Dave is in a tough weight class. If he wrestles like he has in our last two tournaments, he has a good shot of qualifying. |
I have never had anybody who practices harder than him. |
I looked at our schedule and picked the opponents that would challenge Vitaly the most. I wanted to make sure he got the best possible competition, so I sat him out in matches where he would have received a forfeit or faced a weak opponent. |
Our school doctor would not certify Vitaly at 119 until he received the two-pound weight allowance on Jan. 15. I told Vitaly he should move up to 125, but he wanted to stay at 119. |
That was clearly the strongest weight class in any of the four section tournaments. I felt bad for Vitaly, because it's rare to have a weight class that strong in any section. |
Vitaly is such an intense athlete. He pushes all the kids in the practice room every day. His younger brother, Dave, is almost as intense as Vitaly. |