Three Years on The Path

Back L-R: Robert Duke, me, David Armstrong, Jence Kofoed. Front Andrew Petersen

Disclaimer: This is a more personal/spiritual/reflective post. Also there may be a lot of pics.

I remember vividly waking up on the floor of my friends dorm at BYU, not having slept very well the night before, fully aware that today was the first step of a series of more steps than I would like to know, all of which would have a profound impact on my life. It is the day I entered the Missionary Training Center, the day that I officially started my mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A huge discrepancy of emotions welled within me as I showered, shaved, and suited up, knowing this would be my routine every day for the next two years. A dear group of friends met together to drive me, and warm goodbyes were said. Three years later, I'm still waiting to be reunited with a few of them, who have themselves volunteered to serve. Trying in vain to hold back the tears, I turned away from them and walked into the maze of orange buildings that makes of the complex. 

Donetsk, Ukraine

Tears flowed not only because I turned my back on my family, friends, and home for a long while. I was scared because I was turning my back on the path that I was on, and turning onto another whose route I did not know. I was turning my back on the person who I was, and was allowing The Lord to shape me into the person that he wanted me to be. Walking into the unknown that was the MTC was one of the hardest walks of my life, only to be rivaled by the walk onto the airplane to come back home. 

I will not deny that said path has been difficult at times.While I never doubted I was where I was supposed to be and doing what I needed to be doing, the weight of the burden and the tax of the trials wore me down both physically and spiritually. Yet the sorrows that came only enlarged my capacity to experience true eternal joy. God gave me tastes of what that joy would be, whose taste cannot be described, but must be experienced. Those memories inspire me to become a better disciple. 

Getting a drink in Makyevka, Ukraine.

My mission means more to me than I can probably understand at this time. Ukraine was a school, whose education, while expensive in terms of sacrifice, pain, and effort, is without invaluable. The people I met and the lessons I learned will stay with me for the entirety of my life. Gratitude as well as the twinge of guilt dwell in my soul as I realize that my mission may have meant more for me than the people I served. Yet said gratitude can only be expressed by continuing on the path that I set out on three years ago, the path of discipleship. 

The mission has altered my life in so many ways. It has changed the way I view things, and approach different issues and problems. It has altered the course of my study, and very possibly my professional path. Thanks to my mission I met a girl who I love very much. I met people who were complete strangers  and now are dear friends. My cup runneth over. 

Not a day has gone by where I haven't thought of my mission, and am so glad I went, and am grateful to be on the path I am on. I'll end with a scripture that has served as a comfort and guide for many years, and that I think holds true for all of us. 

On the path, with Adam Rallison

1st Nephi 17:13

"And I will also be your alight in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led."    

Well, lets try this again/ From Russia with Love

Hey! Its been awhile...

Seriously. It has been a long time since I have touched this guy. A good amount of life experience has come and gone in between these posts, and I am not even going to attempt to try to consolidate them into a lame, unsatisfactory to read or write piece that would'nt do any of those experiences or lessons justice. So I figure I'll just pick up where I am right now. 

My latest adventure has taken me to the seemingly endless city of Moscow. When I look outside my window, I see twenty-plus story apartment buildings stretch into the distance well past the horizon. There are millions of people hustling and bustling to wherever they have to go, working their way through the web of alleys, streets, and metro tunnels. It is overwhelming to an extent, yet I am excited to embark on this new opportunity. 

On the banks of the Yysk-Koi lake, Kyrgyzstan.

I have been here for a week, and am currently ripping through the red tape that wraps my future employment opportunity. Doing so has given me a lot of time to wander the city, and think about what life is like for a Muscovite.  The city never seems to sleep or calm down. It's pulse continuously, rapidly beats forward without regard to the inhabitants that give it life. The opportunity to change and progress according the worlds standards are everywhere, everything is new and exciting, with an eye focused on the future. While you are surrounded by people, it seems that loneliness is a persons only company. Yet, the fast paced race goes on in this colorful and cultured city. 

Moscow

Right before I came to Moscow, I was in a completely different world in the Tian-Shan mountains which go through China and Kyrgyzstan. There I saw about ten times more sheep than people. Standing on the peaks, looking into the distance, you saw nothing but the weathered summits of mountains seemingly older than time.  I dont think there could be a starker difference between my two circumstances.

Yet through all of my travels and experiences one constant remains. The people. All of us, regardless of whether we live in Texas, Moscow, or Naryn are the same. Family is still a priority, nurturing those relationships and providing for them. Kids still think farts are funny, (ok lets be honest, everyone does right?). The loneliness felt by the old babushka sitting on the metro on her way to the grocery store is just as real as the loneliness felt by the lone shepherd guiding his flocks through the rugged landscape. We all have an instinctive, innate desire to love and be loved. 

