestling's Nickal, Retherford Advance To Final X With Chance To Qualify For World Team". Onward State. 2019-05-19. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
19. "Wrestling Underground on Twitter: "The co-main event of Wrestling Underground is a freestyle match between a highly decorated NCAA Champion, Mark Hall, vs 2019 US Senior Nationals Medalist Tommy Gantt. They've never met on the mat, but that changes on August 30th! Subscribe now to @UFCFightPass to watch! #wug"". Twitter. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
20. "Wrestling Underground - WUG on Instagram: "BREAKING: Mark Hall is out due to injury...David McFadden replaces him on short notice vs Tommy Gantt for this Sunday in the co-main event…"". Instagram. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
21. "Minnesota freshman Mark Hall is top-ranked wrestler in U.S. – MaxPreps". MaxPreps.com. 2012-12-29. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
22. "Apple Valley's Hall is mature beyond his years". InterMat. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
23. "2020 Big Ten Conference Wrestling Brackets" (PDF).
24. "2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Brackets" (PDF).
25. "2019 Big Ten Conference Wrestling Brackets" (PDF).
26. "Pan-American Championships".
27. "2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Brackets" (PDF).
28. "2018 Big Ten Conference Wrestling Brackets" (PDF).
29. "2017 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Brackets" (PDF).
30. "2017 Big Ten Conference Wrestling Brackets" (PDF).

External links

• Mark Hall at United World Wrestling