Dec. 10, 2014
By Matt Allibone, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - For the past four years, watching Ed Ruth and David Taylor dominate opponents was almost a forgone conclusion at Penn State wrestling matches.
Not only did the two four-time All Americans win often, they nearly always won big. Of Taylor's 134 career wins, an astounding 125 of them (93 percent) were bonus point victories while Ruth wasn't too shabby himself, with 104 of his 136 wins (76 percent) being at least a major decision.
Now that those two titans have graduated, the Lions need to replace their production from other sources, especially with the Big Ten schedule kicking off Thursday against Maryland.
So far, all signs point to senior 174-pounder Matt Brown and junior 197-pounder Morgan McIntosh as being the ones to fill those roles.
"It's been fun but it's also been challenging," Brown said. "I'm trying to go out and score points like [Ruth and Taylor] used to. I've worked a good bit on my top game, getting some falls and near-falls so we can rack up the points."
Whatever the pair has been doing so far, it's definitely working. A month into the season, Brown is 6-0 and ranked second in the country with four bonus point victories (two majors, two pins) and McIntosh is No. 4 with a 7-0 record and has been unable to get bonus points only once, with three majors, two pins and one technical fall.
On one hand, the early success of the two wrestlers is hardly a surprise. Brown has been an All-American the past two years and scored in the bonus in 21 of his 33 wins last season while McIntosh returned last year from a redshirt season and earned his first All-American nod, racking up 13 majors and five pins in a 32-5 campaign.
At the same time, the duo's production means more to the Lions now that Ruth and Taylor, not to mention redshirted All-Americans Nico Megaludis and Zain Retherford, are out of the lineup. Entering the season, both wrestlers knew that a heavier burden would be placed on their shoulders.
"We know that we're going to have to be picking it up and scoring bonus points is something I've been working on a lot and I know Matt has too," McIntosh said. "We're both really excited about it. It feels good to finally get into the older role on the team and there's a lot of responsibility but a lot of fun too."
It didn't take long this season for the pair to show their ability to pick up clutch victories. In Penn State's first two dual meets, both wrestlers delivered the way they needed to as the Lions faced tough tests in No. 17 Lehigh and No. 16 Pittsburgh.
Against the Hawks, Penn State was holding onto a 12-6 lead after six bouts until Brown pinned Marshall Peppleman to give the Lions a commanding 18-6 advantage that led to a 24-10 win. In Pittsburgh, McIntosh came up with a huge pin of 10th ranked Nick Bonaccorsi when the Lions were hanging on to a 14-12 lead with two matches left that clinched an eventual 24-12 win.
"[Morgan] got a big pin against Pitt and that was awesome for us," Brown said. "I think he's done an awesome job and he's stepping into that role alongside me to really help the team reach our goals."
For McIntosh, stepping forward as a leader has been an important development for the entire team as well as himself.
While Penn State has always expected strong leadership from Brown, a senior and Army ROTC student, it has been welcoming to see a junior like McIntosh accept the responsibility of leading a four-time defending national championship program.
Like Brown, the Santa Ana, California, native is far from being one of the loudest or most outspoken guys on the team. Although it's common for an athlete to say they prefer to lead by example, McIntosh is a wrestler whose hard work speaks for itself.
"It's still early in the season but so far we've been really pleased with him," head coach Cael Sanderson said. "When we've needed him to step up he has. Pitt was a match that could've come down to the heavyweight and Morgan pinning the guy, for him to go out and dominate was what we need out of him and he's capable of doing that. Hopefully he'll continue to do that because he's really good."
If the Nittany Lions are going to continue to be the force in March that they have been the past four years, they are going to need Brown and McIntosh to continue to produce like the All-Americans that they are. With the seven Big Ten teams ranked in the top ten nationally including No. 6 Penn State, the Nittany Lions will have plenty of competition.
For the pair of wrestlers, simply becoming an All-American again is not enough. Both have aspirations to become national champions, a feat that is certainly attainable for them.
"It needs to happen this year," McIntosh said. "I've been trying to get to the top of the podium so I want it now more than ever and it might matter now more than ever too in terms of getting that [team] national title."
"I'm happy I get one more shot," Brown added. "That's what I'm looking to do this year, to win it all, but I'm going to enjoy it. Last year I think I had a little too much pressure I placed on myself thinking, `I gotta do it this year.' But I'm going to look at this year as an opportunity to grow and get better."