While the walls that divide culture can be as real and as firm as the walls of the Kremlin, once those walls are penetrated we see we are all alike, with our own fears, hopes, desires, and aspirations. We all have the same limitless potential. The only thing that is limited is our own perspective, which we dam ourselves. So let's open it up a little bit. As we learn more about each other, it is inevitable that we will learn more about ourselves.          

State/Wrestling Ending and Reflection

We'll my wrestling season has come to a close, and I couldn't have asked it to end in any better fashion. I, along with 7 of my team mates qualified for the UIL Texas State Wrestling Tournament. That's the most we've ever sent and more than almost any other team there.

Our qualifiers were, Chase Betzer (130), Me (135), Jim Gianakopolous (140), Sawyer Morris (145), Peyton Burns (152), Alex Hershey (160), Grant Perry (171), and David Durham (215). For you that aren't familiar with the weight classes, that's 7 in a row that were all state qualifiers. We had a murderers row of middle weights.

The team preformed so well. Me, Hershey and Jim were eliminated on the first day, but we were all just happy to be there. David and Sawyer got 6th, (Sawyer was suffering from injuries, he's going to have to have surgery on both shoulders. I am supremely confident if he was healthy he would've been a state champion). Chase Betzer got 3rd, only loosing to the 65-0, 3X state Champ Erik Spjut. GP placed 2nd, an accomplishment all the more impressive given that he was injured with torn ligaments in his knee for over half the season. An excellent year to cap off his senior season. And Peyton Burns in the most exciting finals match of the tournament scored a last second reversal to put him up by one point to beat the heavy favorite for the State Title.

(Also my friend and fellow 135 pounder Bryan Osorio ended his season undefeated and State Champion. Crongrats Bryan!)

As a whole, the team placed third in the tournament, the highest we have ever placed, beating cross town rivals Bowie and Vista Ridge. I am so proud of my team. They are among the best friends I have, and I have grown so much with them over the last four years. I only see great things in their futures. Of those eight state qualifiers, five are coming back. Watch out next year!

But now, as my wrestling career comes to a close, I am filled with mixed emotion. I am glad that I don't have to practice for so long, hurting all the time, watching what I eat, and having more free time.

But I am really going to miss so much of the sport. Its been such a huge part of my life, I've learned to love so much of it. I'm going to miss the taste of blood in my mouth after I just got hit. I'll miss being drenched heat to toe in sweat after busting my butt for the last 2.5 hours, and walking out into the cold December weather. I'll miss coming home from tournaments covered in cuts and bruises, completely exhausted, and knowing that I kicked butt and took names that day.

But most of all I'm going to miss my teammates. Those guys were the best, I loved every minute I spent with them. We worked hard and pushed each other to be the best we could, and that's why we ended the year as one of the best teams in the state, a team of champions. We hurt, we sweat and bleed together. I feel like Shakespeare's King Henry V, in his speech when thinking of my team.

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me,
Shall be my brother"

I'll love those guys. Best of luck to them all.

State Brackets

The brackets for the State Tournament came out the other day. I got a really awesome spot, and hopefully one that will help me place.

Here's a link to the brackets.

Here's a link to the list of state qualifiers.

Also they came out with updated state rankings, with all the guys that have made it to state. I cracked the top 10 and #9! Here's the link.

But man, its so cool to finally be here. To be among the best getting ready. I remember when I was a freshman at tournaments, watching state qualifiers wrestle and just how cool those guys were. I remember talking about those guys, and how they were almost legendary, and now to be a part of that group is really cool. It's neat looking back and realizing how far I have come. I'm really nervous for this weekend, but I am also enjoying the ride, taking in every little bit that I can. Man, I cant wait for this weekend!

Regionals

This weekend I had my regional meet, to decide who from our region would go on to state. To make state you needed to place in the top 4. I was really nervous in the week leading up to it. It was all that I could think about. My whole wrestling career came down to this one tournament. Everything that I had worked for all came down to this one weekend. It was really intense.

I ended up getting seeded 6th. It was actually the first time that I had been seeded in an tournament in Texas believe it or not, so I'll take it.

The first match I had was against a champion out of a district in the valley. I cant remember what school he was from but his record was 20-4. I was pumped and ready to go, and I was up 13-2 when I pinned him in the third period.

Later that day I wrestled another champion from the valley. This guy was the third seed, and was undefeated this year. He was really tall and lanky, so he was a good prep for the kid from Madison, who I would have to wrestle if we both won our matches. I handed this kid his first loss, a 6-1 decision.

