Feb. 11, 2016
By Ryan Hickey, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" With senior day Saturday against Michigan State (7 p.m.), this Nittany Lion wrestling senior class, including Nico Megaludis, Jordan Conaway and Morgan McIntosh, has been integral in a tremendous run of success.
While this class, especially Megaludis and McIntosh, has been a part of three national championship teams, head coach Cael Sanderson labeled that what they bring off the mat as their biggest contributions.
"This is a real strong class. Not only our superstar guys, but just a great class of kids, great students," said Sanderson. "Our team GPA, we've been in the top 10 pretty much every year in the nation and that's a reflection of them and they are just good kids that come from good families. It's tough to think they are seniors and we won't have them again."
The trio has combined for 292 career wins and seven All-American nods. Given all of the success, it is tough for the seniors to leave the place that has made them so successful. With a match as emotional as senior day, Conaway is still taking Saturday's match against Michigan State just as he would any other match.
"Excited as always. Can't believe it's already coming to a close here, but I'm going to treat it as any other match and just go out there and have fun," said Conaway.
For McIntosh, Saturday isn't a day he's been thinking about too much because the thought of leaving this team is a depressing thought for the senior.
"Honestly, I'm trying not to think about it a whole lot because I know it will make me kind of sad," said McIntosh. "I'm trying to look forward to it and just trying to enjoy every minute that I have left."
Senior day is more than just about celebrating the senior class and what they have accomplished during their time in a Penn State singlet, as it also has a big impact on the underclassmen as well. For redshirt freshman standout Jason Nolf, he's losing not just a great teammate, but a friend and mentor off the mat.
"[Morgan's] been a great role model for me and he's been there for me if I ever needed anything," said Nolf. "It's been awesome living with him."
While still looking for his first individual national title, leading his team to its sixth national championship is the ultimate goal for the Santa Ana, Calif. native.
"Ultimately I want to win a national title for our team and to win it this year in my last year going out with a bunch of young guys like this would be awesome," said McIntosh. "I just know that this is a really special team and there's not a lot of teams out there that can have guys like this, young guys come up and step right up and automatically be in the hunt for an individual national title, so it would be great."
While the senior is still working on soaking in every last moment of his time here, McIntosh still plans on sticking around after graduation and perfecting his craft.
"As of right now, that is my plan to stick around and wrestle freestyle," said McIntosh. "I don't think there's any other better place to do that than here. I'm pretty fortunate to be able to do that and looking forward to making the transition into freestyle. Right now, my plan is to go down to 186, but we will see."
Before the festivities of senior day begin at Rec Hall on Saturday night, the No. 1 ranked Nittany Lions will travel to Bethlehem, Pa. to grapple with the 14th-ranked Lehigh Mountain Hawks Friday night. With the back-to-back matches, Sanderson believes that his team shouldn't be tired because of the intensity they bring to practice everyday.
"You hope they come back out there with that fire and a lot of that is going to come down to the individuals and the consistency that they choose to bring to practice everyday and to every match," said Sanderson. "We have a team that just likes to compete, but we certainly want to make sure that they are excited and fired up because your next match is always your most important match of your career. This Lehigh match is a big match for us and we want to go in there and wrestle well."