CombatSpeed Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 When I was at Central Michigan...there was a kid on my team who was our backup heavyweight at the time and he was a pretty good heavyweight, but he was still learning alot about wrestling. When I asked him why he wasn't as advanced as all the other athletes on the team he said he just started to learn how to wrestle pretty much his senior year in high school...You see, this kid actually wrestled all four years in high school, however he didn't win a match until his junior year in which he had a .500 record....then his senior year he goes undefeated and wins state. So I'm wondering....what are the biggest cases like this that we've seen here in Indiana? A kid who maybe doesn't have the most talent and struggles his first couple years but then comes back a couple seasons later to win it or place high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattM Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Maybe not the top story but one we point out to those not suceeding in our program. We had a guy who didn't win more than maybe a handful of matches in his entire middle school career. He looked like a little pudge ball of a guy. Just got another handful of wins between his freshman and sophomore year, varsity and JV combined. Around .500 at best as a junior. Then went on to a 40 win season and place in state as a senior. Goes on to attend West Point and eventually starts on the varsity team. He last year there he was tied for the second most wins and had the most pins on the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildCatWrestler2008 Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 I sucked my first year, was a little under .500 2nd year, got hurt last year and now im doing pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Y2CJ41 Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Well I will mention two off hand. The first is Drew Graber who went from 7-15 his freshman year to being a state qualifier as a sophomore and then to the state finals as a junior. Then, as much as I hate to toot my own horn, but I guess I will on this topic. As a freshman I was 9-19 with 9 forfeits(at 103lbs). As a sophomore I lost my first seven matches of the year, but finally got a real win just before Christmas. I ended up 16-12 that year with a conference runner-up finish. As a senior I made it to semi-state and then went on to wrestle in college for a pretty good small school program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice135 Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Fernando Martinez from Highland. He didn't make it out of Sectionals as a freshman and Regionals as a sophomore. Then took state at 103 and 3rd at 112. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coops99 Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Well I will mention two off hand. The first is Drew Graber who went from 7-15 his freshman year to being a state qualifier as a sophomore and then to the state finals as a junior. Then, as much as I hate to toot my own horn, but I guess I will on this topic. As a freshman I was 9-19 with 9 forfeits(at 103lbs). As a sophomore I lost my first seven matches of the year, but finally got a real win just before Christmas. I ended up 16-12 that year with a conference runner-up finish. As a senior I made it to semi-state and then went on to wrestle in college for a pretty good small school program. So Y2, what helped you turn the corner? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice135 Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 That's a great turnaround Y2, good job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeeMom Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 I love to hear stories like these. It's good to have a few of these stories in our back pockets when we need to encourage our JV guys to stick with it... and the Freshman that have the misfortune of wrestling in the middle to upper weights and can't seem to get a break all year long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeandBreighton Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Well I will mention two off hand. The first is Drew Graber who went from 7-15 his freshman year to being a state qualifier as a sophomore and then to the state finals as a junior. Then, as much as I hate to toot my own horn, but I guess I will on this topic. As a freshman I was 9-19 with 9 forfeits(at 103lbs). Now we know Y2's real reason for trying to eliminate 103! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Y2CJ41 Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Well I will mention two off hand. The first is Drew Graber who went from 7-15 his freshman year to being a state qualifier as a sophomore and then to the state finals as a junior. Then, as much as I hate to toot my own horn, but I guess I will on this topic. As a freshman I was 9-19 with 9 forfeits(at 103lbs). As a sophomore I lost my first seven matches of the year, but finally got a real win just before Christmas. I ended up 16-12 that year with a conference runner-up finish. As a senior I made it to semi-state and then went on to wrestle in college for a pretty good small school program. So Y2, what helped you turn the corner? Coaching and great practice partners Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldfat119 Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 i have one, i cant remember exact details, but Dave Benner from Benton Central at HWY, gezzz i was helping in the room when he was a 5' nothing pudge ball, but with lots of help from the head coach and a looong time asst, well i think he did pretty well, 3rd, 4th at state, if anyone remembers his match with Laramore at Mville SS, WOW id say that was a pretty stacked SS that year.....ooo and he won a national football and wrestling title at Harper, then he finished up at N Illinois, tooo bad Purdue passed on him,,, what could have been.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadet130 Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 My 215 was a freshman with a 7-25 record last year. He took 6th in sectionals. Currently he is 27-1 and has already avenged his only loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2016GrecoGold Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Maybe not the top story but one we point out to those not suceeding in our program. We had a guy who didn't win more than maybe a handful of matches in his entire middle school career. He looked like a little pudge ball of a guy. Just got another handful of wins between his freshman and sophomore year, varsity and JV combined. Around .500 at best as a junior. Then went on to a 40 win season and place in state as a senior. Goes on to attend West Point and eventually starts on the varsity team. He last year there he was tied for the second most wins and had the most pins on the team. Who is that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattM Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Maybe not the top story but one we point out to those not suceeding in our program. We had a guy who didn't win more than maybe a handful of matches in his entire middle school career. He looked like a little pudge ball of a guy. Just got another handful of wins between his freshman and sophomore year, varsity and JV combined. Around .500 at best as a junior. Then went on to a 40 win season and place in state as a senior. Goes on to attend West Point and eventually starts on the varsity team. He last year there he was tied for the second most wins and had the most pins on the team. Who is that? Brent Smith a 06-07 West Point graduate and currently serving our country overseas. On a side note his brother Patrick is attending West Point currently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewboy78 Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 I wonder how many of these wrestlers mentioned or any we can think of who "turned the corner" is due in large part to one thing that comes to my mind: Spring/Summer Wrestling!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boom444 Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Brent and Pat are masters at the cradle... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattM Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Brent and Pat are masters at the cradle... That did accounts for many of Brents pins at West Point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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