By Hannah Lawson
Amp writer
Incredible athletes of the future are walking our very own high school halls. It’s in the teen years that they develop a strong passion and ability for their chosen sport. Even those athletes who will not compete in later years will undoubtedly develop lifelong skills.
Local teen Matthew Behr walks the halls of Francis Howell High School. He’s been competing in wrestling for two years now, the first year on freshman and Junior Varsity. For his second year of competition, he’s made it all the way to Varsity, though still only in his sophomore year.
The 16-year old has also trained in martial arts and played on Francis Howell’s football team during high school. Behr said joining wrestling was not his original plan.
“I wasn’t going to wrestle, but then my friend challenged me to, and since I’m competitive, I did,” he said. “I thought it was awesome, and I continued on.”
Behr said wrestling is unique compared to football because it is not a team sport.
“Because if you win, it’s not because your buddy was helping you out,” he said. “It’s because you’re better than the other person.”
Exciting wrestling matches have taken place over Behr’s two years of competition.
“For my first match at the Gateway Athletic Conference, which is a big tournament, I had a triple overtime win. That was big. Also, for my first varsity win, we were tied one to one with thirty seconds left. I got a two point takedown with a three point nearfall.”
A nearfall is a wrestling term which means that one opponent exposes the other’s back long enough to earn points.
Behr said he trains hard for his sport.
“It requires a lot of pushups, good core strengths- abs, core muscles- and a lot of endurance,” he said.
Being a second degree black belt and having trained for years in tae kwon do has also helped his wrestling skills, Behr said.
“Tae kwon do helped me with match sense,” he said. “Things like, where am I in this match? What do I need to do next? I’ve learned how to control a match, and what I need to do to win.”
Behr said he has received at least four medals, two plaques and a bracket, which shows who he wrestled against.
Behr is still an up and coming wrestler. But judging by his achievements so far, he is definitely one to watch.
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