That ended the first day of the tournament, and I was in the semi-finals. If I won my next match I was in the finals, and had my spot to state guaranteed. My next match was against my biggest rival of my career, the kid from Madison who had beaten me 4 times earlier this season. He was the second seed and had only lost twice all year. I was nervous, but I was ready. I knew that I was going to have to go through him to make it, so I had been training all month getting ready to wrestle him. I had gone over film, drilled specific moves, and did all that I could to prepare myself for that match.

The second day came, and in line for weighing in, all the Madison guy could talk about was how pumped he was to wrestle Osorio (the number one kid in the state, also the guy who beat me in my district final, who is undefeated). Our match was one of the first of the morning. Everything went flawlessly. My game plan went exactly as planned. I knew what he was going to do and wresetled accordingly. I finally beat him 11-4 when it mattered the most, got that monkey off my back, and punched my ticket to state!

In the finals I got to wrestle Osorio from Vista Ridge, a rematch from our district finals. Osorio is a really nice kid, and one of the best wrestlers I have ever seen. I wrestled my best against him, but he still beat me 14-6. Osorio is a really nice guy and one of the best wrestlers that I have ever seen. There isnt anyone in the state that can compete with him, and I hope that the finishes undefeated and finally earns that state title that he deserves.

I am so happy to have finally made it to state, after being sick my sophmore year, and injured my junior year. It's been my goal for as long as I can remember, and the feeling of accomplishing it is undescribable. I worked so hard to get here, and am so greatful for my fellow teammates, and coaches who pushed me to do so. And I am so thankful to God, who put me in a position, and blessed me with the ability to accomplish my dream. It has been one heck of a senior season.

But it aint over yet. STATE!

(a note about the record, apparently I screwed up in the way I figured my record, so my actual UIL record, and my own personal record have been different. So I'll go ahead and post my UIL record, since thats what they use for seeding and such)

RECORD: 32-12; 18 pins

Ohio and Districts

I havent had a whole lot of time to blog, but I'll go ahead and give a quick update, and write more when I get a chance.

I wrestled at a tournament in Ohio which was a great experience. I did really well, pinning my first two opponents. I then beat the next kid 7-6. In the finals I had a nail bitter that ended in regulation 6-6, but he scored first in OT to win. But I will take second at an Ohio tournament.

Now I wrestled in districts. This is where it gets real. I have to place in the top 2 to move on to region. I wrestled pretty well, but my stomach was turned in knots knowing that I couldnt loose if I wanted to obtain my goal of making state. I pinned my first two kids, then wrestled the number one kid again from vista ridge. I wrestled well, but of course he still beat me. I hadnt wrestled the kid who got 3rd so he got to wrestle me for the spot to go to region. Man did that make me nervous! But I pinned him too, so now I placed 2nd and have punched my card to region! Now I have to place in the top 4 in region to make state. It will be a tough road, but I'll do my best.

RECORD: 25-12; 17 pins. NEXT: Region Tournament, SA Texas Blossom Center

Senior Night

Well tonight was my last duel that I would ever wrestle, and last match I would ever wrestle at Westlake. We wrestled Cedar Park, who is in our district and I was excited to get some more district experience. It was also our senior night, and we got to recognize all of our seniors. We really were an excellent class. Our class and the year right under us are the ones that put Westlake wrestling on the map and set the standard higher. I'm really grateful for the opprotunity I've had to compete and train with such fine individuals.

The duel was pretty much a blow out for us, we won 60-12. I wrestled up at 140 because they didnt have a 135, and I pinned the guy in the first period. A fitting way to end my career at Westlake wouldn't you say?

It is wierd that my wrestling career is coming to an end. It has been such a huge part of my life, and its almost over. I wont wrestle competitively in college, however I do plan on sticking with the sport in whatever way I can. But it is still an odd feeling. I'm really gonna miss it.

But I cant focus on that right now, the season isn't over and I still have my goal of making state to accomplish. Tomorrow we are traveling up to Ohio to wrestle a tournament in Marion. It will be intense going up against Ohio wrestlers, but I'll do my best to represent my state proudly. Remember, dont mess with Texas!

Record: 19-10; 12 pins Next: MARION OHIO TOURNAMENT!

Dallas and Leander

Well, this year our team had planned on going to the State Duel Tournament in Amarillo. But unfortunately we weren't invited this year, because there were only a limited amount of spots for Region IV teams, only the top two could go, and we were number three. But oh well, I got to experience all that last year.

So instead we went to a duel event in Dallas where we got to wrestle teams from up there. It was a lot of fun, and our team looked incredibly strong. We won each duel by a significant margin. Our closest match had a deficit of at least 30 points.

