Highland juniors Colin Sierer and Paul Clark recently placed in the State Championships for the Highland Wrestling Team. Though both champions were seen smiling on the podium, it was not an easy journey.

In the semi-finals competition, Sierer suffered a loss in which he was pinned by an opponent. Despite a loss that was so aggravatingly quick, Sierer was able to return to his senses and clinch the win.

“Well, the kid in the semi-finals was supposed to beat me, so I wasn’t too worried about the match, so I was able to kind of shake it off. But I did really want to win the match, so I told myself ‘It’s in the past.’ and moved on,” said Sierer.

According to wrestling coach Ted Sierer, it can be hard for wrestlers to recover after a loss. It has been especially hard in Sierer’s past to be able to recuperate so spontaneously after a loss.

“Early in his high school career, Colin has struggled after a loss. To his credit, he took sports psychology, and in that class, we talk about how you let things go, how you learn from a loss and how you build on it. I’ve seen him apply the techniques that we talk about in that sports psychology class and he’s responded to the losses a lot better this year.” said Coach Sierer.

Regardless of his newly-earned status as champion, Clark also experienced times when he was discouraged throughout the wrestling season, expressing that he has even had the desire to quit at some points in his wrestling career.

“Sometimes at the end of practices, the coaches are pushing us super, super hard, and I feel like I can’t do this all week, or for a few months or stuff.” said Clark. Despite the rigorous hardships he endured during the season, Clark persevered and found the inner and outer toughness to prevail and emerge as a champion.

Wrestling requires a combination of mental and physical strength in order to succeed, and both Sierer and Clark have demonstrated that they are capable of summoning those strengths when down on the mat. They’ve both been wrestling for years and have been determined to advance their wrestling careers since they began. Standing on the podium as champions made all the hard work and dedication pay off.

“You can’t ever become a champion if you don’t take a risk.” said Coach Sierer.