Wow, there are so many memories. I really think if I tried to write even just the best ones I would be sitting here for HOURS. So, I am just going to go down the list you gave.
A match or two that you won or lost.
I have two big wins that stand out for me personally. The first came against Lehigh my junior year. I was wrestling Cory Cooperman, a three time All-American, ranked third in the NCAA at the time. It was a relatively small crowd for a PSU–Lehigh match because of a snow storm. I walked on the mat and everything felt right. I ended up beating Cooperman, 9–5. The best part about it was that I beat him with pure Penn State wrestling. I kept pushing and scrapping, and at the end of the match I out-conditioned him for the win. The team went on to win the match as well, making it one of my best wrestling memories.
But my BEST memory came in my last collegiate dual meet ever. No. 1 Minnesota strolled into Rec Hall, thinking they were going to walk all over us. Well, we came to battle that day, and every time it seemed like we were down for the count, we would jump back up with another big win. That day we drew 157 as the starting weight, putting me at the second-to-last match. We were down by 10 coming into my match. The only way we could stay in it was if I pinned. I walked onto the mat and gave up an early takedown. Then just a few seconds after the takedown I reversed him to his back and pinned him, again keeping our team in the match. The crowd of 5600 absolutely roared! I couldn’t have thought of a better way to end my college career—well, maybe if we could have squeaked out that win—but a great memory nonetheless.
Practice in the wrestling room, a Mt. Nittany climb, or stadium step-climbing.
I always liked running Mt. Nittany. I mean, what other school in the country has something like the mountain to train with? I was always amazed by the amount of sheer talent in our wrestling room. It didn’t matter how good you were—someone in our own room was going to beat the crap out of you at some point. (I also have a memory of a workout with John Hughes, but that’s a different story). But one great memory from working out did come from an early morning stadium sprint. It was a chilly Fall morning just a little before daylight when we started sprinting the stairs. I remember getting to the top of the student-section steps where there was a view of Mt. Nittany. I remember looking over and seeing the sun rising over the mountain. At that point I finally figured out why it’s called Happy Valley, and, man, I miss that place!
Parent/fan support in Rec Hall.
All I have to say on this subject is, UNCLE ED! He is James Yonushonis’s uncle and the uncle of every athlete at PSU! He loves Penn State and everything about it. He traveled to every single wrestling match or tournament that we had. The only time he missed was when we wrestled at Reno a week before the football team won the Orange Bowl, and he couldn’t miss the bowl game. What makes Penn State great is that there are so many other people just like Uncle Ed, who live, breathe, and bleed blue! It’s those people, the ones that will travel through a snowstorm to Rec Hall to watch us wrestle, that makes Penn State wrestling better than anywhere else!
Team member(s) who pushed you to your highest level.
Everyone of my teammates had done something to make me reach my highest level. If I had to name one though I would say that James Woodall would be the one who helped me the most. He was one of my best friends on the team and still is a great friend. He and I went through so many great times and struggles together and were always pushing each other further. At one time we both recovering from knee surgeries. A rehab that serious can be so frustrating and hard to come back from. If there was a bright spot in the situation, it was that we had each other to work through it all.
Another inspiring teammate was Doc Vecchio. The man was the image of dedication. Wasn’t the most talented but put hours and hours of extra work into eventually becoming an All-American. But it is hard to actually name individuals because there are so many just like Doc and James.
Coach(es) who challenged you to that “big” win.
I refuse to name any individual coaches here. My last two years our coaching staff was, in my mind, the best in the country. Coach Sunderland was always there—he was like our team’s father away from home. Coach Hart is one the greatest, most standup men I will ever meet. Coach Hughes inspired me personally. He worked with me so many times and helped in so many ways that I wouldn’t have achieved the things that I did without him. The Dernlan brothers are great people to be around, and both of them became huge fans of Penn State. Tim never let any of us doubt how great we were. And, as for Matt, I never met anyone that could sell our University like him. All I can say is that every head coach at PSU should wish they had MD.
I can’t forget Coach Childs. We are, as a whole, the strongest team out there, and it is all thanks to Childs. The best part about him is that he didn’t just talk the talk like most strength coaches, he also walked the walk!
Bus trips and hotel stays.
Man, there are so many stories. Getting “mall tired” in Minnesota, staying at the University Inn from Hell in Ames, elevator chants in Oklahoma City after the NCAA tournament—the list goes on and on. Talking about bus trips though, I am going to miss Bob. He was our bus driver and always got us where we were going. One time we were coming back from Michigan and hit a ridiculous snowstorm. Sunderland told Bob to pull off and stop at a hotel. Bob pulled into a hotel parking lot in Ohio, and across the street was a “business” that Coach Sunderland didn’t want us to have any parts of. Bob said he could make it home so we hit the highway again. And he got us home through about 15″ of snow.
There was also a time in Iowa when were staying at the University Inn in Ames. The hotel was really bad, and we had quite a bit of time to waste there. A group of us ended up shirtless in the hallway, flexing and taking pictures. Ha, ha, that was a weird night.
What wrestling has meant to me.
Wrestling is everything to me. I am now coaching, and seriously it is the only thing I could ever see myself doing. If it weren’t for wrestling, I would not have gone to college. And if it weren’t for the support of people involved with Penn State wrestling, I never would have gotten through college. I am now in another great college town with a good program, but my heart is still, and always will be, in Happy Valley.
Thanks for everything
