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Nico Megaludis (125 pounds), Zain Retherford (149), Jason Nolf (157), Bo Nickal (174) and Morgan McIntosh (197) each represented Penn State in the cham- pionship round, a ceremonial event for the sport that is annually aired live on primetime cable television. The quintet – along with Jordan Conaway (133) who earned Penn State's sixth All-America honor in 2016 – spearheaded the run to Sanderson's =?h NCAA championship since he arrived, but it was only Megaludis, a senior, and Retherford, a sophomore, who were triumphant at the end. (Okla- homa State, for the record, went 2-0 in the =nals.) A night that began with arms raised in celebration, li?ed by wins from Megaludis and Retherford, ended with a shrug, as redshirt freshmen Nolf and Nickal lost to opponents whom they had previously beaten this season, while McIntosh, a =?h-year senior and now a three-time All-American, fell, 4-2, to 2014 NCAA champ J'Den Cox, whom he had beaten in the consolations of the same tournament a year ago in St. Louis. "Coaching wrestling is tough," Sander- son said just minutes a?er he consoled McIntosh, who was walking o> the mat true freshman in 2012 when he toppled three fifth-year seniors in St. Louis en route to his first All-America citation and first appearance in the national fi- nal. Despite finishing as a runner-up, the three-time state champion from Franklin Regional appeared poised to ex- perience the kind of success in college that he enjoyed throughout his high school career. But as he and his parents, Dan and Linda, were well aware, this was no longer high school. And now that Megaludis had announced his arrival– loudly, at that – they knew that he would be wearing a target on his back. "I remember everyone saying after his freshman year, when he took second, 'Oh, he'll win it next year,' " Dan said. "We knew better. It's not that easy get- ting through the season healthy, and then when you get [to NCAAs], you still have great wrestlers. His weight class is very tough." It certainly didn't get any easier as a sophomore, but Megaludis once again reached the championship round in Des Moines, Iowa. Again, however, he fin- ished as a runner-up. "At that point Nico had one thing on his mind," Dan recalled. " 'All right, I al- ready finished second, so I know what that's like. Now it's about winning it.' " While he barreled through his junior season with an undefeated dual-meet record, his third trip to the NCAA cham- pionships was the most difficult one yet. At that tourney in Oklahoma City, he strained a muscle on the side of his tor- so. He fought through the pain, but for the first – and only – time in his career he missed out on the final, placing third. The drive to win a title only grew from there, but it would have to wait. Megaludis, along with his parents and coaches, decided that it would be best for both him and Penn State's team if he took a one-year hiatus, removing him- self from the day-to-day grind of com- petition, gaining two or three pounds of muscle, and coming back for his fifth year hungrier than ever. Head coach Cael Sanderson said he won't know if redshirting Megaludis during his fourth year on campus "was the right decision until it's 10 years down the road and we look back," but the initial poll results suggest that it was the right move. Despite losing his second match, Megaludis completed the regular season with a 24-2 record. He finished in sec- ond place at the Big Ten championships and entered his final national tourna- ment – this time in New York – as the No. 3 seed. But Megaludis paid little attention to the number next to his name on the brackets. Instead, he focused on the signs that were plastered on his bedroom walls, hung next to the bathroom mirror and on his steering wheel. "I've been wrestling since I was four," said the 23-year-old Megaludis. "That's a long time, and I've just realized throughout all the years, all the work and camps I've been to and everything, it's just like, man, I've done all the right things. So just have fun now. Do what you've got to do, know what you want, and do it." So he did. Megaludis opened his tour- nament with an 18-5 major decision against Chasen Tolbert of Utah Valley before edging Joshua Rodriguez of North Dakota State in a close 4-2 battle. In the quarterfinal, he won by decision, 4-0, against Conor Youtsey of Michigan, thus securing his fourth All-America honor – only the ninth wrestler in PSU history to accomplish such a feat. In the semifinal, Megaludis drew David Terao of American University, who to that point was the Cinderella story of the tournament. Entering as the No. 15 seed, Terao upset the No. 2 and No. 10 seeds en route to his showdown with Megaludis. But Megaludis put a halt to Terao's run, winning 8-2 and setting up his third career appearance in the NCAA final. There, Megaludis faced Iowa's Thomas Gilman, whom he had beaten in a tiebreaker, 4-3, in the Big Ten semifinal. "He's a tough competitor," Gilman said of Megaludis before their rematch. "He's proven that. He's been in this situation before." He proved it again in the champi- onship match. Megaludis scored first af- ter a wacky scramble and took a 2-0 lead into the second period. After a quick Gilman escape, Megaludis countered a takedown attempt from Gilman to grasp the second takedown. Although Mega- ludis was hit with a second stall warning after an escape in the third period, which awarded Gilman a point, Mega- ludis was able to hang on for the 6-3 de- cision with the help of his 1 minute, 29 seconds of riding time. Upon the final whistle, Megaludis raised his arms to the crowd before run- ning and then leaping into the stands to hug his family and closest fans – at last his goal accomplished. "I'm the champion," he said, still catching his breath. "There's nothing else to it. I'm the champion. It's a pretty good feeling."

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