March 3, 2016
By Ryan Hickey, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" Heading into the Big Ten Championships this weekend, the Nittany Lions will rely on both their oldest and youngest wrestlers as the program seeks its fifth conference championship under head coach Cael Sanderson.
Having one more go-around, Nico Megaludis is excited that he still has one final chance to go out and win the 125 title. Coming so close in his last Big Ten Championships appearance where the senior finished runner-up, Megaludis doesn't think about that match too much and instead looks to the future and what he can control.
"I don't dwell on that. It's a new year, and obviously I want to win, so being in the past doesn't affect my wanting to win it any more or less," said Megaludis.
Megaludis compares wrestling in the toughest conference in the country to being in a high school state championship match week in and week out because of the level of competition that the Big Ten produces at each school. Having to constantly be at your best every week is something that Megaludis relishes in because he knows that experience is the biggest thing that prepares him for the postseason.
The conference tournament also provides an opportunity for wrestlers to see each other again and become familiar with each other's styles. With this knowledge, some wrestlers could come up with different game plans on attacking their opponent, which is something that Megaludis doesn't mess too much with.
"I just keep my own strategy," said Megaludis. "I mean, there's no reason to really change anything. You have to be smart if they have something crazy, but you just have to wrestle your own style."
For Bo Nickal, the regular season also allowed the freshman to become familiar with his competition, as he has already wrestled six of the 14 grapplers in the 174 bracket. Having a sense of knowing what to expect doesn't change the approach or mindset of the Allen, Texas, native, who keeps the same approach every time.
"No. Just stay the same strategy, just one match at a time and wrestle everybody the same, so it doesn't really matter if I wrestle him one time or one thousand times," said Nickal.
With the sensational performances of Jason Nolf and Nickal this season, Megaludis doesn't feel the need to provide advice for these freshmen about what to expect in the postseason because of the confidence they already carry with them.
"They are as experienced as you can get. They know what to do," said Megaludis. "We all just know what to do and it's pretty cool that you know that the [freshmen] know that they are the best."
With guys like Megaludis and Morgan McIntosh getting ready for their final Big Tens appearance, Nickal he is excited to get after his first Big Ten Championships appearance and is ready to compete. Having a full season of dual matches under his belt, Nickal's preparation for this upcoming weekend won't include much feedback from the dual season and instead, the freshman is just trying to focus on himself and how can get better.
The biggest lesson that McIntosh has learned throughout his years at the tournament is managing your body. The senior says each guy has to know they are going to feel tired and have to deal with little injuries throughout the weekend.
"It's important to know how your body's going to feel and you are going to be tired and you are going to get little injuries that you have to deal with and I guess that's one thing that I would want these guys to know that you are going to be hurting and it's going to feel like a little bit of a grind because the Big Ten Tournament is a tough tournament and you're going to wrestle tough guys. Every match is going to be a good match," said McIntosh.
Confidence has been a big key for this group throughout the year, which has led to the whole team being loose. Staying relaxed has also allowed this team not to get fatigued at this point in the season, which is something that McIntosh credits to his coaching staff as well for keeping the whole team fresh all year.
"Yea I think we have a lot of confidence and we're just really enjoying the year. We try to have fun and just enjoy the whole process," said McIntosh. "Our coaches have a good system of peaking us for this time of the year and we are ready to go and we are excited and still having fun and we are not worn out at all."
Even though the outside pressure certainly ramps up during this time of the year, McIntosh and his teammates take each match with the same mindset. Facing big crowds before and constantly being the hunted throughout the season has helped this team not feel the pressure and instead, treat the Big Tens like just another match.
"I think on a match-by-match basis, we shouldn't take it any differently," said McIntosh. "The atmosphere is definitely different and you have all of those different sections of the Big Ten teams cheering and getting loud and it's exciting, but we've had crowds like that and bigger at the Bryce Jordan Center, so I think we are used to an intensity level like that. We shouldn't be wrestling any differently because it's the Big Tens.
Being able to close out his career as a Big Ten champion one more time is the biggest goal for the senior. Winning his second would be pretty special.
"It would mean a lot," said McIntosh. "It's what I've wanted to do and just have fun with it and enjoy every last little bit of time I have left here."