The Evening Prior

After a final practice, the team shuttled out to the vans and suburbans to make the long trek to Des Moines.  You could see the excitement and opportunity amongst the sunshine that glossed the athletes faces.

The ride out was smooth.  My sister and I wrote out with Coach Lueders and his wife Kim.  We had some great conversations about wrestling, family, and state meets gone past.  We also talked about the great opportunity ahead of these young men.

Each young man is one of the top sixteen wrestlers in the state at his respective weight class.  Each young man has had his own path full of ups, downs, and challenges to reach this pinnacle of wrestling in Iowa.  And all have the chance to do amazing things tomorrow and the tools to do so.

At dinner you could see how well they get along.  Each listening, joking, and reminiscing about aspects of the season, or even a decade ago when the wrestled some forgotten boy in a little kids tournament.  Their faces seemed to lighten when the calculated their weight with the eggs and french toast in front of them. A smile seems to grow exponentially with each tablespoon of syrup.

I overheard, "I learned from my grandmother to not leave anything on my plate." Spoken like a true wrestler.  Tonight they did not, and they didn't need to worry about it.  All of their weights were fine, and the meal is just fuel for the battles of tomorrow.  

Weight in check, equipment distributed, the boys hunkered down in their respective hotels rooms.

I asked each two questions before they went lights out.

1) What do you feel right now?
2) What is one word that describes your mentality going into tomorrow?

Hunter Genco:
1) I feel calm and relaxed.
2) I can't really sum it up in one word.  My mentality is fear none and be ready for any battle.  My best against his best.


Alex Caldwell:
1) I feel very excited, I just want it to be tomorrow when I step on the mat, put my ankle bands on, and shake hands.
2) Focused. I'm ready for this!

Dustin Caldwell:
1) I feel pretty relaxed.  I'm going to try to get a good night sleep and flip the switch tomorrow.
2) Focused.

Dillion Chase:
1) I feel calm and relaxed knowing I have prepared for this day.
2) Fierce.

Justin Guilliams
1) I feel anxious right now to get on the mat and battle.  At the same time I'm calm, because I've done everything to prepare.
2) Relaxed.

Tomorrow will be an exciting time for many people, but for these five it will be an opportunity seize a dream and earn some hardware.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for a recap, listen to KROS 1340 for live updates, or follow my twitter handle @kellenschnee for up to the minute coverage.

T-minus fifteen hours until round one beings.

Until then,

KRS