Dec. 13, 2004

1. What does it mean to you to wrestle at West Point?
"It means a lot more to me to be able to wrestle here. Anyone can compete at a civilian school and just focus on a sport, but at West Point, we get a chance to develop our entire person in all aspects of life. The people here develop us militarily, academically and physically. At West Point it is more about just going to classes. There are leadership positions within the Corps so for me to do all that and still compete at the Division I level has been really nice."

2. What is the best thing about being an athlete at West Point?
"The camaraderie on our team is definitely the best thing about being an athlete here. The great thing about West Point is that you can find that camaraderie in just about anything, be it within the companies, regiments or on the team. The wrestling team is one big brotherhood; it is like having another family. We spend so much time together. We sweat and bleed together and having that within the Corps is really nice."
 

3. What is the most difficult thing?
"The most difficult thing is just trying to balance your lifestyle. You can't drop the ball on academics or drop the ball on your personal life and just focus on athletics. At West Point you really have to find that balance and discipline yourself accordingly and allocate time for doing homework and all of the other things you need to get done. It's toughest during the plebe year because you have to make that transition from high school. As you get older, you learn how to balance your time better."

4. What is your fondest sports memory that you have had since arriving at West Point?
"Seeing the improvement of the team each year has been special to me. We've been working hard for four years and to keep improving is great. Our confidence, as a team, has been growing since I've been here and it's a fond memory for me every time we step out on the mat."

5. What adjustments have you had to make since arriving here?
Socially: "I can adapt to almost any social situation. I like talking and interacting with people. At first it was hard not being able to go where you wanted to and not having a car, but after a while you learn to adjust. The longer you're here the closer you become with your friends. My best friends live close to me and I see them every day at practice, so it's pretty nice."
Athletically: "It wasn't as big of an adjustment as I thought it would be because I had really good coaches in high school and had some really good workout partners all through high school, too. It wasn't a huge adjustment, technically, as much as it was a physical adjustment. I went from wrestling kids that were 15- or 16-years old to wrestling a guy who is 22. Jumping into the more mature pool of college wrestlers was the biggest adjustment."
Academically: "Fortunately I went to a very good high school, so the workload at West Point is probably about the same as it was in high school. I've had to learn the whole Thayer method of learning, but that was the only transition that I've had to make. Balancing the workload was not as big of an adjustment for me."

6. Why did you decide to come to West Point? What were some of the deciding factors? Who or what influenced your decision?
"I was looking to wrestle in college and I went to a camp at the University of Oklahoma. [Army head coach] Chuck Barbee was an assistant at Oklahoma at the time and he got to talking with me. Then he called me one day, after he had gotten the job at Army and he asked me if I would be interested in it. My parents and grandparents were beaming with pride when I mentioned the possibility of attending the Academy. I had an amazing visit when I came up on my recruiting trip. When I got here and saw all of the camaraderie and brotherhood on the wrestling team and everyone was really nice and it had structure and it was unique. I looked at it as a way to live a disciplined lifestyle and I thought it was the best fit overall. I like to think that my family is very patriotic so that helped me make the decision too. It came down to Missouri and Army. There was a huge difference between the caliber of people at the two institutions. The cadets here were so much more disciplined and so much more mature and responsible."

7. What do you enjoy doing during your "down time"?
"I like to walk around the hallways of the barracks and just visit with friends. I have taken up the harmonica now so I like playing it. A couple of guys in my company play the harmonica too, so it's fun to get together and jam with them. I'm involved in a lot of different clubs, mostly church related. I'm involved with team fellowship and we work with youths in the community. I also work with Navigators, which is the bible study. It's a good release for me."

8. Which branch are you planning on entering following graduation?
"I'm not sure yet, but I'm pretty sure I'll be Infantry. The branch really fits my personality."

9. What makes athletes at West Point unique from athletes at other schools?
"The maturity and responsibility that we have as cadets really set us apart. The atmosphere and environment that we're placed in requires us to develop as people a lot faster. We have a lot put on our plate here. Our first summer is a real wake-up call, you learn to grow up a lot. At most colleges students only have to care about themselves, whereas here we get more responsibility each year and bigger leadership positions. It trains you to think more about others."

10. What is the best thing about being a cadet?
"The best thing is being able to work and live with the people here. This place is awesome; we take it for granted a lot of the time, but the historical significance of this place is great. Whenever I see graduates come back to this place they are beaming with pride. They did the same overall thing that we did and I'm just proud to have gone through a place like this. They have developed me as a person, not just a wrestler. Having the commitment that we're going to have after we graduate is something that we all share in common. It's not something that kids at other colleges can share. It's something unique and special."