Future Nittany Lion Megaludis really hates to lose

The future for Penn State looks bright, judging by the high school wrestling talent already committing to first-year coach Cael Sanderson.

One of the brightest stars who is coming to State College is Nico Megaludis. A junior at Franklin Regional High School outside Pittsburgh, Megaludis has made a verbal commitment to wrestle for the Nittany Lions after he graduates in 2011. (He won't be able to sign a letter of intent until November.)

Megaludis has already made a name for himself on the mats in Pennsylvania and beyond. He won the 2009 PIAA Class AAA title at 112 pounds ... and, in fact, has lost only one match in high school. Weeks after winning the Pennsylvania championship, Megaludis won the 119-pound title at the FILA Cadet Nationals. More recently, he earned his third straight POWERade Wrestling Tournament title over the Christmas holidays, and, in early January, was named the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette High School Athlete of the Week. Right now, Nico Megaludis is ranked No. 2 at 119 pounds by InterMat, and, in fact, ranks sixth in the nation of all junior-year high school wrestlers, according to InterMat.

"This kid really hates to lose"

Nico Megaludis was a Junior Nationals runner-up in freestyle this past summer at 119 pounds (Photo/Dave Jedlicka, jedicheetah.com)

"I think I started wrestling when I was 5," Nico Megaludis. "Dad had a wrestling mat in our old house. He had wrestled in high school, and took me to matches."

"I liked it from the start. I won my first six matches ..."

"I remember to this day my first loss, losing in overtime. I took it so hard."

In separate interviews for this article, both Nico and his dad -- Dan Megaludis, who serves as an assistant wrestling coach at Franklin Regional -- both said that the junior wrestler hates to lose.

The issue was also addressed in the opening paragraphs of a recent profile of Nico Megaludis in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, in a story his father told about his then three-year-old son playing Whiffle ball in the yard at home.

"If he would miss one, it was the end of the night," Dan Megaludis told writer Michael Sanserino for the January 2010 article. "It was a temper tantrum. It was the worst thing in the world. And right then and there, I was like, 'This kid really hates to lose.'

"He hated losing more than anyone I've ever met in my entire life."

Losing shapes a winner

Fortunately, losing is a rare event for Nico Megaludis.

In fact, he has suffered only one defeat in his high school career. In his freshman year, Megaludis lost in the semifinals of the 2008 PIAA state championships, falling to undefeated senior -- and eventual 103-pound state champ -- Mark Rappo. That year, Nico Megaludis placed third at Hershey.

As a sophomore, Nico Megaludis moved up to 112 pounds. He capped off a perfect 46-0 season by winning his second WPIAL (Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League) and second Section crowns, then topped that with the Pennsylvania state title, becoming the first Franklin Regional wrestler to win a PIAA championship.

"It was pretty cool," said Megaludis. "Something you always dream of, something that dad always talked about. I won the title against Zac Horan in overtime. He was a pretty tough kid."

On his way to the title, Megaludis made a statement with dominating wins in his first three matches -- 13-7 in the first round, 15-2 in the quarterfinals and 9-3 in the semifinals.

Nico Megaludies (bottom row, second from left) won a PIAA championship last season at 112 pounds, becoming the first Franklin Regional wrestler to accomplish the feat

"The whole (championship) match, I put pressure on (Horan)," Megaludis told his hometown newspaper, the Murrysville Star. "He shot and got in on my legs once. I was in on his legs a couple times. I was the aggressor throughout the entire match. At the end, I had an underhook, shot a sweep and dumped him over to get the two."

Megaludis scored that takedown in the sudden-death overtime period with just ten seconds remaining to win the state crown. Final score: 3-1 over Zac Horan of Nazareth.

Eric Mausser, head coach at Franklin Regional, put Nico Megaludis' perfect sophomore season in perspective.

"Forty-six and zero is spectacular with the teams we wrestle in the WPIAL. There were 11 guys from the WPIAL in the state final," Mausser told the Murrysville Star. "We wrestle all the top teams in the WPIAL in either dual meets or tournaments. We went to the POWERade tournament where you're seeing some of the tougher teams in the nation. It's a great feat for him to go 46-0. That's something to be very proud of."

Now a junior, Nico Megaludis is continuing his winning ways. For the third straight year, he has bumped up a weight class, now competing at 119 pounds. As of this writing, he is undefeated. In late December 2009, he won his third consecutive championship at the POWERade Wrestling Tournament, joining "brand-name" wrestlers such as Ray Brinzer, T.J. Williams, Teague Moore, Robbie Waller, Coleman Scott and Marshall Peppelman who have won three titles at this Christmastime classic held in the Pittsburgh area.

Finding freestyle success

Nico Megaludis is also winning on the mats in freestyle competition beyond the borders of the Keystone State. Last April, the then-sophomore won the 2009 FILA Cadet Nationals at 119 pounds, which he considers to be his greatest accomplishment in his mat career. A couple months later, Megaludis placed second at 119 at the Junior Nationals in Fargo. "I thought I wrestled well overall in my 10 matches," said Megaludis. (Two years earlier, at the Cadet Nationals, Megaludis took fourth place at 98 pounds.)

