College Wrestling: Camas Grad Heads to Nationals

For 2012 Camas High School graduate, Tyler Weiss, heading to a national college wrestling tournament, is the culmination of years of hard work, perseverance, and sheer will power.

Weiss is part of the Brigham Young University (BYU) Wrestling program that is sending six wrestlers to the National Collegiate Wrestling Association’s (NCWA) National Tournament next week, in Orlando, FL.

The 22 year-old BYU sophomore, who recently completed LDS Church missionary service in Brazil, is pleased with the results from a regional tournament that has put his team in this position.

Traveling to the nationals with Weiss is Coach Craig Miner; Tyler Carlyle, 22, Sophomore and Team Captain; Blake Solomon, 21, Freshman; Joe Cooprider, 23, Senior; Derek Mcclure, 18, Freshman; and Ben Peterson, 21, Sophomore.

“I love the competitive aspect of wrestling,” says Weiss, who began wrestling as a Freshman at Camas High School. “You work hard and you see the results. It’s really rewarding.”

These young men have been wrestling since mid-October, and practice four days a week. The wrestling season officially started in early November, and the team travels every other week to compete.

“We have a really good team filled with good guys,” said Weiss, who competes in the 133 weight class. “It’s good to get back into wrestling.”

 

 

The team thinks highly of their coach, Craig Miner, but he demurs.

“I’m not teaching them anything,” adds Miner. “Tyler C runs the practices, and I just do what I can to help them. I’ve done the fundraising, and get the travel arrangements taken care of. Plus, it was hard getting the program accepted at BYU.”

Miner explained that the university had dropped wrestling last year, and that he and several others lobbied hard to get the program reinstated.

“We’re grateful they accepted the program,” said Miner. “After the season ends, we’ll work hard to get it reinstated for next season.”

Last year, with the fate of the program unknown, Weiss asked his family and friends to pray for the program to return.

“We were relieved when Tyler called us to say the program was reinstated,” said Matt Weiss, Tyler’s father. “Tyler has loved wrestling ever since he started at Camas High School. He loved Coach Hartman, and he’s put a lot of time and effort into the sport.”

Weiss learned wrestling from Hartman at Camas High School. He said Hartman’s program taught him how to work hard, and be tough.

“These kids have done very well,” added Miner. “We expect them to win. They placed well at Regionals, and I think we’ll carry that momentum into next week. They have a lot of talent.”

Wrestling Practices at BYU

Carlyle said the team puts into the effort everyday.

“Tyler is the lightest guy in the room, but he’s one of the toughest,” Carlyle said. “In wrestling, it’s almost always who is the most mentally tough who wins. It’s really a mindset of ‘I’m going to score.'”

The BYU Wrestling team practice routine consists of a warmup, to get sweating. Then, they go over technique points, and get conditioned doing matches.

“We’ll make one guy stay in and toughen up to compete with several teammates,” said Carlyle. “He won’t have a second to catch his breath. Plus, we don’t run a lot, as we feel that doesn’t add anything to our practices. And Tyler always works hard to make his cuts.”

Solomon says: “Weiss is always giving his all and works through it, and doesn’t use his size as an excuse.”

Regarding next week’s National Tournament, Weiss says: “I’d be happy to be All-American, in the Top 8. I want to be in the Finals.”

So, do wrestlers have to be fearless?

“Yeah,” says Weiss. “I’d say that they have to be able to control their fears and not let their fears control them. Sometimes my fears are what drive me to work even harder. Fear of being beaten or not giving enough are the fears wrestlers need to have. There’s a saying in wrestling that goes ‘fear no one but respect everyone,’ meaning that you shouldn’t be afraid of anyone but that you need to respect everyone and not look past anyone.”

To learn more, visit www.byuwrestling.com