Morgan McIntosh of California hits a leg attack on the way to a victory at 215 pounds in the Junior Freestyle Nationals. John Sachs photo

Morgan McIntosh of California is the best high school wrestler of 2011.

The graduated senior has piled up more accolades in his four-year career at Calvary Chapel High School than most wrestlers can dream to earn in a lifetime.

His resume is long. A three-time undefeated California State champion, the 2010 Junior Freestyle National Champion, a multiple age-group All American, the 2011 Asics High School Wrestler of the Year and much more.

McIntosh is not yet ready to put the wraps on his astonishing high school career.

He is back in Fargo doing something that many graduated high school seniors do not do: compete in the ASICS Junior National Freestyle Championships the summer after they graduate.

“My college and high school coaches wanted me to wrestle through the summer, and there are no other big tournaments,” said McIntosh, who is looking to win his second straight Junior Freestyle title.  “This tournament is a big one, and it’s a fun trip coming out here.”

One of his coaches, Calvary Chapel head coach and California National Team coach Arsen Aleksanyan, believes that McIntosh’s accomplishments are significant to more than just himself and his school.

“It means a lot to the whole Orange County wrestling community,” said Aleksanyan.  “He is a great example for all his teammates and all wrestlers.”

McIntosh won the 2010 Junior Nationals title wrestling at 189 pounds, which is also the weight he wrestled during his senior year of competition. But he made another unique move and decided to wrestle up a weight class at 215 pounds.

“I want to wrestle up a weight class in college,” said McIntosh.  “So I want to get used to wrestling big, strong guys. I also didn’t really feel like dropping all the weight to make 189”

So far in this year’s tournament, McIntosh has been tossing those “big, strong guys” around the mat as if they were mere infants.

In his first match of the tournament, McIntosh wasted no time taking down Kansas’s Cameron Bruce and turning him three times to take the first period 7-0 in less than 30 seconds.  The second period was a mirror image of the first, as McIntosh won by technical fall after taking the second period 7-0.

He won the next two matches in dominant fashion, stopping Mark Garrity of Virginia by technical fall, 7-0, 7-0 and Tanner Harms of Colorado 

“It is a good tournament to get some good matches in,” McIntosh said.  “It would be a nice way to go out if I can win it.”

McIntosh will carry all his momentum from high school across the country to begin a new chapter in his wrestling career at Penn State University for the defending Division I National Champion Nittany Lions under its head coach Cael Sanderson.

Wrestling powerhouses Cornell and Ohio State were also among McIntosh’s final college options before he went on a visit to Penn State and ultimately made his decision.

“I went out and saw the campus and all the facilities and they were really nice,” said McIntosh.  “The coaching staff is a great group and is all family men.”

After the visit, McIntosh’s knew he wanted to wrestle for Sanderson and the Nittany Lions. He made his commitment not only to wrestle for the school, but also to strive for greatness.

“I’m going to set my goals very high for college,” said McIntosh.  “I want to be a four-time national champ.”

Aleksanyan completely believes in the abilities of his former high school standout.

“The sky is the limit for him in college,” Aleksanyan said.  “After being in that room for 3-4 months, he will be very hard to beat at that level as well.”

If McIntosh sees similar success at Happy Valley as he has in Orange County, then the rest of the nation needs to be wary.

McIntosh started his career competing at 160 pounds as a freshman, and completed his season with a 41-5 record and a fifth place finish at the California State Championships.

That was merely the beginning.

After his freshman year, McIntosh did not lose another high school match, cranking out three straight undefeated seasons at 171 pounds and 189 pounds respectively.  He capped of each season with a California State Championship.

“I have great training partners that are a big reason for my success,” said McIntosh.  “We train year round, but a lot harder during the school year to try and peak for the big tournaments.”

This success was no surprise to Aleksanyan. From the very first time he worked out with McIntosh, he knew the kid was special.

“He picked up on things so quickly, some really advanced things,” said Aleksanyan.  “He was doing it in practice so it was easy to do it in a match.”

That hard work that McIntosh put in was also a stimulant for his coach and teammates.

“I would tell the team if he could do it in the practice room, then they could do it,” said Aleksanyan.  “He did everything that was ever asked of him and always wanted to get better.”

And McIntosh indeed got better.  Way better.    

He accumulated some incredible statistics in his dominant career at Calvary Chapel, posting an amazing record of 189-5 including 128 pins.  An even more mind blowing fact is that McIntosh did not even get taken down in both his junior and senior year.

“The last time I got taken down was my junior year summer,” said McIntosh.  “I was wrestling at the FILA Junior Championships and got taken down a few times.”

That tournament was two years ago.

While his dominance at the high school level has been truly amazing, McIntosh acknowledged that he will probably redshirt his freshman year at Penn State allowing him time to adjust to college life and wrestling.

While the Nittany Lion’s wrestling program has to be extremely excited about getting the top-ranked wrestling recruit in the nation this year, they have other reasons to get excited about McIntosh. The kid is incredibly dedicated to community service and helping those in need, proving that he is not only a champion on the mat, but also off it.

“It is very important to give back to people that are not as fortunate,” said McIntosh.  “It is a really good experience to do so and it also feels good knowing you made a difference.”

McIntosh was a part of the Calvary Chapel hydroponic project, in which McIntosh and fellow students travelled to Mexico to help build homes and take part in other community building activities.  He was also the only high school student to go on the tsunami relief trip to America Samoa in 2009.

“I’m going on another mission trip this summer to England,” McIntosh said.  “I’m going to be helping run a Christian music festival.  It should be a good thing to be a part of.”

Throughout his life McIntosh has been a part of many of good things and, according to Aleksanyan, it stems from his strong belief and support systems.

“He has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and is very religious,” said Aleksanyan.  “He has great parents that raised him the right way and taught him the right values.  They were always there to support him.”

For his sincere efforts to give back to the community as well as for his accomplishments on the mat, McIntosh was the 2011 winner of the Dave Schulz High School Excellence Award.  The award is given annually to a graduating high school wrestler who embodies in wrestling, scholastic achievement, character, citizenship, and community service.

The award is named in honor of the late Olympic and World Champion Dave Schultz, who was a legend as a high school wrestling star from California.

“It was an awesome trip to get to go out to Oklahoma to receive the award,” said McIntosh.  “I got to see the Hall of Fame and shake the hands of some of the biggest names in wrestling.”

McIntosh said he hopes that he aspires to one day be one of those big name wrestlers shaking the hands of the best youth wrestlers of the year.

“Throughout all his success he has had, he has never changed as a person,” said Aleksanyan.  “He never got cocky, never got an attitude and never thought he was too good for anything.”

While his goals are set high, they seem impeccably reachable for McIntosh if he can continue to grow and work his way towards not only being one of the best wrestlers in the nation, but also in the world.

“I know his goal is to one day be an Olympic champ,” said Aleksanyan.  “I’m excited for him.”

This week, McIntosh is back in Fargo for one last go-around at a Junior National Championship. If things go his way, he could wrestling for his second straight Junior Nationals championship on Saturday, July 23.

Everyone should enjoy the show.