Dec. 24, 2007: The Salt Lake Tribune

The Waiting Game: Mind Over Mat
by Chhun Sun

When Cyprus senior Matt Brown was younger, he wrestled in a national tournament in which he had a match every hour for nine consecutive hours.

That doesn't happen often nowadays.

Like many wrestlers everywhere, Brown finds himself trying to stay hyped, energized and well-rested while waiting for his upcoming match. The Iowa State-bound wrestler had to endure another long tournament - the Viewmont Invitational on Dec. 14 and 15 - in order to finish the weekend with a 127-4 overall record and another title, this one in the 145-pound class for the two-time state champion.

As usual, he had to keep himself entertained by coaching his teammates, to warming up minutes before his matches.

Here, The Tribune takes a look at what a wrestler does between matches, and it involves napping, staying focused and doing the seemingly impossible for high school boys - avoiding girls. Sometimes, the wrestlers have to wait about four hours to take action.

A couple of hours before his first match of the day at the Viewmont Invitational, Matt Brown finds himself to be a little more useful than taking naps and eating - which are normal tournament activities. He's coaching teammate Anthony Montano from the bleachers, telling the fellow senior to stay in position and utilize his best moves. "I say a lot of things that my coaches say to me," Brown says. "Stay in position, go over your moves, stuff like that."

The moments right before the match are perhaps the most important. Brown likes to make sure of the simplest things, like having his headgear on straight - something less to worry about when he's grappling. He then strips down to his wrestling uniform, and gets his legs going.

"I try to get loose," he says. "I try to get a little sweat going." What happens in the second-round match? Well, Brown pins Lone Peak's Travis Johnson in 51 seconds.

Some wrestlers like to constantly check on the latest happenings in their weight class. Not Brown, who says, "I'm not big on what's his record, and things like that. I just check it once, to know where he's from, to know who he is."

There are usually two chairs placed near the mat, and Brown sometimes sits next to assistant coach Rick McCauley. He moves from the bleachers to start coaching. Since he's been a team captain for the past four years, Cyprus teammates don't mind the attention.

Brown likes to get some sweat going before he wrestles. Here, he's running the hallway next to the Viewmont gymnasium. But his runs are usually light, since he doesn't want to tire himself out. "I think the way you warm up," he said, "is the way you wrestle."

There are several distractions at tournaments like the Viewmont Invitational, in which 22 teams competed from all over Utah. Girls are one of them. Here, injured Bountiful wrestler Esteban Hernandez talks with Viewmont sophomore Jayde Rottger. Brown also tries to avoid distraction like playing card games and "goofing around" with teammates. "I try to stay away from that. I try to remember what I'm there for."