Personal Narrative Essay: I D Be An All American

I never thought I’d be an All American. After losing my “sure thing” state finals match, I didn’t think I would ever achieve the title. The loss was a shock after going 38-1 on the regular season with my only loss stemming from a shoulder injury early in a match. I wrestled my way through states with pins, one over opponent who beat me the year earlier, up to face the Chilhowie senior in the finals. I had a three point lead in the first period before I, in non-wrestler vernacular, screwed the pooch. I pushed a move too much and got turned to my back and pinned in the first period. The weeks following were disappointing. I was the favorite to win the title in 1A Virginia. Put on his back by scrub (a novice wrestler), just shouldn't happen. I took the summer to train and attend camps. I wrestled in several small time tournaments to get mat time and work on my technique. My first test came at Virginia Beach Nationals.
A catchy 22 tourney. It’s a national stage event but it’s not popular yet; national and small. I would wrestle a 220 from Florida in this series and he was much more ready for this than I. Halfway through the match I was down by three points. Only coming from my easy escapes. He was wrestling not to lose and I was wrestling to catch my breath. I
Three 3.5 hour practices a week with five days of conditioning and two of weightlifting. Training for the Super32, to this day, was the hardest thing I’ve ever attempted. The Super32 is national tournament held on the east coast every autumn for some of the best wrestlers in the nation with some brackets having more than 150 competitors. For two days at the end of October, Greensboro,NC is flooded with wrestlers, coaches, officials, parents and families, recruits and the occasional visiting Olympic team member. At this stage, technique and endurance are the pillars of victory. Wrestling without aggression would not get me anywhere here, I had to push the pace and enforce my