Blue White Illustrated

Brown said his parents and his wife of a year and a half, Lauren, have pro- vided the drive. "You can't do this by yourself," he said. They also help supply the motivation to /nish this season on top of the 174- pound weight class. Brown is coming o0 a /1h-place All-America e0ort at the 2014 national tournament. A year earlier, he fell just short of an NCAA title, losing to Okla- homa State's Chris Perry, 2-1 in over- time, in the nationally televised cham- pionship round. "That match could have gone Matt's way at any point," Dave said, recalling his son's runner-up /nish in 2013. "It was that close, but that's the way it is at nationals. You win and you're pumped, and when you lose those heartbreakers, it a0ects you. It's tough for parents. It's tough to sit there, but on the other hand, you come away with such an admiration of how a kid can handle that pressure and just do it." Brown is aiming to climb again to that national stage March 21 for the closing part of his Penn State story. It has, a1er all, been a long time com- ing. Decades even. In order to get there, Brown said he's focused on "cleaning up any tech- nical aspects that I need to work on – any aspects really. Whether it's nu- trition or training, just being real con- cise with what I want to do." It's been about seven years since Sanderson /rst spotted Brown at that Utah camp, and ever since, they've been focused on getting him to this point. Now, as Sanderson tells him, it's all up to him. "He knows what he wants, he knows it's his responsibility to get it, and he has to wrestle with gratitude," Sander- son said. "Those three things there are very clear. "I hope he goes a1er it and he can end the season the way he wants." For Brown, that's on top of the podium. But, as his dad says, the fact that he's put himself in this position is a dream in itself. ■ NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS AT A GLANCE* WHERE Scottrade Center (19,150 capacity) // St. Louis, Mo. WHEN March 19-21 // Day 1 First session is scheduled for noon to 4 p.m. ET, with pigtails and first-round action taking place on eight mats; second session begins at 7 p.m. and features the first round of wrestle- backs and the second round and consolations in the championship bracket Day 2 Quarterfinal action takes place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on four middle mats, with wrestle-back second- and third-round matches on the outside mats; semifinals will take place on two middle mats be- ginning at 8 p.m. (one weight at a time), with fourth-round wrestle- backs on four outside mats and fifth-round wrestle-backs on all six mats following championship semifinals Day 3 Wrestle-back semifinals will be held on all four mats beginning at 11 a.m., followed by the third-, fifth- and seventh-place medal- round matches; the Grand March Pa- rade of All-Americans will be from 7:35 to 7:50, followed by the champi- onship finals from 8 to 11 p.m. TV ESPNU will cover portions of the tournament, while ESPN will broadcast the finals live beginning at 8 p.m. March 21. RADIO WRSC in State College (103.1 FM/1390 AM) will provide tourna- ment coverage, with Jeff Byers handling the play-by-play call. WEB BlueWhiteIllustrated.com will provide live match updates and tournament news in the Lions Den message board. * All times Eastern

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