!!!!

www.WrestlingUSA.comJanuary 15, 2015

VOL. L, NO. 6$5.00

www.WrestlingUSA.comJanuary 15, 2015

VOL. L, NO. 6$5.00

50thAnniversary

NATIONAL ACTION WRESTLING PHOTO CONTESTSend your best action wrestling photos. The best photos will be recognizedeach issue. The outstanding color photo will be featured on the cover, posteror t-shirt. Cover photos may be submitted as 5x7 print or digital at 300 dpi.

2014 Monster Match - 152 lbs. Shandon Welsh (GreenRiver) attempting a takedown against Ronald Brown(Venom Wrestling Club). Brown would decision Welsh 4-0.Photo by Dean Vande Berg.

Cover Photo

n this issue of Wrestling USA Magazine you will find our first All-ClassHigh School Ranking for this year comprised by Dan Fickel our NationalEditor. The All-Class High School Ranking lists the top 30 wrestlers in eachweight class by combining the seniors, juniors, sophomores and freshmeninto one classification. With nearly 280,000 high school wrestlers in the

United States, as you could image this is a very daunting job.It’s not surprising that the top ranked wrestlers are dominated by the senior class

with eight wrestlers; 113 lbs. Jabari Moody (Rich Central, IL), 126 lbs. Kaid Brock(Stillwater, OK), 138 lbs. Sam Krivus (Hempfield, PA), 145 lbs. Michael Kemerer (FranklinRegional, PA), 160 lbs. Logan Massa (St. Johns, MI), 182 lbs. Zahid Valencia (St. JohnBosco, CA), 195 lbs. Bobby Steveson (Apple Valley, MN) and 285 lbs. Michael Johnson(Lombard Montini, IL). The Junior class have four wrestlers top ranked; 132 lbs. LukePletcher (Greater Latrobe, PA), 152 lbs. Isaiah White (Oak Park-River Forest, IL), 170 lbs.Mark Hall (Apple Valley, MN) and 220 lbs. Jordan Wood (Boyertown, PA). The soph-omore and freshmen class each have one wrestler top ranked; 106 lbs. Cade Olivas,freshman, (St. John Bosco, CA) and 120 lbs. Spencer Lee, sophomore, (FranklinRegional, PA). Apple Valley High School in Minnesota has two top ranked wrestlersand the state of Pennsylvania leads the pack with four top ranked wrestlers.

The state of California leads the country with the most high school wrestling partic-ipants with over 27,000 wrestlers followed by Illinois (16,022), New York (13,668),Ohio (11,430), Texas (11,352), New Jersey (10,276), Michigan (10,179), Pennsylvania(9,760), North Carolina (9,584) and Georgia (8,912). Pennsylvania ranks 8th inwrestling participation numbers but consistently has the most ranked high schoolwrestlers in the country. This isn’t surprising that it also translates the state ofPennsylvania consistently having the most Division I All-Americans at the collegelevel. I doesn’t hurt that Pennsylvania has the most NCAA Division I wrestling pro-grams in the country with 11 schools; Bloomsburg University, Bucknell University,Clarion University, Drexel University, Edinboro University, Franklin & MarshallCollege, Lehigh University, Lock Haven University, University of Pennsylvania,Pennsylvania State University and University of Pittsburgh. The state of NorthCarolina has the next most NCAA Division I programs with seven, followed by NewYork (6), Virginia (5) and Illinois, Michigan and Ohio each with four. California withthe most high school wrestling participants only has three NCAA Division I wrestlingprograms; California Polytechnic State University, California State University,Bakersfield and Stanford.

Just a reminder that our upcoming February 15th issue of Wrestling USA Magazinewill feature our final senior class ranking that will be used to determine our 18thDream Team Classic Dual to be wrestled this year in the state of Iowa. Please Don’thesitate to e-mail Dan Fickel of any deserving wrestlers that you don’t see ranked inany of his high school rankings. Dan can always be e-mailed at dfickel@netlink.net.

Wrestling USA Magazine would like to wish you a blessed and prosperous 2015!