But first we wrestled Lewisville. I was still not 100% up to speed yet, a little stiff and slow from the early morning, and I went out and didnt wrestle my best at all. I was up 2-1 when the kid hit a Peterson, and got 5 points for it, and won the match 6-2. I feel like I could've beat this kid. So I was unhappy coming off the mat, and coach told me, "Hey not to bad against a kid who was ranked in the state." I checked the rankings, and sure enough he was up there. So that was a nice confidence booster to know that I can role with those guys.

Then we wrestled Mkinney North, who was hosting the tournament. Again the team wrestled great, and we won. I was hungry for a win after my last match, so I went out, and I pinned him.

Then I pinned my next guy too, I think he was from Springdale not sure.

Our next opponent was Hebron, and I looked at my next guy, and he had on his state hoodie from when he went last year. I went out and I wrestled him tough. It was a close match, going back and forth between us. I was down 8-5 with about 45 seconds left, when he got in deep on a single. So out of desperation, I hit a broomstick which couldn't have worked any better. He went down straight to his back, with me on top, giving me the 5 points and the win 10-8. He was the first state caliber wrestler that I have beaten this year, so I was really excited. Hopefully he wont be the last.

The next Thursday we wrestled Leander, a team in our district. It was good to go out there and get a feel for who else is there. Again the team looked dominant, and we won 75-6. I pinned my opponent in the second period. So things are looking really good for Westlake Wrestling.

The new team state rankings have come out too. We are 7th in the state right now, with Vista Ridge at 5th, and Bowie at 4th. Thats a real testament to how far wrestling has come in Austin. For complete rankings click here.

RECORD: 18-10; 11 pins. NEXT: Cedar Park, @ Westlake, LAST HOME WRESTLING EVENT!

New Rankings

Just in case any one was wondering the Region IV rankings have been updated. I feel to 5th, because a wrestler from Bryan who had been wrestling 140 dropped down to 135. There is also other information about the wrestlers records, victories and defeats, and placings at tournaments. My record info isnt 100% accurate, so I'm sure the others isnt either, but its pretty close. Should be an exciting region tournament.

Click here for the link.

Bowie & Centex

Well, I had been waiting for this Bowie duel all year. Westlake has never beaten Bowie in a duel before, but the last few years have been really close, and it looked like this was going to be or chance.

My opponent was is 2nd in the region right behind Osorio. He is an accomplished wrestler who went to state last year. I was really pumped up to go against him. Right off the bat I took him down twice. I let him know that I was here to wrestle. It was a good match, but down the stretch I got a little gassed, and he came out on top, 11-7. The team didnt fare very well, calls didnt go our way, and we just didnt wrestle very well all together. The final was 42-19. Here are the complete results, and a link to a news article about the duel.

Then this last weekend was the Centex tournament. It was a two day tournament and had huge implications for my chances at making state this year. Centex is basically the regional tournament, that I have to place in the top four to qualify to go to state. However there were also some teams from Dallas and Houston that came as well. So it's a big deal, and lots of the matches will effect my seedings for the regional tournament. But unfortunately for this one, I got a lousy seed again. Something that I have become all to familiar with this season.

So on friday, my first match was against a kid from San Antonio Johnson. We was pretty good, but I wrestled pretty well, and beat him 9-2. I rode him much better than I had before, and felt pretty good about it.

My second match was against that same Madison kid that I have already wrestled against twice. Each time I'm getting closer and closer, but I couldnt quite pull it out. This was another one of those times. He ended up winning 11-6 I beleive. So I get kicked into the consolations.

Next was a nice kid from Georgetown, which is in my district. I hadnt really wrestled alot of people in this district, so this was a good chance to see what some of the competition was like. I pinned him in the first period. He's a nice kid though, I talked to him a bit before the match, and wish him best of luck for the rest of the season.

And the fourth and final match of the first day came against a kid from Austin LBJ. I had to wait a while for him to show up because there was a misunderstanding with the LBJ coach, and he told his kids they could go home. But we waited for them to get back and I wrestled him. I was ready to go home, so I stuck him in the second.

Saturday morning came, and I started it off by wrestling a guy from Dallas Jesuit. He was a good wrestler, and I was only up by a few points in the third till I took him down and caught him in a front headlock cradle. I pinned him with 1 second left in the match.

After him, I wrestled the New Braunfels guy that I wrestled earlier at the Russ Pederson meet. I really like him, he's a nice guy and a solid wrestler. We had a tight match, but I pulled it out 5-2.

