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One Thing at a Time

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Springstead High senior Scott Wern

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By MARTY MILLER

Hernando Today correspondent

Published: December 11, 2008

Springstead senior Scott Wern realizes his final year on the mats is a pivotal one.
Not only is the Eagle 189-pound grappler looking to forward to a terrific final year, he is also looking to improve his grades enough to make it to college and wrestle for a school and maybe later, become an FBI agent.
Right now the wrestling part is going well.
On Saturday, Wern finished second in the rugged 31-team Cougar Invitational Wrestling Tournament at Plant City-Durant High.
Wern finished the two-day meet with a record of 4-1 after losing in the championship final to Caylor Williams of Palm Bay, 10-4.
The Eagle wrestler entered the tournament coming off a gold medal performance the week before in the Ocala-Forest Invitational in Marion County.
But the second place he earned at Durant may have been more impressive, especially considering the level of the competition he faced.
"That was the kind of high-end match you would have at nationals or state," Wern said. "It was a relatively low score and he beat me by decision. He's one of the best wrestlers I've faced and I have a lot of respect for him."
The Springstead senior, who last year went 33-17 for the year and qualified for states for the first time, said past weekend's Durant meet was the best he's wrestled in.
"This meet was a lot tougher," he added. "The opponents were a lot better trained and in better shape. They were very good wrestlers."

All alone

This is Wern's fourth year as a wrestler and he says the reason he does it is because unlike other sports, wrestling all comes down to yourself.
"There's no dependency on anyone else," he commented. "What happens in your matches is a culmination of the work you do, how hard you prepared and trained. It's not like football or some other sports where a lot depends on what other people do, this sport, it's a reflection of the work you put into it."
When he was asked about his goals for the season, Wern had a simple answer.
"I want to win all the rest of my matches this year, and I want to win a state title," he quipped.
Right now, Wern said that he has talked with a coach in Iowa about wrestling collegiately, but he also wants to make it easier to go to school in Florida.
"I want to improve my grades so I can go to school in the state on a Brighter Futures Scholarship," Wern said.
He also said he wants to major in law enforcement.
"I want to major in criminology and eventually work for the FBI," he said.
But for now, he is concentrating on his senior year on the Springstead team. And the second-place finish at Durant will help him – especially with the Kiwanis Invitational looming.
"It's a learning experience and in some ways (finishing second) it was a reality check," explained Wern. "I've been getting a little cocky lately. And this shows me, 'Hey, you may not be as great as you think. You've got to work hard like everyone else if you're going to beat the best wrestlers."

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