Taking it to the Mat
...e District tournament. Then lost two matches at regionals, which knocked me out of the tournament. But throughout the year the coaches had us write out goals that we had for the team and for ourselves. That year my goal was to give the team everything I had to offer. As the years went on and the weight went up, the matches became a little more vigorous and challenging as the intensity and strength in the matches also became more challenging. During my sophomore and junior year I created more specific goals such as, never get pinned, wrestle till the whistle, get the first point, etc. I would keep these goals in mind during each match. And for the next two years I remained at only qualifying for the individual district tournament. There was always one goal that became a little more realistic after seeing what I could do my freshmen year, which was to make it to the Individual State Finals tournament. During my senior year I ended up getting injured after about two months into the season. I had a torn ligament, partially dislocated my left shoulder, and was supposed to be out for the season. For two months straight, I rehabilitated my shoulder almost back to normal; in the meantime, going back and forth to the doctor who would just tell me I’m crazy for even thinking of wrestling this season. But I did it, just in time for the district tournament. After being off the mats for such a long time I hungered for a match (It was getting so bad I even missed the sour smell of the practice room; which is what drove most visitors out of the vicinity.) like a tiger waiting quietly to pounce on its prey; however, I was a little cautious of my shoulder at first. Then it became second nature again; I was wrestling with greater intensity than ever before. During my matches you could feel the electricity from the stands. After putting a lot of thought in to the idea of coming back, I finally decided to wrestle in the tournament knowing the risks I that was taking. At the district tournament I started off at a heavier weight class than before due to my off-season feeding frenzy and I wasn’t ranked from the start. I began with facing the kid ranked fourth in my weight class. The crowd was so thunderous, I ended up pinning him in the first period; then, came my next challenger, Brent Metcalf. A two-time undefeated state champion, ranked first in the division, is the number one recruit for colleges in wrestling, and took first place medals like they were hanging off a trophy tree. “Uuuhhhhh” the crowd gasped in astonishment as I aggressively tried to hold this wild beast of a man to the mat. “Pin ‘em Nick” is all I could hear ...