http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006612010468
By Justin Sokeland
The Courier-Journal
At night, when darkness amplifies his deeper thoughts and sleep escapes his grasp, Floyd Central wrestler Cooper Samuels grapples with his past.
One match, his last one, haunts him. He rewinds the mental tape, replays the scene repeatedly, but cannot alter the outcome. Flat on his back, pinned to the canvas and powerless, Samuels watches his opponent walk away with a state championship.
Even during the day, Samuels is uncomfortable with the memory, when reminded of his lone failure from a year ago, when he lost the 145-pound state title match to Portage's Chad Biddle via pinfall. He vows a similar circumstance will not happen again.
Samuels, ranked No.1 at 145 in the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association preseason ratings, is eager to open the 2006-07 season tomorrow, but he will not return to seek redemption in the same weight class.
With maturity, he has added weight and muscle, vaulting to the 160-pound division for his junior year. His goal, the only thing that will exorcise his ghost, remains unchanged as he starts the quest to join Shaun Garing (1987) and Nathan Peterson (2000) on the short list of Floyd state wrestling champions.
"Anything less than a state championship would be a huge disappointment," he said. "I want to win, and I want to dominate my matches. I don't want to have something like what happened last year.
"I think about it every day. It's a thorn in my side knowing I should have won the state last year. I was ready, I was doing everything I should have done to win. Maybe, under the spotlight, I froze a little bit. I was dominating the match (and ahead on the scoreboard) and just got caught on my back. It was a silly mistake, I had drilled it a thousand times, but I just messed up."
That admission is difficult for someone who studies the sport and lives it as much as Samuels, wrestling's version of the gym rat.
For past birthdays, he has asked for, and received, a wrestling mat for the family basement and instructional videos featuring heroes Cael Sanderson (the undefeated, four-time NCAA champion) and the Russian stars he emulates. Other kids collect baseball cards, he collects wrestling shoes.
"He's all about wrestling," Floyd Central coach Rob Willman said.
"He thinks about wrestling all the time. He studies the game and he's in here all the time.
"He can pick up on things very quickly. You don't want to teach a kid too much wrestling, because they'll think too much. But he doesn't seem to be affected by that."
Away from the wrestling cage at Floyd and in the comforts of home, Samuels works out with his older brother Kyle, who finished second in the state as a senior at 152 in 2004. Kyle now competes as a walk-on for Indiana University, and Cooper constantly absorbs information from his sibling.
"Having an older brother that has gone through the program, and watching him at state, was one of the highest contributing factors to my success," Samuels said.
"He'll come back, and we'll work out. Some of the extra stuff we do gives me an edge."
Samuels started 39-7 as a freshman, finishing seventh in the state at 135 pounds. Last season, he went 45-1 at 145, making the progression to the next weight level this year a natural one.
He'll face a greater percentage of upperclassmen and test his skills against larger opponents.
"He'll have to deal with a little more strength, but that should be offset by the strength he's gained over the year," Willman said.
"We've not seen who's out there at 160, but we have an idea of who the top challengers will be.
"Cooper will wrestle differently for almost every match, depending on the opponent, with a particular game plan. An opponent can't get a feel for what he's looking for or what he wants to do, because he looks different from match to match.
"You want kids to develop their strengths, work on those and make sure no one can stop their best stuff, but he seems to do all the things very well."
The only thing Samuels struggles to handle is a single defeat and the haunting dreams that accompany it.
"It's all about that last match," Willman said. "He has something to prove, and that has focused his training over the summer and right now. I can't say he would have the same determination if he had won that match, but it definitely is a factor now."
Justin Sokeland can be reached at (502) 582-4059.