nate cobler
·5 min read
For the first time in 11 years, there will be someone new at the helm of State College’s boys wrestling program, and it’s a familiar name to local families and Penn State fans.
The State College Area School District board of directors on Monday named Jason Nickal, father of Nittany Lions great Bo Nickal, the new head coach of the Little Lions.
He’ll take over for former coach Ryan Cummins, who turned in his resignation before the PIAA Individual Wrestling Championships in March, saying it was in his family’s best interest.
“The kids are doing their own thing. They are wrestling a bit in the winter, but they are doing other stuff too. It’s very difficult on my wife to try and get them everywhere without my help,” Cummins told the CDT on Sunday. “Me being away on the weekend for tournaments and things, it’s a lot on her. I wanted to be able to help out more at home, and not miss the things my kids are doing. I remember coaches in my past telling me, ‘You don’t want to miss what your kids are doing.’ I tried to keep that in the back of my mind when I made this decision.”
It was a difficult decision to make, Cummins said, but it just seemed to be the right time.
Jason Nickal is already familiar to State College families, not only because of his famous son — Bo Nickal is a three-time NCAA champion and four-time NCAA finalist — but because he was an assistant with the Little Lions this past season.
Being an assistant last year with State College drove him to apply for the opening when Cummins turned in his resignation, he said. It really opened his eyes to Pennsylvania wrestling.
“I really thoroughly enjoyed working with Ryan Cummins as the head coach last year and the things that he’s done for the program. It got me excited and rejuvenated, and wanted to get my wrestling fix going again,” Jason Nickal told the CDT on Monday. “Pennsylvania has such a strong and rich tradition in wrestling. It is very generational here. It is such a part of the community. The culture for wrestling here is stronger than in most states.
“People around here understand the sport and get behind the sport more so than many other places that I’ve been. It’s pretty exciting to be a part of that community.”
Jason Nickal has been a wrestling coach for 26 years spanning over six states — Pennsylvania being that sixth state. His most recent head coaching stint was at McCracken County High School in Kentucky in 2016.
As a head coach, he led 16 teams to state titles. He helped 50-plus individual wrestlers claim state titles, with State College junior Asher Cunningham joining that fold after winning this past year at 160 pounds.
Jason Nickal earned 11 Coach of the Year awards, and was twice named the National Wrestling Coaches Association State Coach of the Year in New Mexico at Rio Rancho High School, where his teams collected four state titles.
“I’m very excited to follow and see what direction he takes the program in,” Cummins said of Jason Nickal. “He’s a fantastic coach. It was really great to work with him and pick his brain all the time. ... I was very fortunate to have him with me this year. He gets along great with the kids. I think he is going to be a great fit for the program.”
Not only did Cunningham come away with a state title last season, but teammate Pierson Manville was also in the finals for a third straight year, coming up just short for a second straight season. Nick Pavlehcko also finished top three in the state for the second year in a row with a third-place finish at 285 pounds.
Pavlechko was a runner-up last year.
As a team, the Little Lions finished third in the state with those three placewinners after finishing fourth in 2023.
So, what does Jason Nickal plan to bring to State College’s program?
“There are a lot of pieces that are already in place here at State College. There is great support from parents and administration, a lot of really good wrestlers already involved and a strong junior high and youth program,” he said. “My goal is to align all of those pieces and get them working as a cohesive unit. I think we can build a whole lot of momentum within the community and the school system with the pieces already in place.”
Jason Nickal said that assistant coaches Bud Price and Max Miller would be sticking around to continue their help with the program. He’ll also be looking for one more person to join his staff.
Before settling into Lemont last July, Jason Nickal and his wife, Sandy, traveled around the United States in their RV because his full-time job with BSN Sports allows him to work remotely. However, as soon as Bo and his wife, Maddie, mentioned they were having their first child, he wanted to plant his roots close by.
Jason and Sandy have three other children, all girls — Jordan, Lexis and Shelby. The trio of daughters were involved in sports just as much as their brother.
“All of my children were heavily involved in athletics. My wife was a coach and a college athlete. It was one of those things that we got our four children involved in from the time that they could walk,” Nickal said. “They were all involved in a variety of sports from wrestling to soccer, basketball, baseball, swimming ... the kids always participated in a wide variety of sports.”
