1. Winning

I was pretty hard on myself, as a kid, because I knew that I wasn’t doing a lot of the normal things that, some of my other friends were doing. But, I knew that it would pay out and it’s like, as I saw myself get better and I saw the success, in high school winning state titles and then going and getting recruited to wrestle in college division one to Michigan. I got to be able to see how this all paid out and something to show that I was on the right path to achieving my ultimate goal, of a World Champion and an Olympic Champion. I think effort is the main thing that you have to apply. Because, I’ve always learned that it’s not about if you win or if you lose. It’s how you win or how you lose. So giving that full effort, kind of ensures me that I have no regrets when I step off of the mat. Because I knew I gave it my all. Preparing from the Olympic Games, probably until the end of, the college season of 2022, of my final season at Michigan was probably my hardest year of wrestling in my entire life. Going to Michigan, being a three time All-American, a Big Ten champion, an NCAA runner up, taking fifth place at the World championships in 2019, being really close to a medal. To then qualifying for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, all within a really good span, I felt a lot of pressure, a lot of variables with my weight. I felt a lot of stress on myself. And, few weeks before I wrestled in the Olympic Games, I felt myself getting sick. Fast forward to going to Japan. I was eating, sleeping, training so disciplined that I felt like I wasn't affected until I had to make a big weight cut down to the weight. And that morning when I made the weight cut, I really don't think I felt worse in my life. Honestly, it was really tough. When I was trying to rehydrate and get my fluids back, nothing was making me feel any better. I felt horrible, and because I was number one seed on the top of the bracket, I was the first match to wrestle. I wrestled in Tokyo against the Japanese guy who was, a reigning world champion from 2017. Ended up, getting a concussion in the match because of how dehydrated I was. Ended up losing and going to the hospital in my match. Horrible story, horrible day. Something that I had dreamt about my whole life, being like, one of the best moments ended up being probably the worst moment. Being... at something where I'm so close to achieving greatness, to then feeling like, subpar at best and, you know, finishing my Michigan career with losing, like, the way that I did, it was a it was a hard thing where I think that most people would be mentally checked out, maybe wanting to be done with the sport as a whole.