January 19, 2010
Wrestlers return from Lycoming Duals with a full stomach...
By Senior Tim Sykes (Grafton, OH)
This past Thursday we boarded the bus after an hour-long weight-cutting practice, to travel to Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pennsylvania to wrestle in the Bud Whitehill Duals, a grueling two-day dual tournament pitting some of Division III’s best teams against one another. Unfortunately for us, we started each match down by twelve points as we had no wrestlers at 125 pounds or 141 pounds and were forced to forfeit the weight classes.
Personally, it’s been an especially difficult season so far, as I missed the first half because I was on co-op at State Industrial Products where I worked both in the Engineering and Quality Control departments. I’m still trying to catch up to the rest of the team’s conditioning level. I’ll get there eventually.
Friday morning started with a 5:30am wake-up call. That’s even earlier than when I had to wake up to go to work. Tired and hungry, we arrived at the tournament for the weigh-in only to discover that some of the food meant to be eaten after the weigh-in was left on the bus. Never come between a wrestler and his post-weigh-in meal. Never. It quickly became apparent that this first day was going to be long, and we had yet to even start wrestling.
In fact, it was very long. Our last dual of the day did not end until 8:00pm. We had lost all three matches, and spirits were low. But, sometimes happiness is only a great meal away. The night before a weigh-in, wrestlers’ thoughts are inevitably drawn toward food. I spent three hours on Friday night watching the Food Network, not because I liked the programming, but because I couldn’t force myself to turn away. I was convinced that, after our last match of the tournament, I was going to find a way to eat everything that had been presented by the shows’ hosts.
It didn’t actually happen that I ate any of the meals I saw on the TV. Regardless, I had an excellent backup plan. You see, the trip to Lycoming College has become a favorite among the team members because of Wegman’s, a grocery store complemented by an eatery that includes one of the best sub-sandwich shops anywhere. After the last match on Saturday, we immediately made our way to the store. That Wegman’s sub was quite possibly the greatest meal I have ever eaten. The first full meal after a tournament is always the greatest meal you have ever eaten.
We returned to Cleveland with full bellies—fat and happy. The tournament did not go as well as we would have hoped, but we have to put that in the past, and focus our thoughts on next weekend’s match. And next weekend’s dining options.
Posted by Creg Jantz at 02:28 PM
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Category: Wrestling