Blue White Illustrated

Following the 2014 postseason, in which Alton finished 2-2 at the national tourna- ment, bitterly falling short of another All- America citation for the second year in a row, Alton opted for surgery on a right shoulder injury that had been slowly wors- ening over the previous two years. The 157-pounder was held out of action for the next eight months. He was cleared to begin working out this past fall, but a7er losing an early-season wrestle-o5 to Cody Law, who started the season for PSU at 157, Alton was reeled back in before he was unleashed again. Once he rebuilt his endurance – which coach Cael Sanderson says is still a work in progress – and got past what he called "achiness" in the shoulder, Alton was ready to go by the start of the new year. And when it was time to return to the mat, he went a7er the best at the Southern Scu6e in Chattanooga, Tenn., Jan. 1-2. Alton compared the event to a "mini na- tional tournament" and said it o5ered "a pretty good test" to see how far he had come since his rehab. It had been his idea to launch his come- back at the Scu6e. "He came to me and said, 'I want to go.' That's not usually the 4rst tournament you want to wrestle in for your 4rst match of the year," Sanderson said. "Generally speaking – outside of the Big Tens and nationals – it's probably the toughest tournament that there is. That kind of gives you an idea that he knows and he understands that the time is now." It didn't go perfectly, but Alton said he "came out of the tournament with posi- tives and wrestled better every match." He won his opening two matches on day one, but during his 4rst bout of the second day, which came approximately an hour a7er weigh-ins, Alton sputtered in the third period and lost by fall to Aaron Walker of The Citadel. Sanderson later suggested that due to the time o5, Alton still needed "to improve his conditioning right a7er the weigh- in." A7er taking more time to recuperate, Alton bounced back with one of the biggest wins of his career, pinning then-No. 4 Brian Realbuto of Cornell in the 4rst period. He followed that up with two more vic- tories over ranked opponents, including another 4rst-period pin, this one over Anthony Collica of Oklahoma State, before being defeated by Nebraska's Tommy Gant, 5-2, in the third-place match. While the coaching sta5 still wants to see improved conditioning from Alton, Sanderson said, "As far as his instincts and his timing, I thought he looked really good. He hit a really slick counter headlock against one of the top guys in the country, had a couple pins. I think getting in there and competing and seeing where he's at and just getting mat time is the key for him. It's going to be a process for him to inch along." A7er wrestling seven matches at the Scu6e, Alton admitted that his shoulder felt "a little sore, but I wasn't too bad." If he's able to return to full health, it will be the 4rst time he's wrestled without shoul- der pain since he claimed All-America honors as a redshirt freshman. He underwent surgery on his opposite (left) shoulder after his sophomore sea- son, and the protracted recovery from that procedure was partly responsible for his absence at the start of his junior season. At the time, doctors informed him that the right shoulder would require an operation as well, but instead of re- habbing two shoulders at once, Alton deferred the second surgery for another year. He can't pinpoint an exact instance when the shoulder injuries occurred. Rather, he points to the "wear and tear" from his 4rst couple years in college wrestling as the cause. But there is little doubt that the pain in his joints has had an impact on his success – or lack thereof – during the past two seasons. For many athletes, it would be easy to become discouraged by the setbacks, but with a possible clean bill of health on the horizon, Alton has tried to remain opti- mistic. "That's life," he said. "When things don't go right all the time, you just have to deal with them and go from there. I don't feel cheated at all. I just had to work through them and do the best I can." Judging by Alton's 4rst few outings, compared to last season, Sanderson is pleased with what he's seen. "He wrestled last year knowing that he was going to have shoulder surgery a7er the season," Sanderson said. "He was still injured, so that obviously a5ects some of the things he's capable of doing out there, especially him. He's a big, strong, powerful kid. Shoulders are huge in COMEBACK KID In his re- turn to Rec Hall earlier this month, Al- ton defeated Indiana's Alex Gregory, 2-0. Two days later, he topped fifth-ranked Josh Demas of Ohio State. Photo by Mark Selders/Penn State Athletics

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