July 19, 2024 • 29 mins
Part 1 of Shane Sparks' discussion with four-time All-American, NCAA champion and 2003 Dan Hodge Trophy Winner Eric Larkin on Episode 30 of the Go Earn It Podcast.
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the Go Earn It Podcast, where we bring
you stories each week of people who have battled through adversity,
overcame the obstacles, and earned their dream. You were born
for greatness and our mission is to bring you the
stories that will inspire you to dream big and go
earn it.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
And Welcome to the Garnet Podcast. This is episode twenty
nine and I am fired up once again for this one.
Eric Larkin joins us Larkin. Four time All American, four
time Pat ten Champion, two time or one time national champ,
Hodge Trophy. This guy did a lot of winning. Eric,
I am thrilled to have you. Welcome to the Garnet Podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
I appreciate it, Shane, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
You and I before we recorded, I was asking you
about Valiant Prep because I knew you were at Valiant
as a coach, but I wasn't sure if you were
a teacher or you had another job. I wasn't sure
what you did. Talk about Valiant Prep and what you
do there and how that all originated.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
Okay, well, I have five boys, so I wanted to
make sure that I had a structure in place, a
program where I felt comfortable.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
At first, he was going to be me being the coach.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
I was just gonding. I was at a high school.
I was building that program I was about I was
just finished up season four and stuff didn't go the
way I wanted it to. I had some different ways
I wanted to take the school as far as the
wrestling program, and that wasn't going to happen. So I
moved on past that, and my son was going to
be a freshman, so he that was a seventh career yer.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
He's gonna be a freshman in two years.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
So that next year, in the year after, I really
put some thought into what I was going to do
for them. Because I started building the program didn't turn
out the way I wanted. I didn't want to get
back in a situation where I didn't to do what
I wanted to do as far as the program goes.
So that one day I just called up a buddy
of mine and I said, Hey, what do you think
about starting to school And he kind of laughed and
(02:10):
he said, let's do it. I'm like, all right, So
then I called another friend of mine. There's three of
us that co founded this co founded Valuet and he's
a principal at that time, he was actually in getting
schools accredited.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
So I went to him and I said, Hey, we
want to start a school. What do you know about that?
Speaker 4 (02:24):
And he said, I, actually that's what I do as
I'm a principal, but I also go and get schools accredited.
So we sat down. It went about a year and
we finally just said, Art, let's go, and we started
working on it. By the time, my son was a
freshman while we got the school started. And that's kind
of how the reason I started is because I wanted
(02:45):
to make sure that my kids were taken care of
and I didn't really necessarily want.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
To be their coach.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
I ran into Angel so Hulo and I said, hey,
do you want to be the coach of this school?
Speaker 3 (02:57):
The head coach?
Speaker 4 (02:57):
And we sat and talked a couple of times like absolutely,
and now here we are in our seventh school year, and.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
That's that's the way Valiants started.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
My My job here now is I mean my titles
director of Operations.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
I kind of do a little bit of everything.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
Big decision, small decisions that everyday stuff, travel, you name it.
And then I'm also in that wrestling room us as
one of the assistant coaches.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
What were a couple of things, Eric, you alluded to
it before, you know, a couple of things that you
just didn't align with from a philosophy standpoint. You know,
what were a couple of those things that were really
really important that were non negotiables for you as far
as your kids in wrestling.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
Well, when I sat down with.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
The administration before I took that job, I said, hey,
they were the they were a small school. It's a
it's a private Catholic school.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
They were. They were Division four, So that's small school here, right.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
So we did a lot of traveling to these outskirt
cities and I didn't want to do that.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
I wanted to wrestle the bigger programs, the best ones.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
I know. We are a small school, but I had
a lot of really good kids and they I slowly
moved ourselves up to that fifth year, we're going to
be Division one, which was the big schools with the
sunny sides of the world.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Right, So I was excited about that.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
They made a judgment with the AIA that year where
whatever the football team is, every sport has to be
Because at this school.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
I was the only one that was going to be
Division one.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
I was the only one progressively moving up right, so
that got overturned. Also at that time, when I first
sat with him, I talked to him about being part
of the national preps. I said, I at least want
that on the table. When I proved that what we
can do, can we please do this? And they're like, yeah,
we'll revisit it. Then, well, when we got to that
point where we had six kids ranked in the top
(04:54):
twenty in the country and took second at state, they
shut it down. It got shut down above them, according
to them. So those two things, I was.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
Just like, all right, I'm moving on.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
What are your first memories of wrestling as a kid?