"I really like freestyle. I think it's fun. It's a nice break from folkstyle."

Megaludis, who started wrestling freestyle at age 8 or 9, believes that style has a positive impact on his high school wrestling. "With freestyle, you get to know the mat ...You gain positioning experience that helps with folkstyle."

Ultimately, Megaludis would like to hone his freestyle wrestling at the Olympic Training Center, with a dream of someday wrestling for the U.S. at the Olympics.

A verbal commitment to Cael

Last October, Nico Megaludis committed verbally to wrestle at Penn State for new head coach Cael Sanderson.

Cael Sanderson

"I've always liked Penn State," said Megaludis. "When coaches Sanderson and (Troy) Letters came, that sealed the deal for me. I really like the way they do things."

Megaludis has a particular comfort level with Letters, as he was Nico's coach in Fargo, and is a former WPIAL champ from the Pittsburgh area ... but was especially excited when Sanderson left Iowa State for Penn State.

"I was shocked when Sanderson jumped," said Megaludis. "I immediately thought, 'This is awesome.'"

"My style is kind of like Cael's," Megaludis told the Centre Daily Times -- the community newspaper serving the Penn State area -- when he made his oral commitment. "Obviously, he's much better than me, but I kind of wrestle like him. I thought it was a perfect fit and great location."
"I can see myself wrestling for them and I can see myself improving so much," the 2009 PIAA 112-pound champ said in the interview for InterMat.

"I can tell Penn State will be a winner. They are headed in the right direction."

Before Megaludis had made his verbal commitment as Sanderson's first recruit of the 2010-2011 class, Penn State has already landed a number of top-flight recruits. In fact, Megaludis is the eighth state champion to commit to Penn State since Sanderson's arrival this past April. Among Megaludis' future college teammates: Andrew and Dylan Alton, Dirk Cowburn, Jake Kemerer and Sam Sherlock from the state of Pennsylvania ... along with three-time Arizona state champion Luke Macchiaroli, and David Taylor, four-time state champ from Ohio.

More benefits of being a Nittany Lion

Nico Megaludis is also excited about competing in the Big Ten.

"There are so many studs in the Big Ten, so many great wrestlers," said the Franklin Regional wrestler. "It'll be a great test for me."

There are other reasons why Megaludis chose Penn State over other colleges he had been considering, including Iowa, Lehigh, Maryland and Pitt. "I especially like being only two hours away from home," the junior class wrestler said. "I'll still be close to family. They can come see me wrestle. I won't get homesick."

Dan Megaludis echoed his son's comment about being close to home, and offered additional positive factors from Nico's choice of Penn State at this early date.

"The alumni support of the program has been tremendous, no matter how the program has done in the past," said the elder Megaludis. "Now, with Cael Sanderson, there's hope for a national title."

"When Cael came here, it was a no-brainer."

"As a parent, I like Sanderson's personality and the way he structures things. I admire his disciplined approach to coaching ... I think Nico will be a good fit with the way he does things."

Choosing a college this far in advance has other benefits as well. "Nico said (Thursday) morning that he's relieved that he made his decision even though he didn't go through the real arduous process that he could have gone through next year with making a lot of visits," Dan Megaludis told the Centre Daily Times at the time his son made the verbal commitment to Penn State.

Grounded in study ... and faith

Despite all his accomplishments and accolades, Nico Megaludis is a thoughtful, grounded young man.

Nico Megaludis wrestling Ty Mitch, a Virginia Tech recruit, in the Junior National freestyle finals last summer at 119 pounds. Mitch won the match 1-0, 1-0 (Photo/Dave Jedlicka, jedicheetah.com)

Two elements reflect his maturity: He is always seeking ways to improve, and has deep religious faith.

"Nico is a student of the sport," said his high school coach, Eric Mausser. "He loves wrestling. He's the type of kid that even after the state finals match he wanted to see what he could have done better. He watched his match three times to see areas he could have scored. He loves the sport. He works extremely hard. It's just paying off for him."

Dan Megaludis confirmed that sentiment: "Nico is very self-motivated."

Both Nico and his father mentioned the young wrestler's faith as also being a cornerstone to who he is. He is an active member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at his school.

"Ever since Day 1, I have gone to church," said the younger Megaludis. "God has made so much possible for me. Without Him, I wouldn't be doing this now ... Prayer gives me support and confidence."

"Nico's faith helps him get through the most grinding sport in the world," said Dan Megaludis.

Despite the grind, Nico Megaludis seems to be thriving. After winning the 2009 PIAA title, he was already looking to the future. "This is one goal. There's many more that I want after this," he told the Murrysville Star.

"I just want to take it day by day, and train to try and get my second and third state titles and national and Olympic titles."

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