Rev Blog Entry 2: Marshall Marquardt, Dana College

Hello again. It's time for another look into my life as a wrestler. We finished up our preseason workouts last week and I have finally come to the realization that wrestling doesn't last forever.

Almost every wrestler I have ever known, that no longer competes, preaches that you have to take advantage of every moment in wrestling, because it doesn't last forever. I always heard them saying it, but never really comprehended it. Now I do. I came to this realization as we were running what are known as Pioneer Hills. Pioneer Hill runs through our campus at about a 40 degree angle for about a quarter mile. We run this hill doing buddy carries (piggy back). We only do it four times, which doesn't seem like much, but is extremely difficult … especially when you get down to the last two.

Returning All-American Jimmy Rollins pushes Burke Barnes up the hill.

To get to the bottom of my epiphany, I have to take you back to last year's preseason, when Leister Bowling and I were doing the Pioneer Hill workout. I was struggling on the third one and Leister got off me and told me to get on his back. He then finished my turn to the top and we headed back down. Leister took his turn and we returned to the bottom for my fourth trip up. Once again, I just couldn't push myself up the hill, and Leister jumped off, and finished my turn himself. As I was on his back, I said to him, "You are crazy! How the heck can you keep going?" He simply stated, "You'll know how when you are a senior and it's all you have left."

I guess I never understood exactly what he and everyone else meant, but as I was running the hill this year, I figured it out. You really don't have forever, and you have to take advantage of now -- not counting on what you will do tomorrow. You have to be willing to push yourself past the limit of exhaustion, and go further than you ever thought you could go. I think this is one reason that people are successful. The earlier you understand this theory, the faster you will become successful.

Our last workout was a three-mile run through a park in Omaha, which finishes up with a set of 187 stone steps that seems to be straight up to the sky. This is actually a great run until the stairs, which as most of you could imagine is just plain nuts to run up five to ten times in a row. Leister showed our team the trail last year after he learned about it from Todd Meneely.

Willie Parks, a former JUCO national champion for Iowa Central, is determined to get to the top of the hill.

What was most intriguing to me about the run was not seeing guys on our team run up the stairs time after time, but the fellowship of my teammates. It is amazing to me to see 70 guys getting along and pushing each other, cheering and yelling for everyone else. It really made me feel proud to be a captain of this team. Some guys were struggling to make it, and others were relentlessly pushing them to the top. What really blew my mind, though, was seeing Willie Parks haul a 100-pound stone down the stairs and right back to the top. Granted, I thought he was going to die afterwards, but he did it, and it really makes you think about how you train, and if it's hard enough.

To me, preseason is not just a time to start preparing yourself for the grueling hours of hard work ahead, but a time to see what you are made of. I learned a lot about myself and my teammates this past month, and I can only look forward to building on it over the next five months. Every year, I hear about all these teams that start the season with 50 guys and end up with 25, and I am happy to say that everyone on this team is still holding strong and has a good attitude.

Coach Costanzo gathers the team for a breakdown after a preseason run.

We are getting ready to get in the room this week and I can't wait. I know now that every time I step into that room, I have to make the most out of it. The fun part will be trying to portray this to everyone on the team, because that kind of attitude is what builds and makes champions. I will leave you this time with a quote that I heard in some movie I was watching last week: "If something comes easy, it usually isn't worth having. Are you ready to work for it?"

Until next time, keep getting better.

Marshall Marquardt

Past Entries:

Entry 1 (10/1/05)

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Rev Blog Entry 2: Marshall Marquardt, Dana College

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