How did you get involved in the sport?
Speaker 4 (05:17):
The first memory I have I think I was I
don't know, ten years old and I was in practicing
in my living room. My dad had me and my
brother drilling moves in the living room only one time,
and then we went to a tournament. It was at
Sunnyside High School, so you wanted to take us there? Well,
I wrestled two matches and I got tech ten zero
ten zero, like right away, and I'm like, I don't
want to do this. Anymore. So two years go by
(05:39):
and all my friends start going out for the wrestling team.
We were all soccer players. I'm like, it was the
same season, so they all went to that. I'm like,
you know what, Dad, I'm gonna wrestle, and I don't
think I lost a match for a little bit after
I started that time.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Wow, So you were like in sixth grade, right around
sixth grade, twelve years old, you when you really kind
of dove back in.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Yep, it was the start of my seventh grade years
when I started wrestling again.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
I wrestled one time they live in one competition and
then Yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Want to talk about Sarah because I think this is
really importance. I mean you you understand as a parent
in your involvement as much as anybody in this topic.
Because when it comes to wrestling, it's my belief that
it's a great sport. It's hard, it's not easy, and
if somebody tries it and they don't like it right away,
(06:34):
if you push them, it's probably gonna blow up. If
you take your foot off the gas a little bit,
maybe they come back. You at least have a chance
speak about that time and how your parents handled you
and and didn't obviously didn't push you too hard to
stay in wrestling when you when you gave it a break.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
Yeah, to be honest, I don't even remember that time.
It was just like they were just like, okay, the
was They didn't even really talk about it with me
after that. And uh, when I started back up in
seventh grade, I was so self driven that they didn't
need to do Like if my dad got up in
the morning to go wake me up to go do something,
(07:14):
I was already gone.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
So I didn't need that. And that that was something that.
Speaker 4 (07:20):
I wanted my own, my boys to have, was that
inner drive. And I talked to them about that all
the time, like I can't be the one doing this.
I'm not going to be the one doing this. I'll
give you suggestions and I might poke you here and there,
but for the most part, you this is your journey,
your sport. Go find your path. We here's here's a template.
(07:44):
I know how to do this. I know how to
do it better now because I've been on both sides
of it. And yeah, it's very important to have that
self drive someone pushing you from a young age. I mean,
don't get me wrong, that there are all those guys
out there that were pushed it from a young age
that are very successful. I think, just from the way
I view it is the ones that aren't pushed really
(08:08):
loved the sport. Percentage wise most of them. The ones
that are really pushed, there's a handful of them that
really really loved that sport.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Do you think in her self drive you're born with
it or is it something instilled in you? I mean,
what's your philosophy on that inner self motivation?
Speaker 4 (08:30):
Yeah? I think it's nature and nurture, right, I think
it's both. I definitely was born with it, at least.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
I think I was.
Speaker 4 (08:39):
I had really good parents, and my dad and mom
were extremely hard workers and everything they did. My dad
was a firefighter, my mom was She's a couple of
different things, but she worked at Sunnyside when I left Sunnyside.
She was a tendant lady. But when they came home,
they had their chores, they had they made dinner like
(09:01):
they were just I had a really good I had
a really good role model in my parents. But I
definitely know that I was. I was born with that
that fire.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
So in middle school, you're in seventh grade, these stories
just they fascinated me, and at the same time it's
my own believe. It just kind of reiterates my philosophy
as far as you don't need to be winning national
titles at six years old, Like I just think it's crazy.
