Nov. 6, 2007: The Salt Lake Tribune

Iowa State Nabs Cyprus Grappler
by Jay Drew

Cyprus High's Matt Brown has always dreamed of wrestling for Army and serving his country in the military.

But when the Magna school's student-body president, who carries a 4.0 grade point average, got a phone call and scholarship offer from an Olympic gold medalist, it was too much to turn down.

Brown, one of the top prep wrestlers in state history, orally committed to Iowa State and head coach Cael Sanderson recently, and will sign a national letter with the Cyclones later this month.

Sanderson, from Heber City, is the only four-time undefeated college wrestler in NCAA history and was 159-0 as a collegian. He won a gold medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece and was the 2007 National Coach of the Year after leading the Cyclones to a surprising second-place finish in the NCAA Tournament.

Brown is 117-3 overall at Cyprus, having won state titles at 119 pounds as a sophomore and 135 pounds as a junior.

Brown's father, Dave, said his son plans to redshirt his first year in Ames, then serve a two-year LDS Church mission.