As Always, let’s be “On The Go Together,”

Cody

I

WRESTLING USA MAGAZINELETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Wrestling U.S.A. Magazine - January 15, 2015 page 3

2015 All-Class High School RankingBy Cody Bryant, Managing Editor

Editor-In-ChiefLANNY BRYANT

Order of MeritNational Wrestling Hall of Fame

AAU National Wrestling Hall of FameManaging EditorCODY BRYANTAssistant EditorANN BRYANT

National EditorDAN FICKEL

National PhotographerWYATT SCHULTZ

Contributing EditorBILL WELKER

Design & Art DirectorCODY BRYANT

Administrative AssistantsLANANN BRYANT

CODI JEAN BRYANTSHANNON (BRYANT) WOLFE

JACKIE NEWMANAdvertising/Promotion

CODY BRYANT

National Office109 Apple House LaneMissoula, MT 59802

406-549-4448 FAX 406-549-4879Wrestling USA (ISSN) 0199-6258

Wrestling USA Magazine, Inc. is published tentimes yearly as follows: September, Fall Buyer’sGuide, October, November, December, January,February, March, April and May.Editorial Office: 109 Apple House Lane, Missoula,MT 59802, 1-406-549-4448. All contributions arewelcome. Please enclose postage with manuscripts,illustrations and photographs submitted if they are tobe returned. We assume no responsibility forunsolicited materials. All rights, in letters and photossent to Wrestling USA, will be treated asunconditionally assigned for publication andcopyright purposes. They are subject to WrestlingUSA’s unrestricted right to edit and to commenteditorially. Printed in USA; entire contents © 2015Wrestling USA; reprinting in whole or in part isforbidden except by written permission of publisher.Subscriptions: One year (10 issues) $35 in UnitedStates and Possessions. Bundle rate for10-subscriptions, $30. All other countries $60 inUS currency or international money order. Send toSubscription Department, Wrestling USA Magazine,109 Apple House Lane, Missoula, MT 59802.Send National Record Proposals:Cody Bryant, 109 Apple House Ln, Missoula, MT 59802Phone 1-800-359-1850E-Mail: cody@wrestlingusa.comSend All-American Nominations or Correspondenceon High School and College Wrestling: Dan Fickel, 10757 Woodrun Dr. Strongsville, OH 44136E-Mail: dfickel@netlink.netChange of Address: Six weeks are required tochange your mailing address. Forwarding postageis paid by you and lost copies cannot be replaced.To ensure delivery, send us your old and newaddress at least six weeks before moving. Includeyour new zip code.Advertising: Rates available upon request. ContactCody Bryant at the National Office.phone 1-800-359-1850.Postmaster: Send address changes to WrestlingUSA Magazine, Inc., 109 Apple House Lane,Missoula, MT 59802. Periodical postage paid atMissoula, MT 59802 and at additional offices.PRINTED IN THE USAE Mail: cody@wrestlingusa.comWeb Site: http://www.wrestlingusa.com

3 LETTER FROM THE EDITOR2015 High School All-Class RankingBy Cody Bryant, Managing Editor

6 COLLEGE ACTIONNAIA College PreviewBy Dan Fickel, National Editor

16 SPORT NUTRITIONHydration is Key for Sports and Healthy LifestylesBy James Johnson

17 HIGH SCHOOL ACTION2014-2015 High School All-Class RankingsBy Dan Fickel, National Editor

24 TOP TECHNIQUELeg SlipBy Joe Nord

26 WRESTLING STRENGTHThe Three Rs of Nutritional RecoveryBy Matt Brzycki

28 MAT MUSES... on the Good and Bad Breaks in Wrestling and LifeBy Dr. Bill Welker

30 COACHES CORNERCoach Tom Brands and the Iowa WrestlingEnsembleBy Eddie Goldman

THE NATIONAL VOICE OF HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING

2014 The Clash - 152 lbs. Matthew Rundell (Oak Park River Forest, IL)looking for a pin with a cradle against David Brennan (Bergen Catholic, NJ).Rundell won by technical fall 15-0 to help Oak Park River Forest defeatBergen Catholic 35-25. Photo by Wyatt Schultz.

January 15, 2015VOL. L, NO. 6

2014 The Clash - 182 lbs. Billy O’Neill (Mason City, IA) trying to bringAustin Hoyle’s (Alburnett, IA) leg over the top to score. O’Neill won by fallin 3:38 but Alburnett won the dual 45-29. Photo by Wyatt Schultz.

January 15, 2015 - Wrestling U.S.A. Magazinepage 4

W R E S T L I N G U S A M A G A Z I N ETABLE of Contents

January 15, 2015 - Wrestling U.S.A. Magazinepage 6

he 58th Annual NAIAWrestling Championships will be heldat the Kansas Expocentre in Topeka, Kansas on March 6-7,2015.

