Wrestler of the Year Joe Miller of Salesianum.
Almost every wrestler who enters the Beast of the East is going to lose.
All 14 weight classes at one of the nation’s most prestigious high school tournaments are packed with former and future state champions from around the country. They all come to the University of Delaware to battle it out each December, and most of them leave frustrated.
Joe Miller experienced that frustration this season, falling just short of his goal of a top-eight finish at the Beast.
But the Salesianum junior didn’t sulk. He responded with a fury, and everyone who wrestled him felt it.
Miller pinned all 26 opponents he faced after the Beast, including all four in the season-ending DIAA Individual Wrestling Championships. The 182-pound state champion was voted the tournament’s outstanding wrestler, and also earned the nod as The News Journal’s Wrestler of the Year.
“He’s very intense,” said Cameron Davis, Miller’s coach at Sallies. “Joe is a wrestler. He feels like this is what he was born to do. He’s very serious.
“What makes Joe is his dedication to the sport. He has put himself in a place to be that dominant wrestler. He’s not afraid of a challenge.”
Miller finished fifth in the state tournament as a 170-pound freshman. But injury struck during his sophomore year, as he suffered a dislocated shoulder the week before the Independent Schools tournament. He still pinned his way through to earn the No. 2 seed in the DIAA tournament, but the swelling and pain were too much. He made the tough decision to withdraw.
That fueled the fire for this season, and it burned even hotter last summer when Miller and Sallies teammate Nick Bramble went to an intense, 12-day wrestling camp at Edinboro University in Pennsylvania.
Olympic champion Bruce Baumgartner and Edinboro head coach Tim Flynn led the daily grind, which wasn’t for the faint of heart.
“It was the best and worst experience of my life,” Miller said. “It was every day, waking up at 6 in the morning and running sprints up bleachers, conditioning for two hours, in the room for 12 days without a break. We were wrestling five times a day, two-hour practices.
“You couldn’t sleep because you had so many bruises. My hands were all torn up, scratches all over my body, but the technique was just phenomenal. The coaches were hands-on, right with you.”
Willing to work
Davis knew Miller was serious, but Edinboro took him to another level.
“That camp is made for people who are mentally tough, and want to get mentally tougher,” the Sallies coach said. “That camp showed me that he had goals, and he was willing to work for them.”
Miller came into Beast of the East as the No. 7 seed at 182. After a first-round bye, he won two matches to reach the quarterfinals against second-seeded Kyle Gentile. The Pennsbury (Pa.) wrestler pinned Miller in 1:43, and eventually won the weight class.
Miller then went into the consolation bracket and lost a 3-2 decision to 12th-seeded Gregg Harvey of Boyertown (Pa.), who eventually finished fourth.
“He was very down about that,” Davis said. “But he went back and reset his goals and became even more disciplined.
“He changed his diet to make it better. He changed his training to make it more effective. He started working on his weaknesses, trying to make his weaknesses his strengths.”
No wrestler went the full six minutes against Miller the rest of the season. But even as the pins piled up, there was no chance of him becoming overconfident.
“You keep on remembering the matches you lost throughout the season, no matter how many you win,” said Miller, who finished 33-2. “… It’s just a bad feeling that still sticks with me. Losing is one of the worst feelings in the world. It motivated me, made me realize that I can get better.”
He left no doubt at the state tournament. The top-seeded Miller dispatched John Lawson of A.I. du Pont in 41 seconds in the first round. He took only 1:20 to down Michael Wright of Sussex Central in the second round. Fifth-seeded Colin Bergh of Sussex Tech made it to the second period, but succumbed in 2:34 in the semifinals.
Then, under the spotlight of the Saturday night finals, Miller pinned second-seeded Kenny VanVorst of Milford in 2:44 for his first state championship.
Looking ahead
“Words can’t really describe that,” Miller said. “I was just caught up in all the emotions, all the hard work throughout the season, all the blood and the sacrifice, not being able to spend as much time with your family.
“All of it paid off, but it was short-lived. The next day when I woke up, I still had goals that I haven’t achieved yet.”
That’s right. Less than 24 hours later, Miller was preparing for next season.
“You don’t have to worry about what he’s going to do,” Davis said. “He’s already doing it. He’s already thinking that much ahead. It’s nice when one of your wrestlers is thinking ahead of even what you are thinking as a coach.”
Miller is heading for the Delaware shore to work as a lifeguard this summer. But he will still train every day, and the sand and surf will be interrupted for 12 more days of sweat and toil at Edinboro.
“He wants that competition,” Davis said. “He wants to be the kid who wins the close match. That’s what makes him special.
“He would rather win the close match than win the dominant match.”
Miller didn’t have many close matches after the Beast. But there’s another Beast coming, and he’ll be ready.
“I’ve learned from that tournament,” he said. “When I return, I’ll have a more comfortable feel for it.”
That may make some of the nation’s best wrestlers uncomfortable.
Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ
xxx
Delaware Sports Awards
Phillies legend Mike Schmidt will be the keynote speaker at the inaugural Delaware Sports Awards, to be held June 15 at the Bob Carpenter Center. Every Delaware varsity high school athlete who earns first-team, All-State honors during the 2015-16 school year gets a complimentary ticket. They will also be eligible for three of the five major awards to be handed out at the banquet. Schmidt will present trophies to the Male Athlete of the Year, Female Athlete of the Year, Team of the Year, Coach of the Year and Inspirational Person of the Year. Tickets are $50 and are available at http://www.delawareonline.com/hssportsawards.
COMING WEDNESDAY: All-State Boys Track and Field