UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Former and current members of the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team took part in the 2016 University National Freestyle Championships this past weekend, competing for the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. Graduated seniors Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.) and Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.) each won national titles.
(Cover photo of DuBois Graduate Geno Morelli. Photo courtesy of Penn State Athletics)
Megaludis rolled through the field at 57kg to win the title. A four-time All-American, 2016 NCAA 125-pound national champion, Megaludis went 4-0 to reach the finals where he then beat American University’s David Terao two straight (9-4 and 11-2) to win the crown. Megaludis’ 6-0 march to the title included three tech falls.
McIntosh was perfect at 86kg. A three-time All-American, 2016 NCAA 197-pound national finalist, McIntosh dominated the field with five straight tech falls to reach the finals. In the finals, he continued his rampage, posting two tech falls over Iowa’s Sammy Brooks (12-2, 11-0) to win the title. McIntosh was a perfect 7-0 with seven tech falls on the day.
Four current Nittany Lions also competed. Geno Morelli (DuBois, Pa.), a 2016 NCAA qualifier for Penn State, rolled to four straight wins before dropping a match. He injury defaulted out of the tournament and placed sixth overall at 80kg. Jered Cortez (Carol Stream, Ill.), who red-shirted this past season after transferring from Illinois, placed fifth at 61kg, going 5-2 with three tech falls. Gary Dinmore (Skillman, N.J.) went 3-2 and did not place at 65kg and George Carpenter (Chapel Hill, N.C.) went 3-2 and did not place at 61kg.
The Nittany Lions recently completed a 2015-16 season that saw head coach Cael Sanderson’s squad win its fifth NCAA National Championship in the last six years, its fifth Big Ten title in the last six years, a share of the 2016 Big Ten Regular Season (dual meet) Championship, the NWCA National Dual Meet Series title, and its sixth straight Southern Scuffle crown. The team went 16-0, 9-0 in Big Ten duals.