Nick Mitchell, a three-time NWCA National Coach of theYear, is in his seventh season as the Grand View Universityhead wrestling coach and has firmly established the Vikings

as a national powerhouse and one of the crown jewels of small-collegewrestling. Last year, Mitchell led the program to their third consecutiveNAIA National Team championship, their third straight Cliff KeenNational Duals championship, a 14-1 dual meet record, and their fourthconsecutive Central Region Team championship. A previous three-timeAll-American and Athletic Hall of Fame member at Wartburg College,Mitchell has coached 41 All-Americans, 13 NAIA individual nationalchampions, 27 NWCA All-Academic team selections, and has accumu-lated a 60-9 dual meet record. A strong nucleus returns led by NAIAchampions Ryak Finch (125), Brandon Wright (141), Gustavo Martinez(149), and Jimmie Schuessler (165), NAIA runner-up Dallas Houchins(157), All-American Christian Mays (184), and national qualifiers CodySwim (174), and A.J Mott (197). Two talented redshirt freshmen withgreat expectations are Iowa state champions Dylan Blackford (174) andDean Broghammer (285). Other returning team members includeTristan Bundy (125), Jacob Grant (133), Walker Marshall (141), TannerWerner (141), Brian Warren (149), David Kellogg (149), GrantHenderson (157), Isaac Lundgren (157), Nate Stadeker (165), DerrickHuber (165), Thomas Moman (174), Justin Koethe (174), Logan Kellogg(184), John Orschein (184), Derrick Hawkins (197), Dalton Peterson(197), and Bojan Djukic (285). Three amazing transfer students lookingto make an impact are 2012 National Junior College Championshipsplacer Jacob Colon (133), 2010 Junior National Greco-RomanChampionships winner Elijah Sullivan (149), and two-time CaliforniaState Community College Championships placer Jacob Blackwell (165).Other newcomers include Oregon state champion Joel Timmons (125),Iowa state placers Trevor Murano (125), Hunter Genco (133), and JohnGioffredi (141), Missouri state placers Lawton Benna (165) and BlakeJoiner (165), and National Junior College Championships placersThomas Daniels (174) and Jake Laden (285).

In his 31st year of involvement with the Southern Oregon Universitywrestling program, Mike Ritchey is in his 20th season as head coach ofthe perennially-strong Raiders. Ritchey competed at 126-pounds forlegendary Head Coach Bob Riehm from 1985-1988, and was the school’sfirst four-time All-American. A two-time NAIA Coach of the Year,Ritchey led the Raiders to the NAIA Championship team title in 2001and has put together an impressive 178-75 dual meet record against top-level competition. This year’s team is centered on three-time NAIAchampion Brock Gutches (174), and All-Americans Tyler Cowger (149),Dalton Urrutia (157), Jacob Abrams (184), Taylor Johnson (197), andClayton Burtis (285). Four additional national-caliber performers arenational qualifiers Johnathon Gay (141), Trevor Hancock (157), andGarrett Urrutia (165), and 2010 Oregon state champion Brock Crocker(165). Other tough returning squad members include Coleman Johns(125), Ian Rogers (125), Tim Tsukanov (133), Francis Llorente (141),Taylor Canady (149), James Bowers (174), Ryan McWatters (184), and

Reed Tennyson (184). An exceptional transfer student is two-timeOregon state champion Kyle Sether (141). Other highly-accomplishednewcomers include Oregon state champions Casey Coulter (125) andMax Hane (184), Washington state champion Matthew Floresca (133),Hawaii state champion Christian Natividad (133), Oregon state runner-ups Devin Poppen (133), Tanner Fischer (184), and Alejandro Sandoval(285), Oregon state placers Ryan Jurgens (197) and Bradley Hyatt (197),and Hawaii state placer Pablo Gonzalez (197).

In his first seven seasons as the University of Great Falls headwrestling coach, Caleb Schaefer has put together 4th, 12th, 3rd, 4th, 6th,7th and 2nd place finishes respectively at the NAIA NationalChampionships and has continued the tradition of excellence surround-ing the Argonaut wrestling program. A2003 NAIAchampion and four-time All-American, Schaefer was a two-time NAIA All-AmericanScholar Athlete Award winner at Montana State University-Northern.He looks to have a formidable line-up again this year that is centered onAll-Americans Michael Ruiz (133), Kyle Wilson (141), Ryan Martin(149), Chad Cebulski (157), and Shawn Lau (165) and national qualifiersLuke Schlosser (125), Taylor Vaughn (174), Adam Wolfe (184), andDylan Lemery (285). Other returnees looking to provide some big winsinclude Jared Berlinger (125), Austin Dodson (125), Clinton Garvin

