Preface

“This is it; this is why you have worked so hard for the past ten years.” That was the only thought in my head as I made the lonely walk from the holding area towards the championship final’s mat. Simultaneously my opponent was climbing the stairs shadowing my every move. Once we stripped our warm-ups and stood there reminiscent of two gladiators from antiquity, I heard, “Now wrestling for the 141 pound national title, Michael Bonora, Rhode Island and Jason Adams, Augsburg.” Those were the words that proceeded the most important moment of my life to date.
I was the top seed, undefeated in Division III, wrestling for a school from the smallest state in the Union. My gold singlet shone brightly with the maroon words “Rhode Island College” plastered on the front. My opponent was an unseeded sophomore on a run with Outstanding Wrestler written all over it. The only thing not surprising about his dash to the finals was the maroon singlet he wore (Augsburg is a wrestling powerhouse). Our paths to the national finals were completely different, but the roads converged on March 8, 2008.
Trying to describe the adrenaline running through my body is a futile task. However, what I felt was a nervous excitement that electrified me even more so than the packed arena. The match was the culmination of my career, and all of the hours of dedication and hard work I had logged. Seven minutes separated me from my destiny and in those seven minutes my life would be forever altered.
I forced my brain to focus on wrestling and winning the title. If that was not the case, my mind would have been running through a million scenarios like it has been in the months that followed that unforgettable weekend. The thought that has dominated since has been of, how a wrestler average in talent, could find himself not only in the national finals, but there as the favorite.
I would be lying if I said my dream was always to be a national champion. Nevertheless, there I was, in the unmistakable reality of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. With a referee about to signal the start of the final match of my career and the 2008, 141 pound NCAA Division III weight class. Then I heard the whistle, my mind went blank and a calm came over me as it had hundreds of times before. I was at home for the last time…