Like you said, it happens for some, but it doesn't happen.
You know, the majority, it doesn't work. What was it
(09:34):
in middle school about the sport of wrestling that really stuck?
Speaker 4 (09:43):
Kind of being able to go out there and let
go of some of that aggression. I remember practicing and
not wanting to give up certain positions, not really understanding
the positions, but.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
I was really good with with.
Speaker 4 (09:57):
My body and understanding where it was that yeah, and
then being able to control somebody, like put.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
My hands on them and move them and it was
just me and them.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
That's I remember that from when I was a kid, like, ah,
this is a lot of fun, Like I get to dictate.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Where this guy's going. I really enjoyed that.
Speaker 4 (10:17):
I like fighting.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
I liked wrestling, you know what I mean. It's it's fun.
Speaker 4 (10:21):
It's a lot of fun. And when someone is able
to do that to you, it's a good time to
go figure out what do I got to do to
shut that down. So it's just it's a chess match.
It's just I feel like it's everything is in this sport,
the mind, the body, everything.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
You go to Sunnyside High School, I mean that's a
legendary high school. Who are some of the guys that
you looked up to like in middle school? Who are
some of the hammers that were at there high school
at that time?
Speaker 4 (10:48):
There was a bunch of Danny Begah his son won
several Bargo titles, went to Iowa State and transferred to
South Dakota State. His dad ad the kid that Marco
Vasquez Uh. He was a finalist in Fargo his senior
(11:08):
year and I was a freshman. He actually beat me
out for the one with.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
Spot.
Speaker 4 (11:13):
So I didn't even make the team my freshman year
in high school and I won a Cadet national title.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
So that's how good that guy was.
Speaker 4 (11:21):
And then there there's there's a laundry list of guys,
but those are the two that really stick out to me.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
So you would a cadet title in Fargo, which is
basically kicking off right now, and you don't make the
high school team as a freshman. What what was that, Like,
did did that throw you off mentally or were he
you know what was the I mean that's a I
don't know if that's happened with anybody.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
No, it actually just stoked my fire. Really, that was
my goal to beat him by the end of the year.
And I remember before going to far Well, it wasn't
far it was actually Missouri that year before going to
Missouri that I was get and I was beating him,
so that I always kind of looked at that a
(12:06):
little bit different when I was younger, like just I
just know I got to get better every day, Like
no one really told me that, like just to focus
on your daily stuff. I just always need that, Like, hey,
I just got to get better each day and it's
gonna it's gonna pay off in the end. Like I
always just I just stacked packed my bag with work,
(12:26):
you know what I mean. Like I'd get up in
the morning, I ran all the time. I if I
got in bed and I was goustaing it was midnight.
If we were out with the family, like going to
a movie or something, and I didn't accomplish my checklist,
which was like push upstirs, I'd get out of bed,
and I'd made sure I did it, because the next
morning I'd be like, oh my god, I didn't get
done when I needed to get done, so I didn't
(12:46):
feel satisfied.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
And then your sophomore year, you take what third place?
Speaker 4 (12:54):
Third place? I was undefeated going to the state tournament
and I lost in the orders to I think he
was a two or three times state champ. Just really
strong guy, stayed in good position. I had a bad
match too, But yeah, I took third as a sophomore.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
And we'll talk more about this when we get into
your college career as well. But one thing, Eric, that
I've just really come to appreciate is third place. Talk
about this pretty much every podcast. When you want to quit,
it's just so easy to hang your head and pack
it in. I just think third place is exceptional. Taking
(13:32):
third place, even at that age as a sophomore, coming
back and taking third. What do you remember about coming
back and taking third?
Speaker 4 (13:40):
That one was actually probably the toughest third place I've
ever taken as far as my like, that was devastating
to me. Like I learned how to control that later,
but there was no way I was losing at the
state tournament.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
My sophomore year.
