When Michael Brennan was a high school freshman, he watched Ty Moore take his fourth state title at the Hershey Park Arena. The young Brennan looked up to him, striving to reach the level of excellence Moore had acheived.

When Brennan faced Moore of North Carolina last month at the National Team Duals, he performed like an awestuck freshman, getting pinned in just over two minutes.

In a twist of fate, the rematch occurred at Hershey Park Arena Friday night. Moore had never lost there, and Brennan hadn't won anywhere during his brief collegiate career. Even Brennan doubted if he could win the match.

"I felt I was going to try no matter what -- I honestly didn't know," Brennan said. "I just wasn't even thinking. The whole match, I was in a fog."

Moore, 15-3 going into Friday's action, jumped out to an early first period lead on the 0-6 Brennan. The tide turned in the second period, though, when Moore was nailed twice with locked hands calls, and once with a stall warning before the period ended. Although Brennan still trailed 4-2 at the time, Coach John Fritz saw a window of opportunity.

"I noticed (Moore) was getting tired, and I told Brennan, 'Look, you just stay in his face and the third period is going to be yours,' " Fritz said.

Fritz was right, and Brennan made his move with a little more than a minute to go in the match. He evened the score at 4-4 with a reversal, and took the lead when Moore was penalized once again for stalling.

Then Brennan turned Moore for two back points, assuring the upset victory. When time had expired, and his hand had been raised, Brennan stood victorious at the center of the mat. He looked surprised when a throng of his teammates mobbed him as the Hershey crowd gave a deafening ovation.

"When I got off the mat, I wasn't as excited as I am now," he said. "Afterwards, my teammates, a lot of the fans, and the media, they really boosted me up. It was something great, as a freshman, to get out there and get a big win like that. It made my whole season."

Brennan would not have even had a chance to wrestle Moore had Shawn Nelson, a former All-American at 118 pounds, not gone down to injury earlier this season. Nelson too was impressed by his understudy's performance.

"He's definitely not a quitter," Nelson said. "As a freshman we all take our knocks, and he showed a lot of fight. It takes a lot of heart . . . to lose a few matches and come back with a big win like that."

Besides his perseverance, Brennan has been pleased with the mental part of his game. He credits some of his strategical knowledge to a being an avid chess player. The two sports, he said, are actually quite similar.

"Chess and wrestling are very much related," he said. "A person who is mentally prepared to win is going to be the winner. A lot of it is strategy."

And such strategy may be what allowed Brennan to score the biggest victory of his career.

"I think I beat him -- just mentally beat him -- out there, and I was able to win the match," he said.

When Brennan was a grade schooler in Forty Fort, however, he dreamed of being the next Larry Bird, not John Smith. He would have rather been a star on the hardwood than the mat.

But when the time came to choose between hoops and wrestling, Brennan's father -- and common sense -- prevailed.

"I always kind of liked basketball, but my height didn't really allow me to be involved with that," the 5-foot-3 Brennan said. "My father, being all into wrestling, he gave me a push in the right direction."