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Off The Mat: Catching up with Chris Pendleton
12/23/2004 2:02:00 PM
Read about a different side of the Oklahoma State superstar
By Ryan Teubner “Staff Writer
Please send comments, questions or replies to: [email protected]
It was only months after graduating from Lemoore High School (Lemoore, Calif.) in 2000 when Chris Pendleton was pulled out of a redshirt season after Ty Wilcox went down with an injury. He went on to post a 15-7 record for Oklahoma State, including a 3-3 dual record. He also went on to qualify for the NCAA tournament.
However, it was during the Big 12 tournament when he suffered the first injury in his wrestling career. A blow to the knee was more than just an injury. It set him back mentally as well as physically, and forced him to do something he was not used to doing “prepare to get healthy, not to get better.
But after that injury he redshirted the next season to get completely healthy and so Wilcox could compete during his senior year. And that might have been the best thing for Pendleton at the time. He got to train with a purpose and learn as much as he could to equip him with the tools necessary to become one of the best wrestlers in the nation.
“As a wrestler, he has done everything that it has taken to get to where he is, “assistant coach Mark Branch said. “He has put the work in and has continued to improve every year. I have never seen a wrestler come in and make the improvements that he has.”
“Most kids come in and get tougher mentally, get physically stronger, mature a little and work a little bit on technique, “Branch added. “But he has improved greatly in all areas. In my opinion, he has become the best wrestler in the country. He can score from any position. He has the fundamentals and has become a more complete wrestler. “
During his sophomore campaign he recorded a 30-2 mark with a third-place finish at the NCAA’s. Last year as a junior Pendleton was 30-1 on his way to winning the NCAA 174 pound national title and helping the Cowboys win their second straight national title.
Pendleton entered the season as the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the country at 174, and even though a recent loss to Oklahoma’s E.K. Waldhaus has put to rest any hopes of an undefeated season, Pendleton is still the man to beat at this weight class.
But in a recent conversation, Branch couldn’t stop talking about Pendleton the person, not the wrestler. Many wrestling fans were upset with comments Pendleton made to a national audience on ESPN last year after he defeated Ben Askren of Missouri to win the national title. Pendleton came off as being brash and cocky. But that was him in the heat of the moment, not in his everyday life.
“As a person, he is a great student and has never given us any problems, “Branch said. “He is great for the community and the university. He goes out and speaks to schools and works for the canned food drive. Those are extra things he doesn’t have to do. ”
“People come to him and ask him to do things and he responds, “Branch said. “He is always leading the way as far as the team is concerned. He is active in church and his faith in God gives him his confidence. It is kind of a shame that some people have a different impression of him. “
Pendleton has done a lot with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes such as going to schools to mentor the kids in the surrounding area of Stillwater, Okla., as well as attending FCA at OSU. During his off days he has been going to a juvenile detention center where he gets to talk with the kids and try to make a difference in their life.
“Working with the juvenile detention center has opened my eyes to see that there are kids out there that are living the wrong lifestyle, “Pendleton said. “They have brothers who are in gangs or come from single-parent families and they don’t have any options. If I can go hang out with them for a day and make any kind of difference in their life then it is worth it to me. “
“I think more athletes should definitely get involved in things like that, “he added. “When an athlete does something wrong then there is a media outcry. I think they should use their position to do better things and make a positive difference in a person’s life. “
Pendleton know this team is special, and that they have a chance for a third-straight national title.
“I am excited about this year and the team, “Pendleton said. “We have had a lot of new individuals come into the lineup and that is always exciting to see what they are going to do. We also have guys in the lineup from last year that almost achieved their goals, “he said. “They are going to be hungry to go out there and prove themselves. With guys like Steve (Mocco), Zack (Esposito), Jake (Rosholt), Johny (Hendricks) and myself we have a good core group so it should be an exciting year. “
The Chris Pendleton File
Personal: Chris is the son of Bill and Lisa Pendleton … He has two brothers, Jacob and William … In his spare time he enjoys weight lifting, reading, skiing, wakeboarding and coaching wrestling … He is a sociology major and was born on Jan. 21, 1982.
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