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Means solid for Tiger wrestlers
12/4/2011
By CONOR NICHOLL
cnicholl@dailynews.net
Fort Hays State University wrestling coach Chas Thompson often sees athletes show nerves in individual sports such as wrestling, golf and tennis. That attribute is rarely seen in Tiger sophomore 149-pounder Mitchell Means, ranked No. 2 in NCAA Division II. Means, a returning All-American who finished fourth at nationals last year, is perpetually calm whether it's dealing with opponents or injuries.
"Mitch wrestles a lot older than he is as far as classes," Thompson said. "He is a strong wrestler. He is not cocky. He is one of those people that doesn't show nerves when he steps out there. It's fairly rare. It's not unheard of. I would say 80 to 90 percent of the people are going to be pretty nervous when they walk out there."
Thompson has known the Means family for many years and has known Mitchell since seventh grade. When Thompson was young, his father coached Means' father. As well, Means' father baby-sat Thompson. Thompson eventually coached Means on the summer circuit.
"That was actually the first instance I knew I was coaching one of my dad's ex-wrestlers," Thompson said.
Even in junior high, Thompson noticed Means was "a natural wrestler" with plenty of skill. Means went to Goddard, a Class 6A wrestling powerhouse. Despite winning two individual championships, Means was overshadowed by two classmates that won four crowns. At Goddard, Means learned to stay calm in all situations.
"I have been nervous a couple of times, but probably the last match I was nervous was the second time I was in the state finals in high school, and I actually ended up losing that match, so I figured it's actually better not to be nervous," he said. "I just never really think of it as that big of a deal. I just go out there, take care of business and then come off."
As a freshman, Means redshirted and posted an 11-4 record as an unattached wrestler. Last year, Means finished 34-11 overall, including 22-6 against NCAA Division II opponents. At the national tournament, Means won his first match by fall. In his second match, he was down 9-4 before he came back to win 11-9.
"The only thing I was worried about was him getting nervous for the first time," Thompson said. "I didn't know. He didn't. If you ever watch him before a match, he stands there -- and we make fun of him for it -- he looks like a kid at kids' (wrestling) club when he is like 10 years old waiting for his match not knowing that he is actually about to go out there and ball with another kid. He turns the switch on when he steps on the mat."
Means said he was "maybe a little bit nervous" entering the second round match, but expected to do well.
"It's just like another tournament," Means said. "You have got to go in there with the mindset of it that you are going to come out on top. I wasn't surprised with the fact that I placed or anything like that. It was something that I wanted to do and made sure I did it."
This season, Means has started 3-1, but has dealt with multiple injuries and illness. On the first day of practice, freshman Bradley Little's knee hit Means in the eye. The injury required 20 stitches. Then, Means hurt his rotator cuff in the preseason scrimmage, an injury that bothered him for about a week. At the Nov. 19 University of Nebraska-Kearney Open, Means suffered a head injury. Means was taking down his opponent and the opponent's head hit off the mat, bounced up and hit Means in the head. Means' head cut open, an injury that has forced him to wear a bandage for several weeks. On Thursday, he missed the dual against University of Central Oklahoma because of illness. Means, though, kept the same calm nature when he dealt with the head injury.
"It's just whatever," he said. "You just default out of the match. It's not a big tournament. Go get it taken care of, so it's better for later on in the year."
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| 2/18 | SW Baptist | L 66-53 | |
| 12/1 | Oklahoma - Panhandle | L 66-60 (OT) | |