TT

NAIA PREVIEW TEAM RANKING

1. Grand View (IA)2. Southern Oregon3. Great Falls (MT)4. MSU-Northern (MT)5. Missouri Valley6. Campbellsville (KY)7. Lindsey Wilson (KY)8. Oklahoma City9. Menlo (CA)

10. Midland (NE)11. Simpson (CA)12. Indiana Tech13. Embry-Riddle (AZ)14. Life (GA)15. Concordia (NE)16. Baker (KS)17. William Penn (IA)18. Dickinson State (ND)19. York (NE)20. Morningside (IA)

COLLEGE Action

By Dan Fickel

NAIA COLLEGEPREVIEW

Wrestling U.S.A. Magazine - January 15, 2015 page 17

HIGH SCHOOL Action

ere are rankings of the Nation’s Best2014-15 High School Wrestlers.These rankings represent wrestlersregardless of year in school.Seven factors were considered indetermining these rankings. They

include: (1) accomplishments at the state highschool championships (folkstyle); (2) NationalJunior Freestyle and Greco-Roman success; 3)Performances at prestigious regular season highschool tournaments; (4) Super 32 Championships;(5) Cadet National Placement (6) NHSCAChampionships; (7) Flo Nationals. Weights areprojected and subject to change. Please e-mailcredentials, projected weights for this season,and color head-shot photos of any listed ordeserving wrestlers to: dfickel@netlink.net

1061. Cade Olivas, 9, (St. John Bosco, CA)2. Gavin Teasdale, 9, (Jefferson-Morgan, PA)3. Tomas Gutierrez, 11, (Pomona, CO)4. Roman Bravo-Young, 9, (Sunnyside, AZ)5. Brandon Courtney, 10, (Desert Edge, AZ)6. Thomas Cox, 11, (Deer Park, NY)7. Dane Heberlein, 10, (Alexander, NY)8. Randon Miranda, 12, (Quartz Hill, CA)9. Drew Mattin, 10, (Delta, OH)

10. Joey Silva, 9, (Lake Highland Prep, FL)11. Jacori Teemer, 9, (Long Beach, NY)12. Kirk Johansen, 12, (Glenbard North, IL)13. Max Murin, 10, (Central Cambria, PA)14. Anthony Madrigal, 9,

(Oak Park-River Forest, IL)15. Justin McCoy, 9, (Chestnut Ridge, PA)16. Shane Metzler, 10, (West Morris Central, NJ)17. Roderick Mosley, 9, (Heritage Hall, OK)18. Jonathan Tropea, 11, (St. Joseph, NJ)19. Kelan McKenna, 11, (New Hartford, NY)20. Tate Steele, 9, (Lawrence Free State, KS)21. Jaxon Cole, 10, (North Summit, UT)22. Jake Silverstein, 9, (Hauppauge, NY)23. Quinn Kinner, 9, (Kingsway Regional, NJ)24. Matt Parker, 9, (Pennridge, PA)25. Brian Stuart, 9, (North Hagerstown, MD) 26. Tristen Serbus, 11, (Corunna, MI)27. Louie Hayes, 11, (Carl Sandburg, IL) 28. Nicolas Aquilar, 10, (Gilroy, CA)29. Real Woods, 9, (Montini Catholic, IL)30T. Zac Murillo, 12, (Southington, CT)

30T. Justin Stickley, 11, (St. Paris Graham, OH)30T. Joseph Thomas, 10, (South Carroll, MD)30T. Clayton Singh, 9, (Kearney, MO)

1131. Jabari Moody, 12, (Rich Central, IL)2. Danny Vega, 11, (Ironwood Ridge, AZ)3. Justin Mejia, 10, (Clovis, CA)4. Mitch Moore, 9, (St. Paris Graham, OH)5. Devin Brown, 12, (Franklin Regional, PA)6. Austin Gomez, 10, (Glenbard North, IL)7. Jason Renteria, 10, (Oak Park-River Forest, IL)8. Brandon Paetzell, 11, (Phillipsburg, NJ)9. Ian Timmins, 10, (Wooster, NV)

10. Andrew Nieman, 11, (Stillwater, OK)11. Garrett Pepple, 12, (East Noble, IN)12. Jaden Mattox, 9, (Central Crossing, OH)13. Alan Hart, 10, (St. Edward, OH)

