The World In His Hands?

When most people go to Las Vegas, they tend to spend a lot of time at the casinos having a good time.

But former Hernando High wrestler Michael Combs recently went to Sin City for a different reason.

Combs made the trek in the last week of April to qualify for the Junior National Greco-Roman Wrestling Tournament and finished second in the 79 kilogram (174-pound) weight class.

Because of that finish, Combs, a sophomore at Triton Community College near Chicago, Ill., will attend a national training camp at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Then after a week of training, Combs will compete in another tournament, with the winner advancing to represent the U.S.A. in the FILA World Junior Greco-Roman Wrestling Tournament in August in Antalya, Turkey.

Combs lost in the 79-kilo finals, 7-1 to Kaleb Young of Minneapolis, Minn. But the real problem came after the tournament when the Combs family had a misunderstanding about the tournament in Colorado.

At first, both Michael and his father Bill Combs Sr. believed there would not be a 79-kilo weight class in that tournament, which meant that Michael would have to compete at either 74-kilos (163 pounds) or 84-kilos (185 pounds).

But after a week of gaining three or four pounds in order to make the 84-kilo weight, the paperwork from the tournament arrived at his father's house in Brooksville and they all found out there was a 74-kilo weight class.

"For me, it's easier to gain weight than lose it so I was planning on wrestling at 84-kilos," Michael said. "So far, I've only gained a couple pounds, so it won't be hard to cut the weight before I go out to Colorado."

Greco Landscape

With some of the best Greco-Roman wrestlers in the country attending the training camp and tournament, Michael was asked what kind of chance did he have to win.

"It's like my dad says, 'It all depends on which Michael shows up on the mat,'" said the youngest of three Combs grapplers who competed at HHS. "Is it the Michael who takes the mat with no regrets and ready to beat the crap out of somebody? Or is it the Mike who does stupid moves and is going to screw up the match."

His father, the veteran assistant wrestling coach at Hernando High, thinks now with the news that there will be a 79-kilo weight class, his son has a much better chance of winning.

"Yeah, I think he has a very good chance now," commented Coach Combs. "I think the guy he lost to in the finals in Vegas, he can beat him.

"It's tough to learn, but in high school wrestling it's all about shooting (going after an opponent's legs) or throws," added Coach Combs. "It's tough to learn Greco-Roman style, but Mike's been wrestling since he was little."

Michael also plans to move back to Florida after his sophomore year and go to school in Florida, even though there is no collegiate wrestling in the state.

"I haven't decided which one I'm going to, but they do have club wrestling and I'll still do wrestling over the summer," said Michael Combs. "I'm still going to wrestle, it's in my blood, and it's really part of my whole life. My family does it and I'll probably do it till the day I die."

Michael also said he and his father did hit the casino tables during the trip to Las Vegas.

"We won some, and then we lost," he recalled. "Then we won a lot, and then we lost a lot again, but we had a lot of fun."