Speaker 4 (13:54):
That's everyone around me, the media, myself, like there's no
way I'm losing, and I get be and I just
remember crying outside and it was hard to gather my
thoughts and get my focus. And Sunnyside one state titles
every year, right, so it was a big deal for
me to come back and take third. Like I had
to come back and take third. So I learned to
(14:17):
kind of get outside myself that that year, like, I
got to do this for the team. This. I know
wrestling is an individual sport, but I got to do
this for the team and everyone around me that supports me.
That's what I think taking third place does. It's like
you learn how to care. You take care of everyone
else around you.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
It's not just for you. Yeah, it's great to go
take third, but.
Speaker 4 (14:41):
Just the support system that you have in your team,
you can't be as selfish because it's easy to just quit, right,
It's easy to get beat in the semis and drop
and take sixth place. It's hard to come back and
take third when you're the one that's supposed to win.
It's really really hard. And I remember that feeling my sophore.
I've taken thirty of other terms and stuff, but I'll
(15:02):
never forget that one. And I learned how to control
my emotions from that from that match.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Then you come back and win two state titles. What
were the biggest you know what? What put you over
the top to get that first state title as a junior?
Speaker 4 (15:20):
Like again, like my sophomore year, I didn't I didn't
have a close match. I think my closest match was
ten points, like I was really supposed to win. I
think I was doing all the right things. The thing
that put me over the top is it humbled me.
It taught me that I can be beat on any day.
(15:40):
So from that point on, I always went in with
that little bit of I wouldn't necessarily call it doubt,
but knowing that, hey, this guy can beat me, So
I cannot take in lightly. I've got to put everything
out there every single time. I can't be cocky. I
can't walk out there like that. I own the mat.
I got to have respect, and I think that's what
(16:00):
put me over the top.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
What is your favorite state tournament memory?
Speaker 4 (16:08):
Probably my sophomore year. We won state as a team.
My brother was a freshman. He won a state title
at the weight class, a couple of weight classes below me.
I think that was my favorite memory watching him win
that first state title and I took third as a sophomore.
I think that was my most satisfying state tournament, watching
(16:29):
the team get extremely excited. It wasn't about me.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
What do you remember standing atop the podium as a
state champion for the first time?
Speaker 3 (16:40):
Relief? Just yeah, like a weightlifted off my shoulders. Like
that's what you're supposed to do with Sunnyside.
Speaker 4 (16:47):
You're supposed to go win state titles, right, That's what
you wake up in the morning dreaming of as being
a state champ. You walk in that room, there's state
champion pictures all over the wall. You want to have
a picture on that wall. That's that's what it meant
to me. Just, Uh, I achieved what I'm supposed to achieve.
(17:08):
So I felt relief.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Walk me through the recruiting process, I mean, you're you're
there in Tucson. I'll ultimately end up at Arizona State.
What was it like for you because you won? You
won two state titles. Did you have other success Eric
at Fargo after that first cadet title?
Speaker 4 (17:25):
Yeah, I want to uh four Fargo titles. I made
a Greco World team cadets.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
Uh yeah, I had. I had some success.
Speaker 4 (17:36):
So I won the high school nationals when it you
should just be seniors in Pennsylvania.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
I won that tournament. So yeah, I was pretty successful
coming out of high school.
Speaker 4 (17:47):
I'm sorry.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
What was it? What was the question? Why did I
start where?
Speaker 2 (17:50):
No, that's okay. Where did you take your visits?
Speaker 4 (17:53):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (17:53):
Yeah, uh nowhere. I went to Yousu.
Speaker 4 (17:56):
I knew I was going there from my sophomore year
in high schoo I wasn't going anywhere. I wanted to
stay close to home. I had a girlfriend that I
started dating, who's.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
Now my wife.
Speaker 4 (18:07):
Uh so, yeah, I was coming to Acy. I told everyone,
now I'm not going anywhere. No way.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
You didn't go onto any visits.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
Not one they I would have went to ASC for free.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Really what's that? Who was it was it Ortiz? Was
he the coach when you were Lee?
