After so many close calls, Glenelg's 140-pound senior Chris Stinnett is hungry for a big finish, as he and the No. 3 Gladiators chase an elusive state title. After recovering from a shoulder injury that sidelined him early in the season, Stinnett, a two-time county champion, is 15-3 with a 115-15 career mark over four years.
Last season, he finished as the state runner-up along with senior teammates Danny Bichner and Brian Marcoux. Add senior Tim Chase and a strong lineup throughout, and Stinnett believes the Gladiators can come away with the program's first state championship.
Stinnett, a "B" student, will wrestle at Cal State Fullerton next year and plans to major in business.
When did wrestling first become a passion for you?
Pretty much anything I've done, I've always wanted to be the best at it. I won the county tournament and regional tournament and went undefeated my first year of wrestling in the fourth grade, so I was like, "This is sweet." Obviously, winning is fun. Then I started wrestling in the offseason, going away to camps and stuff. It was something completely different that I really enjoyed, and I eventually started wrestling all year long. I think the seventh grade is when I dropped baseball, and ever since then, it's been wrestling.
How special is this senior class?
With Danny and Marcoux - my two best friends - all of us can win state titles this year. All of us are going Division I wrestling and Tim Chase - I'm pretty good friends with him, too - he's going D-I, too. So it's real exceptional. We have a good shot at all four of us winning states, so maybe we can set some new state records at the state tournament with team points because we have up to six guys who can make it to the finals.
With the shoulder injury earlier in the season, what was it like not being on the mat for such a long time?
It was very tough for me. I've never been away from wrestling that long. Even throughout the summer, I'm always wrestling. Occasionally, I may take one week off if I go on vacation, but I'm still lifting and stuff. It was really annoying missing some tournaments and a bunch of wins I could have had.
Why did you decide to go to the West Coast for college?
Last year, I finally realized how important school was. And so I wanted to find a good business school, and California is a real big business area. Fullerton is the largest business school in California and second-largest in the country. Plus, I'm not a cold-weather person. Don't like the cold weather at all, can't stand it. So I wanted to go somewhere warm, and along the East Coast, once you get below South Carolina, there's no Division I wrestling programs, so I realized I had to go west.
What else about Fullerton impressed you?
The Fullerton coach was the one who e-mailed me back every day, was real quick with answering and seemed real interested. And then I went out there on my official visit in early September and loved it. It was a place I could see myself living there for the rest of my life.
How much do you look up to your older brother, Mike, who also wrestled?
He's been a big influence on me. He always picked on me when I was younger, but it was just to make me tougher, and I appreciate it now. He would work with me on my sports - we'd go out every day after school and play football, baseball, everything. I always followed in his footsteps, always followed him and his friends around and annoyed him - typical little brother.