Minnesota youth bring challenges to Monster Match
09/18/2014, 5:30pm MDT
By Morgan Smith
Paxton Creese.. Has the heart, the discipline, and the God given talent to rise above any challenge. His weekdays start at 5:30am at South Side Bully, and are followed by yet another work out at 6:30pm after school. Now that’s just his weekdays. On Sundays he trains at Minnesota Elite for 2/3 hours. Mind you, he told me this schedule as if he was almost ashamed he didn’t train more. Thats almost 15 hours a week! What modesty! Now of course anyone can train for hours. What makes this young man worth mentioning?
I’ll tell you.
Not long into our interview his Father (Eric), respectfully interrupted the two of us to defuse his son’s modesty for just a moment and tell me a short story of triumph in young Paxton’s 2014 season.
In spring Paxton had broken his hand 2 weeks before the Minnesota State Folk Style Tournament. Now I assumed this would be a story of a young man who handled disappointment with maturity and candor. I was mistaken. This kid went on to not only wrestle with a broken hand, but he took first place against 4 opponents. I scratched my head at this for a second and then remembered how much of a baby I was 2 years ago when I had rolled my ankle skiing.. Ha! Leave it to a 12 year old to deflate a grown mans ego right?
I followed up after this short glimpse into what kind of character Paxton had, with an obvious question. “What drives you?”
Paxton replied boldly – “I want to be the best!”
Of course this is what all wrestlers want. So why do I believe this young man not only can but very well might be? Because this young man knows what he wants, and despite the daunting challenges that approach him, he pushes on with confidence and character.
Watch this young man carefully my friends. I would not be surprised to see him continue to leave us in “awe” through out the upcoming season. I personally cannot wait to see him in action (with two working hands), at Monster Match on Nov 8th. in Denver, CO.
Minnesota taking the Monster Challenge...
Phil Skep is a 13 year old, 106 pounder out of Minnesota who is a class act. This young man was nothing but respectful and patient in every encounter between us.
He trains 3 hours a day and as well as hitting 2 practices a day. He even said it was a goal of his this year to train after every practice. I don’t know about you but I personally find his dedication to be inspiring. When I asked this young man how he feels about stepping into Monster Match on November 8th and facing a 32 man brackets, he responded confidently by saying: “32 man bracket are tough, but I’ve lost in large brackets before and wrestled my way back to the top.” What a response!
As confident as he is I did find his one weakness. I asked him if he had any superstitions before a match and this is what he said:
“I can’t eat jelly beans. One year at state I ate some and I went 0 and 2. I don’t eat them anymore.”
Him and I both chuckled at such a silly thing having an impact on a star wrestler, but I suppose we all have our quirks. As we continued to talk I realized this young man, though he is only 13, has a clear desire to not only win, but to be the best. From doubling up on practices, to watching his favorite wrestlers, such as Jordan Burroughs, this kid has the fire. I’m excited to see this fire erupt in November at Monster Match in Denver, CO.
Assuming he doesn’t eat any Jelly Beans of course…
Phil Skep:
1st Place - Preseason Nationals
1st Place – Corn Cob Nationals
3rd Place – Preseason Nationals
4th Place – Folkstyle Nationals
4th Place – USA Freestyle Nationals
More to come from Skep's teammates in Minnesota.
Paxton Creese -
(1/2) 2014 MN/USA Triple Crown
2014 Northern Plains GR 2nd/ FS 2nd
2014 Gopher Nationals 4th
2013 Freak Show 8th
2013 Cliff Keen Preseason Nationals 5th
Mason Gehloff -
Minnesota USA State Champ, Liberty Nationals Champ, Tulsa Nationals runner up
Phil Skeps -
1st NUWAY Freak Show, 1st Corncob Nationals, 3rd USA Wrestling Preseason Nationals, 4th USA Folkstyle Nationals,
4th USA Freestyle Nationals
Mitchel Peterson - 3 time MN USA Triple Crown, Badger-land Nationals 1st, Freak Show 4th, AAU Nationals 3rd
Matthew Peterson -
Minnesota USA Greco & freestyle champion. Northern Plains Champion.[/u][u]
Last edited by RMNEvents; 10/01/14 04:58 PM.
