58 Seconds - Part III

I didn't sleep much that night. Thoughts of being torn to shreds the next day spilled from my conscious to my unconscious thoughts. They burned the back of my eyes like fire the entire night until my alarm clock uncaringly buzzed at 6:30 the next morning.

Dragging myself through the daily routine of shower, teeth, comb, dress was agonizingly painful. "Let's just get it over with" was the one thought that pounded incessantly through my brain.

Sitting in English class that morning I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Wooly.

"You ok?" he asked.

Slogging through the inky fog of self pity back toward reality, I looked at him and said something like, "Yea, I'm fine."

But I wasn't. I knew I had no chance against Robert Linkous. Short of discovering a secret strength pill or a long lost cape on my back, nothing would save me from my impending misfortune.

Except for maybe one thing. Fear.

I wished for a reprieve that whole day, but sooner than I wanted, practice was upon me and I found myself putting on my practice singlet and helmet. Being only 112 pounds, I would be one of the first to take the mat. After Joe Miles whipped some other kid at the 105-pound class, Coach called Robert and me to the center of the mat.

Robert stared into my eyes with a look of equal parts disdain, anger and loathing as Coach instructed us to have a fair fight. I looked at my feet. Then, in an instant, the whistle blew and the match was on.

The excruciating fear I felt at that moment was stronger than any other emotion I'd ever felt. Not even telling Lisa Howell how I truly felt about her had made my knees shake so uncontrollably. I was terrified, and it was oddly empowering and strengthening.

Robert was the first to make a move. Sauntering confidently over to me, he smacked the left side of my helmet, just to get my attention. Then he smacked the right side a little harder, making my ear ring slightly. At that point, all of the noise from the gym funneled directly into oblivion and all I could hear was my own heart beating frantically.

As Robert tried to shoot in and grab my legs for a two-leg takedown, I instinctively put my hands under his arms in defense, sprawled as quickly as I could, and fell violently toward the blue and gold. This action alone drove Robert's head directly into the mat beneath me. Spinning quickly toward his back, I laid down on top of him and grabbed him around the waist.

"Two points Schetselaar!" bellowed Coach. I'd scored the first points on a takedown I hadn't even started, but I somehow felt that it wouldn't be enough.

Putting my full weight on Robert's back, I tried to grab his legs. Cradling him onto his back would spell the end of the match, but it would be much more difficult than I'd planned.

As I pushed my left arm under his head and tried to pull his right leg toward his chin with my right arm, he stiffened his back and legs and tried rolling away from me. I countered by sinking a half nelson from the opposite side and tried to use his momentum to carry him over onto his back. It didn't work.

Robert grabbed my left hand and pulled it out from behind his head, rolling his legs on top of mine and trying for a reversal. I didn't know much about wrestling technique at this point, but I'd wrestled enough with my dad on the living room carpet to know what didn't feel right...and this didn't feel right.

Pulling my legs quickly to the side, I stepped back over his legs and caught him on his side. I quickly sank the half nelson and pushed as hard as I could. Slowly, ever so slowly, I rolled him onto his back and put the entire weight of my body on his chest. I ground my chin into his right shoulder, hoping it would discourage him from trying to roll against me. It worked. I quickly grabbed his right leg and listened as Coach counted one, two, three. It was over, and I had pinned Robert Linkous!

Getting onto my knees, I pulled my weight back over my feet and stood, looking down at Robert's prostrate body. He stayed there for a second or two and then stood. Like a roaring wave, the sound in the room returned and I could hear nothing but the deafening silence. No one had given me a chance to win, including me. It was the most stunning upset anyone had ever seen.

Coach raised my hand as the victor and I walked quietly and meekly back to my place at the edge of the mat. No one spoke to me, but they all looked at me with mouths agape. No one had expected it and no one yet believed it.

Coming soon - Conclusion