Have you ever achieved an immense goal that you had set for yourself?  I was just like any other kid my age when I was in third grade.  I had always been an energetic kid, and I was starting to make goals for myself.  I also had been in wrestling since I was four years old, and this was my fifth season.  I was starting to win more matches, and had started to care about winning.  The more I won matches, the more competitive I became.  I did not like losing matches, and neither did my dad.  He was very competitive in track and football back in Nebraska when he was young, too. 

Later that year, my dad took me to regionals to see if I could qualify to go to state for the first time because I had a record of 27-6, much of which were pins.  I also defeated a kid from Eau Claire that year, whom I later found out was an undefeated wrestler because my parents had talked to his parents after that match.   Regionals was held at the high school in River Falls, Wisconsin at the end of March.  I was surprised to see so many wrestlers in the large gym.  As I walked in, I smelled the smell of clean mats and food from the concession stand to the right.  It was the biggest tournament that I had ever been to, not knowing of what there was to come in early April, which was the WIAA State Tournament.  I chose to be in the 63 pound weight class, which had 16 wrestlers competing to go to state.  Only the top two placing wrestlers at regionals got to compete in the state tournament in Madison.
My first match came only 1 hour after I weighed in that morning, and my parents were ecstatic about getting to watch me compete against wrestlers from all over the western part of the state.  As I got ready for my first match, I was thinking about the opportunity that I would be given to be eligible to go to state if I got into the finals at this tournament.  I wanted to make my parents happy, and this was my ultimate goal. 

My dad talked to me before my first match, which gave me plenty of confidence to reach my goal.  He reviewed the moves with me that I had practiced throughout the year, and he said, “Do not worry about doing any special moves.  Just allow the moves come to you when you get the opportunity to, and it doesn’t matter how you win.  I just want you to do your best and have fun today.”

  My first match was a tough one against a guy from New Richmond.  His name was Austin Powers. He was much stronger than other opponents that I had faced that year.  After beating him 7-4, with a three point near fall at the end of the match, I was very excited.  It gave me even more confidence for my second match.

My next match came quite rapidly.  I remember telling my mom that, “I am still tired from my first match.”  My next match ended in the second period unexpectedly because I pinned him.  I was nearly ready to just explode with exhilaration, and it gave me an energy boost for my next match.  I was only one match away from making it into finals to go to state.  I have never felt such a feeling of victory in my heart.  My dad was almost in tears when my goals were getting accomplished right before his eyes.  He had a hard life growing up in Taylor Nebraska, but I could tell that he was filled with joy to see his son accomplish things that he had never gotten to do when he was younger.   My mom recorded every match with her mini video camera that I always used to play with. 

My third match was about to start, and I was getting ready next to the mat.  I kept thinking through my game plan, and was confident that I was going to win the match.  Moments later, they announced my name, and the opponent that I was going to face.  He was from St. Croix Falls.  There were several emotions going through my mind as I stepped on the mat to face my opponent. Everything that was going on in my life didn’t pass through my mind because I was so focused on achieving my goal.   I was getting nervous and I thought about all of the work that I had done that season to get ready for this tournament with my coach.  I was ready to show my family and my coach that I was capable of going to state, and wanted to make them proud of me.  After a long match that went all three periods, I looked at the score, and my heart pounded for joy.  Over and over, in my mind, I repeated the sentence, “I am in the finals!” because I could hardly believe what had happened.  I almost wanted to sprint into the bleachers with happiness towards my mom and my dad.  It was one of the greatest moments that I had ever experienced so far in my life.  My coach, Scott Marko, was exceptionally proud of me for what I had accomplished at only eight years old.

Even though I was guaranteed to go to state in Madison, I still had one more match that afternoon to see if I could defeat my opponent in the finals to get 1st place!  My coach told me that if I got first place at this tournament, I would be ranked higher in the state tournament which would give me a greater advantage to place at the state tournament, but that wasn’t on my mind yet.  I just wanted to finish this tournament in a moment of victory, and go to the state tournament.  Even though wrestling is a very difficult sport, it was very rewarding and fun.
My fourth and last match started later that afternoon around 4pm.  I was against a kid from Menomonie, which is east of River Falls where the tournament was being held.  I remember looking at the guy, and getting warmed up next to the exit doors in the back of the gym right before the match.  It was a much different feeling that I had never felt before.  It felt like a wall was standing in front of me and wouldn’t move unless I break through it to the other side.  All of these rewards were on the other side of the wall, and I wanted them!  The confidence and motivation grew in my mind to go out and do my absolute best in my final match. 

Before I stepped onto the mat for the fourth time that day, I thought about what the mat feels like after every match that took place that day.  Every time a person took a shot, their knees would hit the mat, and then they would sometimes lift the guy in the air as hard as they could to slam the other opponent on the mat for their points.  The mat constantly got beaten up by the wrestlers that stepped on it.  As I look at the mat one last time before they called my name, I could see all of the marks and scuffs that the shoes, and wrestlers put on the mat, and I had a feeling of sympathy for the mat, but that didn’t stop me from trying to win my last match of the day.
I wrestled as hard as I could for three long periods, and the score was tied.  This meant that I had to wrestle for another minute to decide whom the winner is.  The score was 4-4, and I was very tired.  I could see that the other kid in the corner of the mat was tired too which gave me an extra boost of confidence to defeat him.  The period ended before the time was up because I got a take down on him with only a few seconds left in the match.  My family and coach were very proud of me now because I had just won the regional tournament the first time that I went there.  I was going to state in just 2 weeks in April.  I was so proud of myself.  This was the greatest moment of victory that I had ever experienced in my life.