Feb. 14, 2016
By Ryan Hickey, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" For the final time in their regular season dual meet careers, Nico Megaludis, Jordan Conaway and Morgan McIntosh took to the Rec Hall mat in their blue and white Penn State singlets on Saturday.
For head coach Cael Sanderson, this group has meant a lot, as the trio has combined for 297 wins, seven All-American laurels and three national championships.
"They are all special in their own way, but I mean they are all just very consistent and quality all the way around. Guys that obviously we are going to miss," said Sanderson. "They've continued to get better and have continued just to do great things. They've had a lot of success in their careers as a team and as individuals."
Megaludis started the festivities off strong, tallying six takedowns in his 17-5 major decision over Mitch Rogaliner. The redshirt senior has set the tone for the Nittany Lions this season, which is something that Megaludis has done so well throughout his entire career.
"Nico, we talk about Nico all the time. From the first match to the last match, he's the same," said Sanderson. "He's going full speed ahead and has been a tremendous leadoff guy for us. All three, especially Nico, is a 3.5 plus student and going to be very successful in life."
Following the major decision, Conaway brought the capacity crowd to arguably the loudest it would be all night, pinning Garth Yenter at the 5:59 mark. The pin was just the second this season for the senior and the fifth of his Nittany Lion career. While Conaway is not a pinner, Sanderson isn't surprised by the outcome because the Abbottstown, Pa., native is peaking at the right time.
"I don't know if I was surprised. He's wrestling really well right now and he doesn't get a lot of pins, but we like him to get more, especially in this last month," said Sanderson.
For Sanderson, Conaway has been one of his favorite guys to coach because of the attitude the senior approaches every match with. Calling him a gamer, Sanderson says how Conaway doesn't get frustrated when a match doesn't go to plan and instead of panicking, he just keeps wrestling his style.
"If he gives up a takedown, he doesn't get frustrated and he just keeps wrestling. If things don't go perfectly as planned, he doesn't get frustrated and he just keeps wrestling," said Sanderson. "Those are the guys that are obviously the most fun to coach. Just a big heart and he's meant a lot to the program, but it's nice to see that big pin."
When looking at the past four years, Sanderson raves about Conaway's character and even went as far as saying if he had a daughter, she would want him to date a person like Conaway.
"Conaway is just a great kid. If you have a daughter, you want her to date him," said Sanderson. "He's just a great kid and works hard everyday and has had a lot of success and we are glad he came to Penn State."
The Nittany Lions hit their groove after the Conaway pin, as Zain Retherford tallied a 24-9 technical fall and Jason Nolf put the match away with a first period pin, his second in two days. McIntosh brought the sold out Rec Hall crowd to their feet one more time, pinning Jacob Cooper at 4:22. For McIntosh, the pin was extra special because he finally nailed a half, something that he's been working a lot on in practice.
"A half was always one of my favorite moves growing up, but I never really narrowed it down and got it to the point where I could do it to anyone, but it's something I've been working on and coach Cael has a great half series and he's been working with me on it," said McIntosh. "I'm just looking forward to Big Ten's and Nationals, where I can use those turns there and score bonus points for the team."
For the Santa Ana, Calif., native, one of the biggest things he will miss about wrestling for Penn State is the fan support the team receives every match. The most impressive part of the fan base for McIntosh is how far they travel to watch the Nittany Lions wrestle, which he attests is due to the style of wrestling the coaches preach to the team.
"It's pretty cool. I don't think I could say enough about the fan base that we have. Growing up in California, we have great high school wrestling out there but no big programs like this, so I was never able to go to a big match like we have here and see the type of fan base that throughout our programs like this," said McIntosh.
For Sanderson, having McIntosh on the team has meant a lot to him, realizing the senior traveled across the country to wrestle for his squad.
"Morgan, he came all the way from California to wrestle at Penn State and was all the way across the country from his family and that means a lot to us," said Sanderson.
With the Big Ten Championships and Nationals just a few weeks away, McIntosh has his eye on the true prize and is happy to be on a team as talented as this one for his last go around. Being on a rebuilding team last season, the drive is even higher to win a national championship with this team this season.
"I am very grateful to be on a team like this for my senior year and I think we are going to win the title and I think everybody on the team is on the same page and they think so too," said McIntosh. "It's pretty cool to know that it's not over this year and it's going to get better and better after I leave. It's going to be fun to watch in these next couple of years."