Nico Megaludis is hoping for a rematch with Hunter Steiber as he prepares for his second trip to Fargo, N.D., for the USA Wrestling Cadet National Championships.

Megaludis earned All-America status in his first trip to the national tournament last summer by placing fourth in the 98-pound weight class in freestyle.

"I should have been in the finals," said Megaludis, who recently completed his freshman year at Franklin Regional High School. "I won seven matches the first day, and so did Steiber [who attends Ohio's Monroeville High School]. We met the second day with a championship berth on the line."

A freestyle match is divided into three separate two-minute periods. The wrestler who wins two of the three periods is awarded the victory. If neither wrestler scores during a period, the winner of a coin flip is given the top position in a clench. A point is awarded to the wrestler on top if he scores. The wrestler in the bottom position earns the point if he can keep his opponent from scoring.

"I won the first period 1-0, and he won the second period 2-0," Megaludis said. "The third period went scoreless, so we went to the clench. The winner of the coin flip scores 90 percent of the time."

Unfortunately, Steiber won the coin flip and secured the victory with a one-point takedown. Steiber dominated his opponent in the championship match, while Megaludis battled back to place fourth.

"I was a coin flip away from wrestling in the finals," Megaludis said. "It was disappointing, but I've used that loss as an incentive to work harder. I'm hoping for a rematch."

Megaludis has moved to the 112-pound weight class for his return trip to Fargo, and Steiber has followed suit.

"I've been working out five to six days a week," Megaludis said. "I've been lifting three or four days a week and have added a decent amount of weight. I've also been doing a lot of explosive exercises."

Megaludis began wrestling at the age of 5.

"My father turned me on to wresting 11 years ago and I just loved it," he said. "My dad wrestled at Gateway in high school, but tore a bicep muscle during his senior year. At that point, he switched to all-natural body building."

His father may have switched to body-building, but didn't lose his interest in wrestling.

"When my dad saw how much I loved wrestling, he put a [25-foot by 30-foot] wrestling mat in our basement," Megaludis said.

The mat has obviously helped. Megaludis posted a 37-1 record in his freshman season at Franklin Regional. He won a WPIAL Class AAA title in the 103-pound weight class and placed third in the PIAA. His only setback was a heartbreaking, 1-0, loss to Council Rock South's Mark Rappo in the semifinals. Rappo, one of two seniors in the weight class, went on to win the title.

Megaludis works out "at least two times a week" with Sanshiro Abe, a Penn State graduate who was a four-time NCAA Division I All-American and one-time champion. Abe was an assistant coach at Franklin Regional last season.

Last summer's trip to Fargo was not the first time Megaludis was in a national tournament.

"World of Wrestling holds three national tournaments for wrestlers from ages 5-15 every year," he said. "The first two are held in Oklahoma and the third in Reno (Nev.). I won the Trinity Award [or Triple Crown] by winning all three tournaments when I was in eighth grade."