14. Paxton Rosen, 10, (Edmond North, OK)15. Tommy Hoskins, 9, (Dayton Christian, OH)16. Noah Baughman, 11, (Wadsworth, OH)17. Paul Konrath, 10, (Mount Vernon, IN)18. Sebastian Rivera, 11, (Christian Brothers, NJ)19. TyShawn White, 11, (Central Dauphin, PA)20. Caleb Smith, 12, (Lake Gibson, FL)22. Sidney Oliver, 11, (Holt, MO)22. Zach Sherman, 10, (Blair Academy, NJ)23. Joey Prata, 11, (St. Christopher’s, VA)24. Brandon Cray, 11, (Hamilton East, NJ)25. Drew Hildebrandt, 11, (Penn, IN)26. Drew West, 10, (Highland Riverside, IA)27. Lucas Hall, 11, (Lowell, MI) 28. Jack Wagner, 11, (Bettendorf, IA)29. Alex Thomsen, 9, (Underwood, IA)30T. Dorian Sapien, 12, (Borah, ID)30T. Gavin Maslen, 11, (Glennallen, AK)

HH

BEST 2014-15 HIGH SCHOOL

By Dan Fickel, National Editor

ALL-CLASS RANKINGS

January 15, 2015 - Wrestling U.S.A. Magazinepage 24

page 26 January 15, 2015 - Wrestling U.S.A. Magazine

ost coaches and athletes think that recovery sim-ply means scheduling enough time betweenworkouts and getting adequate rest (sleep).Although this is certainly a large part of the

process, it’s also important to address the nutritional aspects ofrecovery. Clearly, proper nutrition – especially following anintense activity – can accelerate your recovery and better pre-pare you for your next physical challenge.

NUTRITIONAL TACTICSAs part of the recovery process, athletes must refuel, rehy-

drate and repair. Let’s take a closer look at the three Rs of nutri-tional recovery.

REFUELHere, fuel refers to the source of energy that’s used to perform

physical work. For the most part, your body relies on a mixtureof carbohydrates (carbs) and fat to provide energy. (Protein canalso provide energy but its use is negligible at rest and minimalduring exercise.)

Whether your body uses more carbs or more fat as fueldepends on the intensity of an activity. At lower levels of effort– like sleeping, sitting and walking – your body prefers to use agreater percentage of fat; at higher levels of effort – like running,drilling and wrestling – your body prefers to use a greater per-centage of carbs. In short, as the intensity of an activity increas-es so does the reliance on carbs.

So after an intense activity, your levels of carbs are depleted;

your gas tank is on “E” and needs filling. It makes sense, then,to consume carbs, refilling your gas tank in preparation for thenext time that you step onto the wrestling mat or into theweight room. (Carbs are stored in your liver and muscles asglycogen and circulate in your bloodstream as glucose.)

And the sooner that you refuel, the better. Delaying the con-sumption of carbs significantly reduces the rate at which yourglycogen stores are replenished. This will impede the recoveryprocess and impact your future performance.

After an activity, fluids might be the best choice to delivercarbs. For one thing, in the aftermath of an intense activity, yourappetite is suppressed which makes fluids more appealing thansolid foods or a meal. In addition, fluids tend to be more read-ily accessible than foods. Fluids also help to cool your bodyafter training. Finally, as you’ll see in a bit, fluids rehydrateyour body.

Guideline: Consume about 0.5 grams of carbs per pound ofyour bodyweight within 30 minutes of completing an activity.Repeat this again within two hours of completing the activity.Say, for instance, that you finished training at 5:00pm. If you’re150 pounds, you should consume around 75 grams of carbs – or300 calories of carbs – by about 5:30pm and another 75 grams ofcarbs by about 7:00pm.

REHYDRATEWater is good for replacing the fluids that you lose during

exercise. However, a rehydration beverage – aka a sports drink– can work better than water since it also offers electrolytes(most notably, sodium and potassium) as well as some carbs

MBy Matt Brzycki

THE THREE Rs OF NUTRITIONAL RECOVERY

WRESTLING Strength

2014 Monster Match - 126 lbs. Zachary Wigzell (All Phase) using a turk to turn Riley McSherry (Rapid City) and work for a fall. Wigzell finished thematch with the fall at 3:44. Photo by Dean Vande Berg.

n wrestling, as with life, you've got to learn to take the badwith the good. Why is it that people tend to forget theirgood fortunes and think only of those bad breaks--dwellingon them for days. I know because I see it all the time,whether it be teaching in school, listening to friends' prob-

lems, or participating in or coaching and officiating wrestlingmatches. Individuals often feel that someone is out to get themwhen something goes sour. Well, in my opinion, it "ain't" so -especially in wrestling.