And then in the semi-finals for the consolation bracket, I got to wrestle that good old San Antonio Madison guy again. 4th times a charm right? This was by far the best I ever wrestled him. I took him down on a real shot for the first time, and didnt have to much of a problem escaping. He was only up by one point with about 40 seconds to with me on top, so I cut him to try to get the takedown for the tie. Again, I took my shot and he did the funky things that he always does, and he ended up getting the takedown. So I am right there with him, and hope to finally come out on top when it matters most. The final was 10-6.

So that put ended my day in the consolation semi's for 5-6th place. But the first Johnson kid that I beat made it all the way to the consolation semi's too. So that puts me at 5th place, one less than I need to be for state. But the kid who got second isnt in my region, so take him away and that puts me at fourth. And I am really close to being able to beat the Bowie and Madison kid who got 4th and 3rd at this tournament. So I'm right where I need to be.

The team as a whole did awesome! We got second overall with alot of holes in our line up, and having some guys wrestle up some weight classes. For more detailed results click here.

I was very pleased with the way I wrestled. My shots have improved astronomically, and my escapes are becoming more fluid and consistent. I'm really feeling like I'm wrestling the best I have and hope that I'll continue to get better as the season continues.

RECORD: 14-9; 8 pins

Bryan Tournament

Well its been a while since I've last blogged so I will try to catch you up on whats been happening. First allow me to tell you about my last wrestling tournament.

We wrestled in Bryan on the 20th of December at the Doc Hess Tournament. This tournament is one of the larger tournaments they have in Texas and there are a ton of schools there, about 35-40. I did pretty well right up to my last match, again. I ended up placing fourth.

First guy I wrestled was from Oakridge, which I cant remember where that is. But I wrestled very well, and did a great job at finishing my shots, and was beating him by about 8 I think when I pinned him. That was my 20th varsity pin, and hope for many more as the season goes on!

The second kid I wrestled was a lot better. He was from an Episcopal school somewhere. I'll be honest going into this match, he didnt look very intimidating. It was a great match, and I ended up winning 8-5.

Then in the semi-finals of the tournament I got a rematch with the kid from SA Madison. I wrestled a much better match and was pleased with how I wrestled. I still need to work on my takedowns, and alter the way I wrestle so that I'll be able to beat this guy. I'm close, he won 6-3, so hopefully next time I'll pull it out.

Then I wrestled another guy from Katy, and won 5-2. It was a joke of a match. In the third period the kid was on bottom, and would keep running out of bounds. I swear, I've had full matches that have been shorter than that third period. But I 'll just have to work on pinning these guys faster :)

This last match was my most disappointing so far this season. I wrestled the same Episcapol kid that I had beaten earlier in the day. He won 4-3. Dont get me wrong, the kid is no slouch, but if I want to make state this year I need to be able to beat these guys no matter what the circumstances. I was tired, it was my 5th match of the day, and I had been up since 4 that morning and it was about 9:00 at night at that point. But it doesnt matter. Like my uncle said "the champions find ways to win even on days they don't have their best stuff working."

The team did really well, with only 11 guys we still maneged to get 2nd overall. Click here for complete results.

So this has always kind of been my midpoint in the season, although most of the meat of the season happens next. But so far I have been mostly please with how I've wrestled. My record isnt that impressive, but I've had some stiff competition (5/6 of my losses have been to guys who are more than likely going to state this year), and I've done well against them.But now is when I need to kick it into high gear, and peak. I need to improve on my conditioning, especially my shots, and get more pumped up about all my matches, even the small ones. So wish me luck for the next half of the season!

Record: 9-6; 5 pins. NEXT: BOWIE (Biggest Duel of the Year!)

Vista Ridge and Russ Pederson Invitational

Well, I had a lot of wrestling this last week. It was great to get back on the mat after having to take some time off with my knee. And what a better way to start it off than to wrestle Brian Osorio, the number 1 kid in the state.

We had a lunch time duel so we had a lot of the school come and watch which was really cool, thanks to all those who came and supported us! Unfortunately our team had a lot of open weights, and we didn't wrestle our best, so we lost 40-28. But I wrestled Osorio, and I didn't do all that bad. I was very happy with the way that I wrestled. I lost 16-8, but he didn't get any back points on me, it was all just take downs. And I felt good. So I was really excited for this next tournament.

It was a long day, that started at 4:45, when I got up so I could get to school by 5:00 to leave to get to Johnson High on time for the tournament. But we got there and our team did very well. We ended up getting second over all. Again, our open weights hurt us, and we probably couldve gotten first if we fielded a whole team. But 10 of the 11 guys we brought placed in the top 4.

I was pumped for my first match, so I went after him! I wrestled a kid from Corpus Christi Carrol, and was up 13-0 in the second period when I pinned him.

