This year has been an exciting. Making Northern Michigan University my home was definitely the correct decision for me. I came to this school to wrestle. It has been my dream since I was 12 to be part of NMU’s Greco-Roman team. While that has been an awesome experience within itself, I didn’t expect to enjoy my chosen major as I do (Electrical Engineering Technology). I was so lucky to find a High School teacher to point me in this direction. I know it’s the correct decision for me. My high school career was very tumultuous. As many students my age, I was affected by Covid. I was the first school system in NY to close during my freshman year. Trying to adapt to an online program did NOT work for me. I was already struggling. My parents did what they thought was best for me and moved to PA. School was open and I could wrestle. Win..win!!! Based on the grade/age structure in PA and my lack of retaining anything my freshman year, I repeated 9th grade. Academically it was for the best. My wrestling career ...not so much. The PIAA took away my senior year of eligibility at the end of my junior year. All I can say is in order to function, I NEED to wrestle. My senior was very different than most 18-year-olds. I would graduate with my class (with honors), but I was back to going remote. I was fortunate enough to be recruited by an elite athletic program based in Wisconsin and became a Fulltime athlete simultaneously. To say I grew up quickly is an understatement. In a matter of 3 weeks, I packed up and moved into an apartment with 2 other athletes and began my Olympic quest. I had the privilege of training and competing in multiple countries. This experience has given me more opportunities to even list. Unfortunately, my travels came to an end in March, when I got injured in Budapest. Remembering that this is a journey, not a sprint is difficult when obstacles get in your way. I am now in my Spring semester of my freshman year. Getting back to in person classes has taken a bit of adjustment. I love my classes and professors. I have also just added Electronics as my minor. I also get to wrestle again!!! I am diligently training and hoping to do well at the US Open and World Team Trails and make NMU proud.

When you ask "Team USA", so many of my friends and acquaintances have been on different USA wrestling teams, from U15 to the Olympic Team. I will say I am fortunate to have my favorite athlete as a teammate. I am currently on the Northern Michigan Wildcat team with Payton Jacobson, who wrestled 87kg at the Paris Olympics this past summer. Payton Jacobson is an exceptional wrestler and person. He is a multi-time world team member and one of the youngest to make the Olympic Team. What is most inspiring is his dedication to his teammates. While he is working to improve his own skills, he has no problem helping any of his teammates improve their skills. He trains hard, is an excellent student and a natural leader. Payton is always available to lend a helping hand to his teammates. I am extremely lucky to be able to train with him. Do I hope to be in Payton's place one day, definitely. I am only a freshman, but I am lucky enough to be learning from one of this country's best. Maybe one day we will need to compete against each other, but I know we will come off the mat shaking hands, as gentlemen do.

My goal is easy. I want to be an Olympian. To be honest, I want to win the Olympics. I'm lucky in many ways. I have a great parents and support system but road blocks have always popped up along the way. I started off wrestling to get in better shape to play football. At the age of 8 I was pushing 140lbs. I loved playing football. I loved playing rugby. My PASSION is wrestling. I still remember my 1st match. I was definitely the underdog. I was 8 and he was 12, there was no other wrestlers at my weight class. When I heard the crowd cheer for me and I realized I actual made him wrestle it was awesome. PS, I lost. This just made me want to work harder. The beginning of my journey. My mother found coaches to work and inspire me and i became a year-round wrestler, while still competing and training in football and rugby. I eventually became a 3x NY youth state champion and became part of the NYS Freestyle & Greco Schoolboy team. This is where my passion exploded. I liked wrestling Folkstyle, but found Greco and my passion to be a member of the NMU Wildcats at 12. Guess what, I just finished my freshman season in High School and made it to the blood round at Counties (at 14 & 189lbs) and then Covid hit. To say I wasn't the best of "online" students is an understatement. Worse yet, I wasn't allowed to wrestle. Depression was setting in and I was miserable. My parents did what they felt was best for me, and we moved to PA PA was fantastic, until it wasn't. I repeated 9th grade and excelled. What was not known when we moved was unlike NY who gives Varsity Wrestlers 6 years of eligibility, PA only gives 4. I had already used up 1 year and would not be able to wrestle my Senior year, the summer before. I was devasted. I NEEDed to wrestle. My parents thankfully understood and found options. I could move High Schools and wrestle in the private sector. I could wrestle at college opens. I could become a fulltime athlete, move to Wisconsin, travel Europe and finish my senior year online. How awesome is this!! I'm 17 and traveling the world alone, meeting and training with Olympians and best of all, I'm training in Greco. I'm living my dream. I am also finding out I need a lot of work to be able to compete at this level, a challenge I gladly undertake. I am training as many hours as possibly along with lifting and running. In my head there is no stopping me....wrong. While training in Budapest, I dislocated my knee and incurred many injuries that would need surgery and a long recovery period. I have now been cleared to wrestle again. Not competing for a year has been extremely hard on me mentally. I remember driving home from the hospital with my mother stating "I don't think I want to wrestle again", but looking back I know that is not the case. The mat is where I feel most comfortable. US Open...here I come. Wish me luck!

