It's not like he has a one-track mind, but Georgetown's Ryan Malo is focused on one and only one thing when he takes to the mat for Division 3 Williams College.
"Going for the pin is definitely on my mind when I go out there," said the former New England champion for St. John's Prep. "Putting your man on his back is the ultimate way to win, and it's the best thing for the team."
Having a narrow focus has worked wonders for Malo, a junior who was 39-2 last year and the Division 3 national runner-up at 197 pounds.
In his 39 wins as a sophomore, Malo had a school-record 24 pins, which was the most in any NCAA division, and he's been even more pin-efficient this year. While compiling a 38-4 record, Malo has recorded a whopping 33 pins, which is almost hard to believe since pinning is much harder on the collegiate level.
Moreover, Malo's feat is even more impressive when you consider that many of the pins have been against Division 1 opponents. Competing at the prestigious Midlands Tournament in Chicago, he pinned four Division 1 foes and was honored for most pins at the tourney.
Earlier in the year, he pinned three Division 1 opponents at the Penn State Open.
"Ryan goes out against good competition and makes it look easy," Williams coach Dan DiCenzo said. "I've had coaches come up to me and say 'that kid (Malo) is unbelievable what he's doing.' There are not a lot of pins on the college level, so what he's doing is amazing."
Perhaps overlooked a bit last year, Malo is now squarely in the national spotlight, partly because of a segment in Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd" the week before last.
"To see that in the magazine was pretty special," Malo said. "I remember, at St. John's, Manny (Costa, the St. John's coach) had a picture of Mike Pedro in the wrestling room (for being in 'Faces in the Crowd') and I used to always look at it. Now my picture will be up there."
Although Malo spends as much time in the weight room as anyone, he doesn't claim that his pinning prowess has anything to do with brute strength. Being at 197 for the season (he wrestled at 184 for the first half of his junior season) has helped, but it's more than that.
"Even in high school, I wasn't the strongest," said Malo, who spent a year at Boston University before transferring to Williams. "I'm bigger and stronger this year, but I spend a lot of time on technique, and it's the little things that help me get the pin.
"My main move is a power half (nelson) after riding legs," he said. "My opponents know it's coming, but if I set it up well, it's hard to stop. I'd say that 85 to 90 percent of my pins come from this one move.
"I work on it a lot, but I can still improve on it and find new ways to use it."
It's that kind of focus that has attracted notice from Division 1 coaches and those evaluating the best wrestling talent in the country, which is why Malo has been invited to the Olympic Training Center next summer. The invitation marks another step in the direction he's pointing toward.
"My first goal is to win a national title, but my bigger goal is to make it to the Olympics," Malo said. "I love the sport and want to take it as far as I can. I definitely want to wrestle after I finish with college."
Those are ambitious goals, for sure, but DiCenzo is confident that Malo has what it takes to approach, if not reach them.
"A lot of guys say they want to be a champion, but not many want to do the incredible amount of work it takes to be one," DiCenzo said. "But that's the most impressive thing about Ryan — his work ethic. He never stops working to improve, and he gets better every day.
"He has conditioned his body to wrestle at a high level for seven minutes and, in that time, he breaks his opponent. That's another reason he has so many pins. He wears people down."
The Ryan Malo pin machine
High school: New England champion from Georgetown went 58-0 as a St. John's Prep senior with 54 pins and was 148-27 with 107 pins for his career
College: As a Division 3 finalist, went 39-2 as Williams College sophomore with NCAA-best 24 pins last year; currently 38-4 with an NCAA-best 33 pins as a junior, including seven pins against eight Division 1 opponents
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