I was still on a role when I wrestled the next guy from Corpus Christi Ray. I pinned him in the first period.

Then I wrestled a kid from New Braunfels, that I had met a few years ago at a camp. He's a really cool guy, good sport and I like him a lot. One of the better conditioned wrestlers I had ever gone up against. But I still won 14-4. He's only a sophomore, but he'll make some noise in the next two years. He ended up getting third.

In the finals I wrestled a kid from San Antonio Madison. This guy was one place away from going to the state tournament last year, so he was no slouch and I wanted a piece of him. Unfortunately, I didn't wrestle my best match. Every single time I would get in on a shot, he would counter it, and my conditioning is off from the days I had to take off with my knee. So I was gassed, and just couldn't finish my shots. If I did I feel I would've won by eight in stead of loosing by eight. The final was 15-7, and I ended the tournament in second place. I have never been so disappointed with second in my life. I should've beaten this kid. But hey, it keeps me humble, and now I have some fuel to go work harder in practice.

NEXT: DOC HESS INVITATIONAL,BRYAN, DEC 20th

RECORD: 6-4; 4 pins

Anderson/Connaly/Pflugerville

Tonight was the first duel of the season, at Anderson High school. There was a total of 4 teams there, but because of starting late, and the duels lasting a long while, we only got to wrestle two teams. I was a little nervous coming into this match because my knee has been giving me some trouble. I ate my butt off over the thanksgiving break, and needed to burn all of those extra calories. So I ran 10.5 miles that Saturday, which was probably a bad idea. My knee has been sore since, and I think I need to take it easy. So I probably wont wrestle the rest of the week, and give it some recovery time.

First we wrestled Anderson. I had already wrestled the Anderson 135 before, but he wasn't there this time, Austin Moore (good friend, captain of Anderson wrestling, 140) said that he quit. Which is a shame, I hate to see anyone quit the sport. Hopefully he's doing well at whatever he decides to do. But West lake looked dominant. We had a lot of pins, and wrestled incredibly well. I had a forfeit, so I didn't get to wrestle.

Next we wrestled Connaly. They had a pretty small team, and are not a huge program yet. So we wrestled them, and I don't think we lost a match. My match was interesting. My coach told me to go easy on him. I was going up against a first year wrestler, and I guess coach didn't want me to go all out on him. So I half wrestled him for about the first period and a half, then coach said "alright, lets wrap this up." So I did, and pinned the kid. And that was the end of the duels. But our team looks really solid, I'm excited for the rest of the year!

And the updated Region IV rankings (scroll to bottom of page) came out. They finally moved Moore up to 140, but Bryan Osorio moved up from 130, and took the number one spot. But I talked to his dad tonight, and he told me he'll be back down at 130 by January. Then it was Ruggles at 2, and me at 3. So I'm still in the top 4, hopefully top 2 soon. And I cant wait to wrestle Ruggles. That should be an awesome match!

NEXT: WOODLANDS INVITATIONAL, HOUSTON, (probably wont wrestle to let my knee recover)

RECORD: 3-2; 2 pins

My Thankgiving

Well we know that thanksgiving has come because of all the Christmas holiday decorations that line every department store across America.

It is a shame that Thanksgiving finds itself overshadowed by two fun and exciting holidays, one which you get showered in candy, and the other in presents. Thanksgiving is the one holiday that allows us to reflect upon the many blessings we have. What great a holiday that allows us to surround ourselves with company of those we love, feast together, and give thanks for what His Divine Hand of Providence has graced us with.

So allow me to express my thanks, for I have received so much, "that I have room not enough to receive it."

I am so thankful for my country that allows me to live how I want to live, and be what I want to be. No other place can compare with its various and majestic beauty. It truly is the promise land. And with it, I am so grateful and indebted to those in our armed services protecting our liberties and way of life. They are my heroes, and may God watch over and bless them and their families.

I have the best friends in the world, hands down. Casual friends, acquaintances, teachers, friends of the family, and friends for life, I'm so thankful for them all. So many are so close they are practically family. I cant tell yall how many times I'll be dealing with something, and someone will say just the right thing, or do just the right thing and make everything all right. So many of yall have touched my life in ways you dont even know, so thank you guys so much. Yall mean the world to me.

My family is the reason I am who I am today. I no that no matter what, they will always be there to help and support me. They have put up with all of my crap, and love me anyway. My Dad is my role model (in some areas, haha), my Mom is the greatest woman in the world, and my brothers and sister Hattie are the coolest people I know. I dont want to know what my life would be like without them. I love them all so much.

