By William Snyder
El Diamante’s Chris Creason added another accomplishment to his season after winning the 157 weight class at the Sam Boyd CIT, along with winning the EYL championship.
When asked how Creason felt before his meet, he said confidence played a major role in his performance throughout the tournaments. “It was fairly easy,” Creason stated. “I walked in knowing I’m the best and walked out showing I was the best.” With this kind of mindset it was clear how Creason was able to grab the title.
A lot of preparation leading up to both competitions focused on fundamentals and conditioning. Creason credited his father for helping him stay sharp before the meet through simple but effective training. “Lots of one on one’s with my dad going over simple moves, trying to perfect them,” he said. “Then lots of conditioning.”
Rather than changing his approach, for EYL Creason stuck with his routine and focused on preparing mentally before each match. “Same thing as I did before,” he said. “Going over simple techniques and thinking about how I wanna do differently for my matches.” Creason often studies his opponents to better understand how to beat them as he believes it is important to understand your opponent physically but mentally too.
Competing against wrestlers from well known programs did not intimidate Creason. He emphasized that mindset is key when facing opponents from larger or more established schools. “Don’t let a school name affect how you perform,” Creason said. “You can beat anyone out there and they have much more to lose than you.”
Since this is Creason’s last season, he encouraged wrestlers of lower grade levels at El Diamante to stay confident and aggressive on the mat. “Keep your head up and show you want it more,” he added.
With wins at both the EYL championship and the Sam Boyd CIT, Creason has firmly established himself as El Diamante’s best wrestler in school history, setting high expectations for future athletes in El Diamante’s Wrestling program.