I have coached and officiated wrestling locally for over 40years. As a coach, I have witnessed my wrestlers receive callsfrom officials that I felt were athletic gifts. They were question-able calls that went our way. Ironically, when close calls didn't goin our favor, I quickly forgot the good ones. It's the nature of thebeast in the coaching ranks.

However, as the years went by and I began to mature as acoach, I perceived an equalizing trend. Over the course of time inathletics, one realizes that the good and the bad tend to eventhemselves out. And I learned to tell my wrestlers that they can'texpect all those close calls to go their way.

As an official, I have had to make those close calls. And believeme, they weren't pretty situations. But you have to make difficultdecisions because they're a miserable part of the job. So, even inthe officiating ranks, I have observed the same phenomena occur.During the course of a wrestling season, when you add up allthose close or questionable calls, the law of averages (somehow)seems to even things out for all involved.

In conclusion, try to learn what I have gleaned over the years asa wrestler, coach, and official. And that is as follows:

"In all facets of life, sooner or later, everything comes out in thewash."

!!!"#$"%#&"'(#)*'"*+,-%",*%.+*+'"*#",--+(*./0+1'"/$23'*/-+'"As I have suggested in the above column, a certain amount of

injustice does exist in all sports at every level of competition. Themore I consider this reality in athletics, the more I feel that quitepossibly such acts of poor judgment (or mistakes) that unfairlypenalize the innocent competitor, may have some redeemingqualities. Now, I know what you're thinking; Welker's finely goneover the deep end. But hear me out.

Keep in mind, the mission of schools, and the activities associ-ated with them, is to prepare students to be productive citizens inour society. This includes preparing them for the many adversi-ties they will have to face as adults. One of these hardships is the"inequity" that a person is often confronted with throughout hisexistence in this world. Yes, life is not always fair.

When coaches and officials make errors that hurt the athlete,

they do so with no malice in mind. However, many maliciousindividuals hurt others intentionally during the course of dailyliving, without remorse. Shouldn't future adults also be preparedto deal with this unfair fact of life?

For example, as a teacher, I was a disciplinarian in the class-room, who demanded appropriate student-behavior. Of course,some of my students felt that I was a bit harsh at times. Myrespond to them was: "I may seem cruel, but I'm "fair" whenadministering justice in this classroom. Many individuals outthere (pointing to the window) will be cruel to you, without jus-tification. So you better be ready to expect such wickednesswhen you reach adulthood."

In sum, I worry about kids who have never experienced someform of injustice while growing up. They're in for a rude awak-ening when they step into the real world, and it may be too over-whelming for them to psychologically accept. At the very least,exposure to some unfairness in athletics will prepare students toface adversity in life head on.

!!!"#$"*%#'+"4)+,*".#'+)'Too often we talk about winning and fail to mention the other

side of sports--"Losing!" If you take the time to consider the latter of the two, I am sure

you have witnessed some great losers. Yes, that's what I said"Great Losers!" Now this may seem contrary to all the ideals weassociate with the spirit of competition. Nonetheless, I can assureyou that it's the courageous runner-ups in life that have playedsignificant roles in the making of our glorious champions.

These individuals could have chosen more comfortable paths towalk, competing against those of lesser ability. But no, they pre-ferred the hard road where their foremost adversaries would betraveling. The real losers of the world are not made of this fiber.

Now I can honestly note that some of my most thrilling andgratifying moments as a coach have involved such gallant losers.This breed of athletes has always inspired me. And I sometimeswonder who truly gains more from a sport, the winner that findsthe going easy or the loser that works to the final buzzer.

What do you think? There's an old athletic saying, "No one ever remembers who

came in second." This quote is not entirely a fair one. At the veryleast, one person will never forget his or her name--the champi-on!

!!!"#$"*%+"5#'*"/5(#)*,$*".#''"#0"56"./0+It was the final match of my high school wrestling career. I lost

4-3 in the Pennsylvania state finals. I was devastated. But Iwould later realize how lucky I was that chilly March evening ofso long ago. Allow me to explain.

/!!!"78"9:;"477<"=8<">=<>?;=@A"B8"&?;A9CB8D"=8<".BE;"

By Dr. Bill Welker

MAT Muses

January 15, 2015 - Wrestling U.S.A. Magazinepage 28