And most of all I am grateful for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Through Him, I know I can achieve true happiness, and just the efforts of trying to live like he did brings more joy than I can know. I have felt his arms of redeeming love around me, and felt the comfort His words and teachings provide. I love Him, and will do my best to follow in his footsteps.

My friends, this thanksgiving, amongst all the hustle and bustle, try to find yourself a quite place and think of all the things we have to be thankful for. And while we give thanks for the blessings that we have, let us all try to bless the lives of those around us and give everyone a little more to be thankful for.

Capital City Classic

This Saturday, I kicked off my wrestling season with my tournament of the year, The Capital City Classic, at the Delco Center here in Austin. Let me just say that it was a rather frustrating day. I had some pretty lousy luck.

It all started with the seeding. At lots of tournaments they only seed the top four guys, and then randomly assign everyone else. Well, since I was hurt and didn't wrestle in the post season last year, I was unseeded, and got a really bad draw.

First I wrestled a kid from Morton Ranch. He was the number 3 seed. I wrestled terribly. I found myself down 5-1 after a botched move in the first period, and everything else went down hill from there. I lost the match 11-4.

I was pissed off about my last match, so I took it out on a kid from Anderson here in Austin. I pinned him in 38 seconds.

The third kid I wrestled was from Cedar Park, which was of some importance because they are in our district. But I wrestled him fairly well, and fairly conservatively. I won 4-0.

This is where I got frustrated. Unfortunately I had to wrestle the same kid from Morton Ranch that I had wrestled the first time. The brackets were messed up and poorly made so there was a lot of stupid stuff that screwed over a lot of guys on our team. But thats life. I wreslted this kid alot better this time around, but he still beat me 6-2, thus eliminating me from the tournament (most tournaments are double elimination). He was the better wrestler that day, but we'll see what happens later on in the season.

This was the first tournament since sophmore year that I didnt place in, and hopefully it will be the last. Better to get my hard knocks in at the begining of the season instead of the end right?

Overall the team did really well. We placed 3rd overall, which was really good because some guys had some off days and we didnt feild our whole team (we are missing some key guys because of football play-offs). We had 3 guys place first, and our team preformed great. For complete results click HERE.

NEXT: 12/3-Anderson & Connally Duels-@ Anderson

Record: 2-2; 1 pin

Wrestling Season!!!

Well my friends, wrestling season has begun.

I've been avid wrestling my whole high school career, and wrestled a few years before high school. I've had a fairly successful career, except in the post season. My sophomore year I got sick and lost in districts, and my junior year I got hurt mid season and couldn't compete in the post-season.

But this is a different year! I've trained hard to prepare for this season, and am in better shape than I've ever been. I'm one of the team captains, and our team looks great this year. We will probably be top 10 in the state when those rankings come out.

I am planning on wrestling in the 135 lb weight class. There is a preliminary weigh in at the beginning of the season to see where you could wrestle, and determine how low you could cut. I managed to qualify for 130, just in case I need to go down for whatever reason, but it wasn't fun (running 7-8 miles in the morning and 2.5 hours of hard wrestling, on maybe 1500 calories a day isnt what I would call fun). But thank goodness I only had to do that for a few days. Now the weigh in is over, and I can eat whatever I want, as long as I stay less that 135 pounds, which shouldnt be a problem. Its my natural weight anyway.

It looks like I'm poised to make a run. In order to qualify for the state tournament you need to place in the top four in the regional tournament. There are 4 regions in the state, and our region spans from Austin to San Antonio and to the Corpus Christi area. There are regional rankings that come out every so often, and on the Pre-Season Region 4 Rankings I am ranked 2nd in the region (Austin Moore is going 140 this year).

But there is a tournament this weekend here in Austin that will have alot of teams from the region, so it will be a great chance to field out the rest of the competition and maybe move into that number one spot!

I'll post results from meets and tournaments, and link to rankings and pictures as the season moves on. The goal is state, nothing else will suffice.

Wish me luck!

Eagle Project

Well as I'm sure most of you have seen from my Mom's Blog, I have finally completed my eagle project. Its been a long and difficult road, but the deed is done! I've been a life scout (the rank right below eagle) and able to do my project for three years, but was also a procrastinator, and got it done with about 50 days before my 18th birthday. I actually started the process about 2 years ago, working on the cemetery next door, but someone beat me to that project. So I started work on this one and submitted it for approval. This was July of 2007. Let me just say that there would be many more submissions for approval till it finally was in October of this year. So no one can say that I didnt work for this. But now its done, and looks great! A huge thank you to everyone who helped out and got me this far. Hopefully I'll be blogging about my Court of Honor really soon!

