Monday, December 17, 2007

    When he was in junior high, Viewmont's Nate Larsen didn't exactly like wrestling. In fact, he didn't know if it was what he wanted to do. He participated in theater that year, and he later realized though some aspects of wrestling weren't fun -- like the energy-drainer that is known as practice -- he couldn't walk away from the sport that easily. Good decision. Now, the senior is one of the top wrestlers in the state in the 112-pound class. He recently won his weight class individual title at the Viewmont Invitational, putting his season record at 11-0. He's got extra motivation this season: He lost last year in the Class 5A state semifinals, eliminating his chances of successfully defending his state title. It's no wonder now that he can't get enough of wrestling, though he wishes practice wasn't so demanding, he said.

    How did you get involved with wrestling? "My dad wrestled in high school. So when I was in about second or third grade, I started going to the clubs here and I started rolling around. I kind of stopped wrestling for a year. But then I picked it up again around seventh or eighth grade, when I really started to wrestle competitively."

    Why did you decide to stop wrestling for a year? "I didn't know if I wanted to do it. There were so many other things that I wanted to do. I was in a play. I didn't know what direction I wanted to go. I decided I missed wrestling after I didn't do it. So I wanted to do."

    What aspect of wrestling do you like best? "Practice isn't really fun at all. When you win a match, that's the highest high. It's an adrenaline rush. You go from the lowest low to the highest high when you win. Really, you can't find a feeling to top that."

    Who's your biggest inspiration? "Probably my dad [Wayne Larsen], because he's always there for me when I'm wrestling. He trains with me. If he could go back and wrestle, he'd probably do it."

    What are you looking to get accomplished during your senior year? "Win the state championship. I'm going to try to stay in the top two of every tournament. I'm trying to take every tournament. That's one of my goals."

    -- Chhun Sun