Speaker 4 (18:27):
Leroy Smith Zeke Jones was an assistant. So I got
letters from them, called from them. Lero came to had
dinner at my house. Uh south of Tucson, up in
the mountains.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Yeah, it was Leroy and Zeke.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
What did you know? What did you appreciate about you know, Leroy?
What was the biggest impact he had on you?
Speaker 3 (18:52):
Uh?
Speaker 4 (18:53):
I mean right off the bat, just his name right,
uh Smith That that excited me and then I need
Zeke Jones at the time, like that was just they
were superstars to me. So I just felt like I
didn't really know much about it. I mean, there wasn't
a whole lot of coverage on. You can't get to
watch a whole lot of video and stuff back then, right,
(19:13):
so not like you can now with social media and stuff.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
You see everything.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
I think the biggest impact was just knowing that they've
been through it, they've done it, and they were gonna
give me the template for it. So I just trusted
that process and knowing that they've been through it and.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
You were there. What ninety eight ninety nine season is
a true freshman correct?
Speaker 4 (19:38):
Yep?
Speaker 2 (19:38):
What are your recollections of getting into that room for
the first time.
Speaker 4 (19:45):
I remember doing orientation meeting with the guys and the dorms,
all the freshmen. I think there's eleven to fifteen of
us coming in and everyone just talking about how we're
going to get beat up this first year. And then
the first couple of practices and stuff. Just listening to
the guys come out of practice and how they were
(20:07):
getting beat up and stuff.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
I never had that.
Speaker 4 (20:09):
Like I walked into that room and I was getting
pretty much everybody for the most part. So I was
really confident that I could compete at that level right
off the bat.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
When you look back Eric at your developments and let's
call it high school. You know you alluded to this
a little bit earlier, but peel the onion back a
little bit in terms of what are some things now
again you can look back at this twenty five years later.
Going these couple things paid more dividends than maybe I
even expected. Being able to go into a college room
(20:41):
and compete when most guys are going in there getting whipped.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
Yeah, I think just confidence.
Speaker 4 (20:50):
I think a lot of times when freshmen get there,
they might be shell shocked. I don't know if that
necessarily happens as much anymore like it used to in
the past.
Speaker 3 (21:00):
I think these guys are so good coming out of
high school.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
Like that.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
That wasn't very common when I was coming out of
high school.
Speaker 4 (21:07):
To be able to step into a room and being
all American is a true freshman but nowadays it's like
these guys are winning national titles. This true freshman, I
think just going in that room and having confidence. I
never really had any doubt. I knew every day I
was getting up and I was gonna get better, and
I'm just gonna impose my all on these guys every
(21:29):
day at least try to and either I'm gonna win
or I'm gonna push them to the limits where I'm
gonna break them, and then I'm.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
Gonna be confident. I think that's what it was.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
So you're a true freshman, go to the national tournament
nineteen ninety nine at Penn States All American, You lose
to Cody Sanderson in the semi finals and you finish
in fourth place. What were you most proud of being
on that stand as a true freshman.
Speaker 4 (22:00):
Making the weight all year? I made one thirty three,
So there's a story behind that. I was supposed to
red shirt my freshman year. They had a guy there
that ranked top ten Sean Ford, and we both entered
the Sunkiss International Tournament and the way it was like
one thirty two and a half or whatever the weight
(22:21):
class was, and I made my way through that bracket
I think I got to the quarters or Semis and
I lost to a Cuban as Sus Wilson and.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
Ended up dropping.
Speaker 4 (22:35):
I got into the concert Semis and I wrestled the
kid that was ranked number two in the country at
one thirty three. I didn't know who he was, Stan
Green from Fresno, and I tecked him in a minute
and Lee Wered sprints across the gymnasium. He's running at me.
He's like, do you know who he just beat? I'm like, no, coach,
who goes the number two guy in the country. I said,
(22:56):
oh cool, and he goes, You're wrestling this year.
Speaker 3 (22:59):
I'm like, watch.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
I said, I can't make this weight every day, but
I didn't say that because the young kid. I was
just like, okay, yes, sir, you know what I mean.
