If you had any doubt that wrestlers are among the fittest athletes on the planet, take a look at Penn State mat champ Matt Brown.
Brown, 2013 Big Ten conference wrestling champ, 174-pound finalist at the 2013 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, and Army ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) cadet, finished first overall in an Army fitness test, Penn State announced Wednesday.
The crime, law and justice major came out on top at the 12th Regiment Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT), conducted July 7 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State.
Brown, along with Kristin St. Pierre of Roger Williams University and University of Rhode Island, took first place for the male and female categories.
Competing against 443 others, Brown grabbed the top spot among men with a score of 381, while St. Pierre achieved the highest women’s score with a 369.
The APFT consists of three separate events: a two-minute sit-up test, a two-minute push-up test, and a two-minute run. A participant must score at least 60 points in each of the three categories, with actual scoring requirements based on age and sex. For example, a 22-year-old male participant like Brown would have to complete a minimum of 50 sit-ups and 40 push-ups each in two minutes, and run two miles in 16 minutes, 36 seconds to get a passing score of 60 points each. (To score 100 points requires completing 80 sit-ups and 75 push-ups each in two minutes, and covering two miles in 13 minutes.)
In a February 2013 article for the Penn State Collegian student newspaper, Brown’s ROTC battalion leader, Lt. Col. Ken Weiland, said the Nittany Lions’ 174-pound starter did 124 push-ups in two minutes… well exceeding the 75 push-up minimum for a 100-point score.
Brown began thinking about joining Army ROTC as he was considering colleges while still in high school.
“I just like the service component of it; I like the discipline, the work,” the Penn State junior told the Collegian. “I think those are my main ideals anyway, so I just fit in well there.”
As a member of Penn State’s ROTC battalion, Brown participates in leadership training along with additional classwork.
Like any other cadet in Penn State’s battalion, Brown has several commitments to ROTC. He goes through leadership training and does additional classwork each week. However, because of his exemplary performance in the physical fitness tests, Brown is exempt from the three-times-a-week morning physical training sessions.
Just as impressive, Matt Brown has the brains to go with the brawn.
In addition to displaying superior physical fitness in the APFT, the West Valley City, Utah native has demonstrated academic excellence as well.
In June, Brown was named as a First Team Capital One Academic All-American for the NCAA Division I At-Large Team, incorporating athletes from up to 12 men’s sports. This honor was on the heels of being named a first-team NWCA (National Wrestling Coaches Association) All-Academic selection, and the NCAA Elite 89 Award winner as the nation’s top Division I wrestler with the top GPA (grade point average) of all 330 competitors at the 2013 NCAAs.
Brown completed his sophomore season as a Nittany Lion wrestler with a 29-5 record, the 2013 Big Ten 174-pound title, and NCAA All-American honors. He now has a 56-7 career record for Penn State.
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