TOM’s National High School Wrestler of the Week 2.25.10

Mikey England Climbs the Ladder

by Willie Saylor

He was 4th as a freshman. 3rd as a sophomore. A runner-up as a junior.

Wouldn’t it be poetic if Centerville’s Mikey England, #12 in our national rankings, could take home the title at the Iowa State High School Championships and complete the run?

Standing in his way was an opponent England was no stranger to: Brock Weatherman of Ballard-Huxley, the kid he met in the finals at states the year before; the guy that prevented him from winning the state title; the guy on top of the podium in the picture England kept in plain view at home to remind him of where he wanted to be.

After both won their semifinals last weekend, Weatherman was exactly the guy he’d have to beat.

Centerville Head Coach, Matt Johnson, explained the mind-set of his wrestler prior to the finals. “Going into the finals match, he was going to lay it all on the line and see what happened. We wanted to push hard the entire match and wear him down. All year long one of the things we preached is that you get what you deserve in the sport of wrestling. You win or lose based on what you do everyday. Mikey really bought into that.”

Mikey, himself, echoed those same sentiments. “I felt like I had been wrestling great all year so the confidence was there. I honestly felt like no one could have out-worked me this year, so I never felt nervous. Before all my matches, including finals, I didn’t think about them at all. I couldn’t otherwise I became overwhelmed with excitement. So my coaches and I would talk about off-the-wall stuff up until I was about to be called. Then I focused in and went out and gave it everything I had.”

‘Everything he had,’ would include his effort in an extra stanza, as the match was pushed into overtime. In the end, England prevailed 3-1, to capture his state title.

Listening to both England and Johnson’s words, it’s obvious they put in the training time. So the results aren’t entirely surprising.

Johnson explains the vision they had, and the progress he’s seen in England through the years. “His off-season training was the first big step. This past off-season he wrestled almost every weekend in the spring, going to numerous local and regional events and competing at Fargo. Secondly, his practice habits got better. His sophomore year, his effort was not where it should be. By his senior year, you could tell he came in everyday with the goal of improving. He became better at pushing himself and allowed others to push him out of his comfort zone.”

With his progression and subsequent success, college coaches started taking notice. Last October, he made an agreement to wrestle for Coach Kevin Jackson at Iowa State, joining five other TOM ranked kids in a banner recruiting haul for the Cyclones.

Mikey talked with us a bit about his college decision.

“I view ISU as an elite wrestling team and felt like I could excel there more than I could anywhere else. The coaches are awesome people and their credentials make it pretty obvious that they know what they are doing. Also, it’s not too far from home, and has the schooling for the career I want. Just an all around a perfect fit for my self.”

With his steady success, we’re sure we haven’t heard the last of him.

Congratulations to Coach Johnson, the Centerville Wrestling Community, and Mikey England, TOM’s National High School Wrestler of the Week!

Previous Week’s Winners
2/18 The Rausers, Broadwater, MT
2/11 Alan Waters, Park Hill, MO
2/3 Vince Rodriguez, Clovis North, CA
1/25 Mike Evans, Blair Academy, PA
1/18 Jake Sueflohn, Arrowhead, WI
1/11 Bobby Telford, St. Marks, DE