Sean Ford got hurt at that tournament. He broke his
ankle or something, so I got moved into that spot.
I was walking around one fifty five and I'm five ten,
so making one thirty.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
Three all year was horrible. It was.
Speaker 4 (23:22):
It was not a good time, but I did it,
and that third weigh in for NCAAs, making scratch, I
was done. I'll never forget. Before that third place match,
I was like, hey, guys like that. I never really
spoke up like that, but I was in this position
where I know I'm gonna get smashed right now.
Speaker 3 (23:41):
There's no way I'm winning this match. I could barely
like walk.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
I was just dead. And I went to the coade
and say, hey, I don't want to do this, like
and they never heard me say that, and they're like,
you're gonna wrestle. I'm like, all right, So I did
and ended up getting beat But yeah, making that weight
was brutal. So even making one forty one, I put
size on. I should have been a forty nine pound.
If I would have read shirted in my freshman year,
(24:04):
I would have been a forty nine pounder every year.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
I want to go back to something. You just talked
about your rustler guy. You don't know who he is.
You just go out and compete, You beat some guy.
Was that always kind of your approach? I mean was
it just show up, don't look at the just show
up and wrestle. I mean, is that how you were
in college? I mean, what was your what was your
approach to big matches?
Speaker 4 (24:26):
No, the big matches I scouted the guys I watched them.
I was just new to the college scene, and like
I said, there wasn't social media and stuff like that then,
so I didn't really follow it like I like I
do now or like I did in college. So when
I was coming out of high school, I really didn't
know who anyone was except for like the Brands Brothers
(24:47):
or you know what I mean. So I at that time,
as a freshman, it was really easy to take a
big match on because I didn't care. I was just
gonna go out there and wrestle as hard as I could,
and if I win, I win. So it was really
easy being the underdogs as a true freshman. Definitely, as
they got older, I started scouting guy, especially guys I
(25:07):
had wrestled a couple of times, trying to break down
where they're good, their positions that they want to be in.
But yeah, I definitely took advantage of my freshman year
not knowing anybody.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
Did you? I was I going to ask you, did
you Did you have any like favorite college wrestlers when
you were in high school? You just mentioned the Brands Brothers,
you have anybody that you loved watching? I know it
wasn't as accessible. As you said, with TV and social media,
it's a whole new ballgame now. But at that time,
were you a fan of anybody in particular?
Speaker 4 (25:37):
Yeah, the Abbess Brothers definitely, just their funk, their slickness,
their speed.
Speaker 3 (25:43):
Yeah, I was really intrigued by those guys.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Yet, an interesting career from the standpoint that you go
four three two one. So you take in two thousand
and one, that's the one that was impressive. You lose
to Grand Hero Wisconsin, and then you came back to
beat him, you know, for third place, getting that next
best thing. What you know, how did you handle you know,
(26:08):
that loss and then coming back and finding way to
get it done. What do you remember from that tournament?
Speaker 4 (26:13):
Well, it kind of starts back three days before Pack tens.
So three days before Pack Tens, I tore my knee.
It was a bucket handled tear. Bucket handled tear, so
my knee would lock on me and I couldn't get
it unlocked. And my options were have surgery and not compete,
(26:34):
or tape my leg with a bend in it where
it's locked, wrestle through the Pac ten tournament with a
bent leg where I could barely use it, fly home
that night.
Speaker 3 (26:45):
I didn't even get on the podium.
Speaker 4 (26:46):
I don't think they flew me home that night after
I won the PAC ten title.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
Had surgery that morning.
Speaker 4 (26:53):
And that's pack tens was two weeks before the NCAAZ
well a week and a half, right, So the first
time I wrestled live from my surgery to that first
match with Grant was when they blew the whistle at
nc Double A's and we shook hands. That's when I
wrestled live. They were shooting up my knee every match.
