Megaludis thriving in familiar leadoff role for Nittany Lions

As a leadoff hitter in baseball, you know your spot in the lineup.

You’re always going to start off your team’s chances of scoring.

In wrestling, the “leadoff hitter” can change from match to match. It just depends on if the teams agree to draw for a starting weight or begin with tradition.

That tradition means starting off the dual at 125 pounds.

Up until last season, No. 1 Penn State looked at Nico Megaludis as its go-to man to start things off. Last year, Megaludis redshirted and Jordan Conaway filled in rather nicely earning his first All-American honor.

The senior is back and in his usual spot, leading the way for the Nittany Lions again to open matches.

“It’s awesome to start off a team with all these guys that wrestle hard,” Megaludis said after Penn State’s win over Michigan on Sunday.

Megaludis is 21-1 on the year. His loss came back in November to Virginia Tech’s Joey Dance, 4-3 in a second tie-breaker. It was just the second match for Megaludis after roughly 20 months off. Since that loss, Megaludis has added a Southern Scuffle title and looks more than capable of adding his first Big Ten and national titles.

When the Nittany Lions square off with No. 9 and defending national champion Ohio State on Friday, Megaludis will be counted on more than ever.

“No,” Megaludis said on Tuesday when asked if he is feeling added pressure. “We treat every match the same. We always have the same focus. I still want to go out there and make him hate wrestling me and put up a lot of points.”

Megaludis will take on Nathan Tomasello, who is the defending 125-pound NCAA champion. The Buckeyes’ redshirt sophomore is 15-0 with six major decisions, three technical falls and two pins.

“He’s a real tough kid,” Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said. “He is just solid. He is very explosive and mentally tough. They (Ohio State) have to be thrilled with him and the success he has had. He looks like a big time competitor. It will be a fun challenge for Nico. It gives Nico a chance to see where he is.”

Sanderson said that he sees some traits in Tomasello that are similar to Megaludis but their wrestling styles differ. But Sanderson is content having Megaludis.

“They are both very similar,” he said. “They (Ohio State) are very happy they have him on their team and we are happy Nico is on our team.”

With Megaludis’ return, Conaway has moved back to 133 pounds. It’s a move that Conaway says he enjoys being able to follow Megaludis.

“Nico for the most part,” Conaway said, “has always gotten us started off to a really fast pace, which is awesome. Even if he would happen to lose, we have to be ready for our own matches. I think it helps a little bit when you got guys before you wrestling hard. I think we all feed off of that.”

McCutcheon back to work

On Tuesday, Matt McCutcheon was seen back on the mat after suffering a left knee injury against Illinois.

McCutcheon, who was sporting a brace on that leg, was wrestling with Nittany Lion Wrestling Club member David Taylor.

“I’ve been trying to watch him,” Sanderson said. “He’s looking good. His spirits are high and attitude is looking great. We will see how he progresses between now and Friday.”

It is still unclear whether or not McCutcheon will be able to go on Friday. If he isn’t able to go, Sanderson won’t be throwing him out there.

“If he’s not ready to go, we’re not going to wrestle him,” Sanderson said. “Obviously, our goal is to be the best that we can be at the nationals and the Big Ten tournament but you got to do well at the Big Ten to get to the nationals. We want to win dual meets and they are important but you got to look big picture.”

165 still up for grabs?

Shakur Rasheed has started all but two of Penn State’s dual meets this season.

He is 7-3 on the season. In those losses, Rasheed was in control for most of them and has lost by a combined six points.

“We like his potential,” Sanderson said of Rasheed. “He’s got a good attitude. He’s trying to figure his weight out.”

Geno Morelli is 0-2 in those starts. He has faced off with two ranked wrestlers and has lost by a combined two points.

His first career start for the Nittany Lions was a 5-4 loss to then-No. 3 Isaac Jordan, of Wisconsin, in the Bryce Jordan Center. It was a match where Morelli led with 28 seconds left in the match.

“Generally,” Sanderson explained, “when people are evenly matched you go with that guy that you feel has the better attitude when they compete. I’m not saying Geno has a bad attitude. I just think Shakur is a guy who will do anything you ask him to do. Nothing is a slam dunk yet. We are still playing with that. There is a chance where Geno will wrestle on Friday as well.”

This story was originally published February 2, 2016 at 8:23 PM with the headline "Megaludis thriving in familiar leadoff role for Nittany Lions."