COLLEGE WRESTLING

PIAA champion commits to Lions

Guy Cipriano

Nico Megaludis became Franklin Regional's first PIAA wrestling champion by capturing the Class AAA 112-pound title last March.

The victory presented Megaludis with an opportunity to become another first.

Megaludis, one of the nation’s top juniors, has orally committed to Penn State, becoming the first member of coach Cael Sanderson’s 2011-12 recruiting class. He made the commitment after visiting campus Wednesday. Megaludis’ Murrysville home is two hours from State College, and his mother, Linda, graduated from Penn State.

“Everything was just great,” Megaludis said Thursday night. “I can see myself wrestling for them and I can see myself improving so much.

“My style is kind of like Cael’s. Obviously, he’s much better than me, but I kind of wrestle like him. I thought it was a perfect fit and great location.”

Dan Megaludis, Nico’s father and a Franklin Regional assistant coach, said his son also had interest in Iowa and Lehigh.

Megaludis, who has a 83-1 career record, said he will compete at 119 pounds this season. His projected college weight — for now — is 133 pounds. The early commitment allows Megaludis to focus on becoming a multiple- time state champion.

“It’s kind of funny,” Dan Megaludis said. “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.”

Megaludis was one of five Class AAA champions to finish 2008-09 undefeated, posting a 46-0 record and defeating Nazareth’s Zach Horan 3-1 in overtime of the state finals. He suffered his only loss in the 2008 state semifinals as a freshman 103-pounder. He recovered to finish third.

Megaludis is the eighth state champion to commit to Penn State since Sander-son’s arrival this past April. Two-time PIAA Class AAA champion Jake Kemerer, four-time Ohio state champion David Taylor and three-time Arizona state champion Luke Macchiaroli are freshmen

while Central Mountain’s Andrew and Dylan Alton, Coudersport’s Dirk Cowburn and West Mifflin’s Sam Sherlock will sign with Penn State during the November signing period. The Altons, Cowburn and Sherlock are considered among the nation’s top seniors.

Sanderson said earlier this week Kemerer, Taylor and Macchiaroli and young upperweights Ed Ruth and Quentin Wright will red-shirt this season.

“I can’t wait,” Megaludis said. “It’s going to be awesome. I was thinking about it on the car ride home (Wednesday): Wow, I’m going to be on a team with Sherlock, the Altons, Taylor, Kemerer, Ruth, Wright. …The names are unbelievable.”

Megaludis was the only sophomore to finish undefeated and win a Class AAA state title last season. His victory enhanced the wrestling reputation at Franklin Regional, a District 7 school east of Pittsburgh. Megaludis also owns two WPIAL and two POWERade Tournament titles. The Panthers’ varsity lineup included less than seven wrestlers when Megaludis started in the school’s youth program 10 years ago.

Megaludis represents the third WPIAL prospect to commit to Penn State in the past four months. Sherlock orally committed to Penn State in July while Kemerer, who attended Hempfield Area High School in Westmoreland County, left Oklahoma for Penn State before the fall semester.

The Nittany Lions also have a coach with WPIAL ties in Troy Letters, a PIAA champion from Shaler who captured a NCAA title at Lehigh. Megaludis trains with the Young Guns Wresting Club, which practices at Franklin Regional three times per week. Former Iowa and Pitt-Johnstown star Jody Strittmatter is one of the club’s coaches.

Megaludis is not eligible to sign a letter-of-intent until next November.

“He is 100 percent excited to be wrestling for Penn State,” Dan Megaludis said.

Guy Cipriano can be reached at 231-4643.