This question is easy. I've grown up in a culture of "paying it forward". If you know a wrestler, there is no explanation needed. The wrestling community is all about teaching the next generation. I started wrestling when I was 10 and it is amazing to see the High School wrestlers I 1st met graduating college, starting clubs and becoming coaches alongside of their careers. I also must point out the Coaches I've learned from, as the ones that are still helping me grow. Picking out one person in my life is very difficult. They're have been so many. If I had to choose, I would say it is one of my closest friends, Nick. The head coach of my first private club started a mentorship program for High School wrestlers to "foster" a younger wrestler. I was 12 and Nick was 16. Wrestling was new to me and I was 160lbs at 12. Not only was it difficult to find partners, I was always younger than the partners my weight. Nick not only helped me improve my skills, he taught me self-confidence and perseverance. Being an only child, he became by big brother, as well as my private coach. I am now 19 a Nick is still coaching me in many ways. He will sit with me and review the films of my matches as well as talk me though life's challenges. I have had many opportunities and the privilege to have coach younger children since I was 10(they were 4). It was fun then, but now I am lucky enough to be an Assistant Coach for the Jr. Wildcats in Marquette, MI. I have found a little me!!!. This kid has just started wrestling. To be honest, he isn't very good. He is overweight and slow (doesn't this sound familiar). But he's me. He puts his heart and soul into every practice and slowly but surely is improving. He has not won a match yet, but I know he will in the future. I hope to be lucky enough to be in his corner when he does. Being only 19, I know this is only the beginning of paying it forward. I am lucky to have teammates who "pay it forward" while training with me and hope to achieve this honor in my future, but I love working with the younger wrestlers. Who knows, maybe coaching will be in my future? I do know I will always achieve to help anyone in need, anyway I know how.

When I was 12 I made a list of goals. Number 1 was to attend Northern Michigan University. I have conquered and achieved all of my childhood goals. I’ve now updated these goals to include a career in Electrical Engineering and an Greco Roman Olympian. My parents and I are originally from New York, where I started wrestling and found my passion. As many other teens my age, Covid interrupted both my schooling and training. Having very supportive parents, we relocated to Pennsylvania. Moving to PA was an eye opener. I was now located in the best wrestling state in the USA. I continued to train (and improve) while excelling in studies. I was very lucky to find excellent coaches and teachers to guide me in my future. I spent the next few years working on myself. I was proving to be an opponent to be reckoned with in folkstyle wrestling but my dream is an Olympic medal, not an NCAA title (as awesome and prestigious as they are). Finding a Greco coach and partner (at my weight class) was still a challenge. During my junior year of high school I spent a significant amount of time looking for partners and coaches to help me on my journey. With my parents support, I started to focus my wrestling on Greco and slowly backed away from national folkstyle tournaments. Unfortunately most Greco tournaments are overseas. The Tallinn Open (Europe’s largest wrestling tournament) was my 1st international tournament. It was an amazing experience and very different from tournaments which I have competed in. What I learned most from this tournament is that I had a lot to learn and a ton of training ahead of me. I placed 7th. I’m on my way!!!! At least that’s how it felt, but once I returned to the states I had to figure out what was next on my schedule. Lukas Steldt at Combat Wrestling (CWCTF) made that decision easy for me when he recruited me to become a full time athlete. I quickly made the decision to spend my senior year studying remotely and moved to Blue River, Wisconsin to train. It was a very difficult decision learning my parents and friends behind but a goal is a goal. Living in an apartment with 2 roommates in the middle of nowhere was extremely challenging I was responsible for all of my own food shopping, cooking, cleaning and laundry. I also was responsible for maintaining a straight “A” average (my parents requirements) Training at CWCTF was an experience I can’t put into words. It allowed me to step up my game on the mat with the best training partners in the country my age. The experience and knowledge I gained while traveling and competing in 7 countries is what I’m hoping will bring me to the next level. -your future Olympian