Narrative Essay

The man in the zebra stripped suit threw my hand up in victory once again. As I stood in the center of the colorful wrestling mat with slight tears running down my cheeks and heavy perspiration washing down my face, I found myself lost in disbelief. As my friends and family stood cheering me on, I stood tall and proud in the middle of the mat. I couldn't help but realize that unbelievably, for the second year in a row, I had achieved my main goal.

The season began early in December with a dual meet on Friday and then the Hotchkiss Invitational on Saturday. After an easy win on Friday night, I went into Saturday's tournament with confidence. After I won my first couple of matches on Saturday, I found myself in the finals of the first tournament of the year. My opponent for my finals match was a senior named Neal Fasulo from Scranton. I knew that this kid would be pretty tough because I had watched him wrestle the previous year. Before the match, I felt as though I was going to lose my stomach due to the wild butterflies which I was experiencing. It was a dog fight the whole match, but at the end of the sixth minute, I was three points short of a victory. As I came off that square wrestling mat, my coach looked at me and said, "It's going to be a long season. Everyone is gunning for you." How true this statement was. This devastating loss was a horrible wake up call for me. It also made me realize that it would be harder to keep my state title than it was to get it in the first place. This unexpected loss would turn out to only make me better in the end. It gave me the will and determination to work harder to ensure victory once again. It also gave me a burning sensation that I dreaded and wished to never experience again. The rest of Saturday night was the worst night that any returning state champion could possibly have.

During the next week of practice, after the loss to Fasulo, I worked harder than ever before. I pushed myself until my red and gray practice attire was saturated in sweat, and until I had nothing left to give. I had made up my mind; I would never lose another match again.

All my sweat and hard work payed off and, I succeeded in not losing a match until it came to the finals at the Warrior Classic. My finals match in the Warrior was against a class 5A, two-time state champion from Middlesex County. His name was Johnathon Bonjovanni, and he was a huge! I went into this match a little intimidated, which was a huge mistake, because if I would have believed in myself and thought positive, I am sure I could have pulled off a great defeat. Even though I had lost, this was my first time placing at Warrior, and I was still emensily proud and happy. It was a hard loss to take, but not as difficult as the first loss of the year. With all wins following the Warrior Classic, I entered the regional tournament seated first. This was very helpful being seated first, and I planned to use it