Dec. 20, 2007: The Salt Lake Tribune

Prep Wrestling: No More Self-Doubt
by Chhun Sun

When you're Nate Larsen, you can't let the past grab a hold of you and strangle you so hard that you can't escape from the moment.

That's what the Viewmont senior tries to do every day.

Last season at the Class 5A state tournament, Larsen was in the process of becoming a two-time state champion in the 112-pound class.

Then Bingham's Ryker Vandertoolen destroyed that hope.

Larsen lost to him in the semifinals - as Larsen went on to place third overall.

Larsen hasn't forgotten about that moment, when all the months spent leading to the biggest tournament in the state ended in not having his name being called the overall winner.

"I think it's been a big motivator for him," coach Brandon Ripplinger said. "You can tell by the way he trains. He's focused on overcoming that. You know, he's doing what he can to get better."

Larsen is doing quite well these days. He won two major tournaments - the Layton and Viewmont invitationals - this season. In the latter tournament, he got some redemption.

He faced Vandertoolen in the semifinals, and won in a 10-4 decision. That helped build the confidence to take down Mountain Crest's Raider Lofthouse in the title match, though it was the second time this month that he faced perhaps the best sophomore wrestler in the state.

Larsen is now undefeated at 11-0 entering this week.

And for Larsen to get to this point, he had to go through a lot of self-doubt and a number of disappointments.

In junior high, he quit wrestling altogether to try out new stuff.

"I didn't know if I wanted to do it," Larsen said. "There were so many other things that I wanted to do . . . I didn't know what direction I wanted to go to."

He participated in theater during that time off. He focused on his schoolwork, though that's a habit he has always had. Then he realized he couldn't do without wrestling - despite that he said the worst part about the sport is practice.

"Practice isn't really fun at all," Larsen said. "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."

He's stuck with wrestling ever since, and hopes to continue it at Utah Valley State College after serving an LDS Church mission. To conclude his sophomore year, he found himself down 6-3 after the first period in the final of his state championship match. Of course, he didn't give up.

"I fought back really hard and ended up winning the match," he said.

His effort to not lose is one reason why he's ranked as the 10th-best wrestler in the country by Wrestling USA Magazine.

One of Nation's Best Wrestlers

• Viewmont's Nate Larsen is the 10th-best wrestler in the country, according to Wrestling USA Magazine. But that's not enough for the senior, as he looks to win his second state title in three years in the 112-pound class after losing in the semifinals last season.

• This season, Larsen has won two major tournament titles to improve his season record to 11-0 entering this week.