Mountain. It's the idea of carving his own
path, going where few have gone, that
drives McIntosh, now the top-ranked 197-
pounder in the country and a four-year
starter for the Nittany Lions.
"That's what makes it cool," he said.
"When you're out there, you think about
the people of the past, that they've done
the same thing. That makes you grateful
for what we have today."
Heading toward his collegiate wrestling
curtain call – in New York, of all places
– he's a long way from his roots in rural
Southern California, where his family
owns some acreage and used to raise
their own horses to provide for their
packing trips. It's where it all began and
where, five years ago, McIntosh decided
he'd forge his own path and take perhaps
his greatest exploration yet – carried
this time by his wrestling talents.
Ranked as the No. 1 recruit in the coun-
try in the Class of 2011, he chose to go
the opposite direction of those early
Western explorers, heading east to Penn
State to wrestle for head coach Cael
Sanderson. What he's accomplished since
then are 111 career wins, two All-America
honors, two Big Ten championships and
an opportunity to extend his wrestling
career past college with the Nittany Lion
Wrestling Club.
But the excursion is far from :nished.
If this were a packing trip, he would just
be starting to climb the :nal peak. In this
case, a championship at the NCAA tour-
nament awaits at the top.
"For him to come across the country
for the past :ve years, that's been huge,"
assistant coach Casey Cunningham told
the Penn State Sports Radio Network a
