I started up from nothing basically starting in elementary school. Yes, I’m gonna go back far because really thats where it all began. I was, well, kind of a geek from elementary to middle school. I was the typical nerd… Into geeky stuff, wore big thick glasses that made my eyes look like 20 times bigger, always picked on, that kind of deal. I did some basketball in elementary, but as expected I barely played. Then middle school came, 7th grade I went out for football, barely got to play, 8th grade went out for football and basketball, again, barely got to play. Well, freshmen year is where my life changed in a huge way. I was sick of getting picked on, sick of getting benched, sick of being considered a nerd. I decided to do football freshmen year but thats when I started getting into weight training. Weight training became a lifestyle for me, nothing else mattered, I wanted to prove to all the haters that I could do it. Well, my dream finnally became a reality when I became starting defensive tackle most of the season for my freshmen team. I want to give credit for my Coach Jarod Benrud who was my football coach freshmen year and has been my wrestling coach my whole highscool career so far. If it wern’t for him pushing me to my limit telling me I could do it, I don’t think I’d be where I am today. Well, once the football season started coming to an end, Benrud asked me to come out for wrestling. Now I’ve never really been around anything as intense as wrestling and I tried to tell him that I wanted to do basketball. I tell you now, if I could go into the past, I’d smack myself for saying I wanted to do basketball. Anyways, I went out for it, and ofcourse I wasn’t good because I didnt really know what I was doing. Well, that season was an embaressment to me and I never wanted that to happen again. Even though it was just JV, I only won 2 matches my whole season. Thats when I went in the wrestling room over the summer and ironically becides me and 4 other teammates, I was the only one ever in there but I still worked for my goal. I did football yeah, but it wasn’t as fun to me anymore as it was my freshmen year. But as for wrestling, I ended up winning almost all my JV matches that year and a couple Varsity matches that year. But that still wasn’t enough for me, I wanted to be the best. I got in that weight room everyday for an hour, and the wrestling room for 2 hours every other day. I also decided I was sick of football soI decided to go out for Cross Country just for fun and to keep in shape. My endurnace went up alot by the time wrestling came around. I was so pumped for winter, thats all I waited for that whole year. Thats when I hit a high point in wrestling. I went 14-16 for my Varsity career, got 3rd place at almost every tournament I compeated in, and my team did amazing as well this season. I’m still busting it in the weight room and wating for my chance next year. I went from 130 this winter to almost 145 just eating right and working hard. I want to get into MMA as I said already which I’m gonna start training this summer but I’m not gonna compeat for a while though. I have no clue what weight I’ll be wrestling next year, but no matter what it is, I will be ready. I have a quote that I will always live by… “Iv’e heard it all… Yu’ll never win the big one, yu’ll never be able to do this. Alot of cridics have they said never… I proved them wrong.” Chris Benoit said that, and even though what that man did to his family is completely sickening, I live by that quote everyday because there is still people out there that want to put me down, make me feel like a loser, but when it comes to me getting better in that weight room or that wrestling room, I can’t even hear them and you know why? Because all I’m doing is imagining that crowd cheering for me when I make it to State. Plus, I love to shut them up when there ignorant mouths just keep yapping. It don’t matter anyways because I’m not listening when I’m working hard. My Coach Benrud had this thing he did this year when we were just cooling off after our practice where he would yell “Who’s the best?!” and we would yell “I’m the Best!”. As shallow and cocky as that sounded to me in the beginning of the season as it did, it actually makes sence what he’s doing that for. He’s trying to make us believe we are the best because he know we have the capibility to do it out there on the mat. All I have left to say is he can have us say it, some of us will believe it, some of us on the team will still just think of it as a gimmic… Well, when it comes to next year, I wont just believe it… I WILL be recognized… I WILL the best. I hope that tells you alot about me, the basic Cinderella story my life is.

-One-time letter winner in wrestling

-14-16 Junior Career
-Many tournament placings

My name is Alec Jason Strittmater. I am a Junior at Central High School and I am 17 years old. I’m a down-to-earth kind of guy. I’ve been wrestling for 3 1/2 years, made it on Varsity my 2nd year. I’m getting better and better every year that I work hard in the weight room, wrestling room, etc. I’m also in Cross Country and Track to keep in shape. I want to get into MMA as well but I’m not planning on compeating for that until I get atleast 2 years or more training under my belt. My goal is to make it to state next year since it will be my Senior year, so I will be busting my balls on the weights and on the mat this summer.