Homecoming

This weekend Westlake had it's homecoming, which was a ton of fun. I went with my old friend Kelly Rogers, and with Russ Hubbard, and Grace Cheney. Instead of going out to dinner Russ and I decided that we would make dinner for our dates (aka Mom and Hattie set everything up for us). We decided on having breakfast for dinner, with funeral potatoes, brown sugar bacon, fruit, orange julius, sparkling cider, and make-your-own waffles. Needless to say we were stuffed! Then we went to the dance, and had a good time there. After the dance, we went out to Flipnotics for some Hot Chocolate, and there was a band playing there, so we talked and listened to them for a while. Russ and Grace are on student council, so we had to go back to the school and clean up, but that didn't take to long. After cleaning up we went to Grace's house and chilled out and played games. It was a great night!


But while we were at Flipnotics, we got to talking about us leaving for college, and how much were going to miss Austin, and what a great place it is. We then realized how much of Austin there is that we haven't taken advantage of! There is just so much to do here! So we decided that we would get together and make a list of things that we all are going to do before we head off on the rest of our lives. I'll post what we come up with, and if anyone can think of other ideas we might forget feel free to chime in!

United We Fall

"If men were angels, no government would be necessary."

We are all familiar with that quote from the Federalist Paper #51. But we also must recall the latter part of it, which all to often is forgotten.

"If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary."

This election is oh so critical for our country. Much is at stake. Our economy is in the crapper, the demand for oil is increasing, our environment is hurting, and most people seem to forget that we are fighting a war on two fronts. More than ever we need the government to make smart sound decisions on how to deal with these an numerous other issues.

But thats what the government is designed to do right? So wheres the problem? The problem is that it wont be the government that's making the decisions.

If Obama wins this next election, which all signs point to that he will, we will have a very liberal democrat in the White House, more liberal than we have seen in a long time. All signs point to a democratic Majority in the House of Representatives as well. And guess what? We will not only have a democratic majority in the Senate, but we might have a super-majority! That means an un-filibuster able Congress.

This is bad news.

It doesn't matter if you're a republican or a democrat. This isn't good for anyone! Our government operates and prides itself on running under a system of checks and balances. The executive and legislative branches are too keep tabs on each other so no one gets to much power. But who is going to check on them if they're on the same side?

If the democrats get an un-filibuster able Senate, along with Obama in the White House, he will have sole control over the government, and be able to execute whatever policy he desires. The congress wont check on him. They're on the same boat. Where's the balance? No man should have that power.

Government power is no longer spread between branches of government, but between the two parties. We cannot let one get to much control. Both the right and the left have good and bad ideas, more bad than good. And when one group gets to much power, we are going to get a lot of bad legislation.

With a divided government, we wont get the garbage that both parties have to offer because the other party will recognize the trash, and not let it pass. Only good, strong, important necessary policy will be passed. We need a divided government, and strong division between the parties so that power stays separated, and only the best legislation gets passed.

If Obama wins we will loose those internal and external controls on our government. And last I checked there weren't a whole lot of angels hanging around Washington.

Enchanted Rock

Well, on monday my friend Jarom Hulet and I decided that we were going to go camping on friday, just out of the blue for no apparent reason. Just sounded like a fun thing to do. So we recruited Ian Lindsay, John Deleon, and Kevan Bergam to come along with. It was a blast!

We got to Enchanted Rock at about 8, but by that time it was already dark. So we had to hike a little more than a mile to our campsite in the dark, which was quite an adventure. It was such a nice night we just laid out our tent as a tarp and slept under the stars, talking into the night. The next morning we all somehow woke up at six, and decided to climb the rock and watch the sunrise. It was a glorious view, and I was glad that we did. Then we explored some caves, hiked back, ate breakfast, then just hung out. It was a good weekend.

But I was reflecting on how awesome of an experience it really was to be out there with all those guys. Not only were they my friends that I have been close with for years, but they are my brothers in the priesthood. Together through the years we have helped each other grow and develop in the gospel. We entered together as deacons into the Aaronic Priesthood, and now we are getting ready to move on to the Melchizedek priesthood. Jarom is getting ready to leave on his mission soon, and its just amazing to remember seeing him ordained a deacon. We have all come a long way, and I look forward to seeing all the good that these guys do.

Also when one is out in nature, one cannot help but contemplate on how magnificent our earth is. The stars and moon glowed with celestial beauty, and in the morning the sun rose majestically upon us seated on a great rock, high above the rest of the world. It truly was a sight to see, and I am so thankful to have a God so loving to create a world with such beauty for us to reside in. And for those who say miracles have ceased, simply need to wake up and watch the sunrise. Small miracles happen everyday, its just up to us to notice them.