Nico Cortese had more than just a title on his mind as he wrestled in the Powerade Christmas Tournament this past weekend at Canon-McMillan High School. Cortese is a 119-pound senior on the Hempfield High School wrestling team who has aspirations of becoming a doctor.

"Powerade is one of the last big tournaments in the regular season for seniors to get some recognition and show college coaches what they can do," said Cortese, who captured his second consecutive Powerade title with a 6-5 decision against Michael Garafalo of Virginia's Colonial Forge High. "The deadline [for letter of intent day] is coming up and I wanted to get their attention."

Cortese is a three-time PIAA Class AAA placewinner who finished fifth and second at 103 pounds his first two seasons while wrestling for Greensburg Central Catholic. Greensburg Central discontinued the wrestling program after Cortese's sophomore season and the school went into a co-op agreement with Hempfield. Cortese moved to 119 last year and placed sixth in the PIAA while wrestling for Hempfield.

"There are a lot of colleges who have shown interest, but not all of them meet my academic requirements," said Cortese, who has a 4.0 grade point average. "I plan to major in pre-med with hopes of eventually becoming a doctor."

North Carolina, Duke, Princeton, Columbia, Virginia and Edinboro are some of the schools Cortese is considering.

"My parents always told me that if I keep my grades up it will give me more opportunities," Cortese said. "I'm not ready to make a decision yet, but I'm seriously considering my options. Winning a second Powerade title can only help my changes."

Cortese was one of six Powerade tournament champions who had won a prior title. Penn-Trafford's Shane Young claimed his second title by pinning Central Dauphin's Simon Rice in the 112-pound final.

"The experience of having wrestled in the [Powerade] finals before really helped me," said Young, who won the 103-pound title last year. "Last year, I was so nervous before the finals. This year was completely different. I knew what to expect and didn't panic when he rode me the second period. I just waited to make my move."

Young, who became Penn-Trafford's first PIAA champion last March, broke a 2-2 tie when he caught Rice in a cradle with 40 seconds left and pinned him at 5:23.

"I don't use the cradle very often," said Young, who caught Rice in the cradle while scrambing in the neutral position. "I just took what he gave me."

The biggest surprise at the Powerade tournament came in the lightest weight class. Franklin Regional freshman Nico Megauldis was the only unseeded wrestler to advance to the finals. Megaludis defeated three seeded wrestlers en route to the 103-pound title, including a 6-3 win against Devin Carter of Virginia's Christiansburg High in the title match. Carter was the top seed.

"I like being the underdog," said Megaludis, who recorded two pins and a technical fall among his five victories in the 39-man bracket. "Nobody expected me to win."

After winning a Powerade title, Megaludis realizes he will no longer be considered an underdog.

"My eventual goal is to win the PIAA title," he said. "Winning a Powerade title is one step toward that goal."

Burrell had two wrestlers advance to the finals at Powerade, but both had to settle for runner-up status. Shane Welsh and Jordan Shields were defeated in the 135 and 140 pound finals, respectively. Welsh was a runner-up at 135 pounds a second time.

"It was disappointing to see both lose, but you have to consider the competition they were facing," Burrell coach Chris Como said.