So as the tournament went on, I mean not my
(27:13):
first match. I hadn't matched before that, so whoever I
wrestled prior to that, but Grant was my first like
real test in that tournament, and he got me. But
as that tournament progressed, I kind of started getting my
rhythm again and feeling better. And by the time that
third place match came around, I was I already felt great,
felt confident like I wasn't going to get beat. So
(27:36):
it was it was kind of scary because at one
point when I tore my knee and my knee kept blocking,
there was a chance I wasn't going to wrestle the
tournament but when the doctor said we can tape it
like this, do you want to do it? I said,
of course, I'll do it.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
Yeah, you lose the grain here in the quarters and
then you beat him for third. I'm just trying to
wrap my head around Eric at that level. I mean,
you're you're injured. I mean you're not hurt, you're injured,
and there's a difference like how do you how do
you put it together mentally in not up for lack
of a better way to say it, and get it done.
Speaker 3 (28:10):
That's all I knew.
Speaker 4 (28:11):
I mean when I mean, we were taught from me,
like if you're hurt, you're hurt, right, you just you
suck it up. You don't show weakness, just kind of
keep your composure, right, So when I was injured, I
always tried to do the same thing, even when I
like with that, Like, I just always tried to hide it.
(28:33):
And I remember when I heard it, I ran out
of the room and I went and sat in the
locker room, and I'm just like, I don't even know
if I want to tell the coaches, but I probably
should because I can't strain my leg out. Like I
didn't want to say anything because I didn't want any
buzz around me being hurt. So that's kind of just
how I was brought up unless I was injured, like
you said, right, So I just I just did it,
and I just knew I had to do it.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
And Eric will be back with more of this has
been great episode run with Eric Larkin looking forward to
episode to Thank you so much.
Speaker 4 (29:02):
Thank you,
Welcome to the Go Earn It Podcast, where we bring
you stories each week of people who have battled through adversity,
overcame the obstacles, and earned their dream. You were born
for greatness and our mission is to bring you the
stories that will inspire you to dream big and go
earn it.
Speaker 2 (00:27):
And Welcome to the Garnet Podcast. This is episode twenty
nine and I am fired up once again for this one.
Eric Larkin joins us Larkin. Four time All American, four
time Pat ten Champion, two time or one time national champ,
Hodge Trophy. This guy did a lot of winning. Eric,
I am thrilled to have you. Welcome to the Garnet Podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
I appreciate it, Shane, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
You and I before we recorded, I was asking you
about Valiant Prep because I knew you were at Valiant
as a coach, but I wasn't sure if you were
a teacher or you had another job. I wasn't sure
what you did. Talk about Valiant Prep and what you
do there and how that all originated.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
Okay, well, I have five boys, so I wanted to
make sure that I had a structure in place, a
program where I felt comfortable.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
At first, he was going to be me being the coach.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
I was just gonding. I was at a high school.
I was building that program I was about I was
just finished up season four and stuff didn't go the
way I wanted it to. I had some different ways
I wanted to take the school as far as the
wrestling program, and that wasn't going to happen. So I
moved on past that, and my son was going to
be a freshman, so he that was a seventh career yer.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
He's gonna be a freshman in two years.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
So that next year, in the year after, I really
put some thought into what I was going to do
for them. Because I started building the program didn't turn
out the way I wanted. I didn't want to get
back in a situation where I didn't to do what
I wanted to do as far as the program goes.
So that one day I just called up a buddy
of mine and I said, Hey, what do you think
about starting to school And he kind of laughed and
(02:10):
he said, let's do it. I'm like, all right, So
then I called another friend of mine. There's three of
us that co founded this co founded Valuet and he's
a principal at that time, he was actually in getting
schools accredited.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
So I went to him and I said, Hey, we
want to start a school. What do you know about that?
Speaker 4 (02:24):
And he said, I, actually that's what I do as
I'm a principal, but I also go and get schools accredited.
So we sat down. It went about a year and
we finally just said, Art, let's go, and we started
working on it. By the time, my son was a
freshman while we got the school started. And that's kind
of how the reason I started is because I wanted
(02:45):
to make sure that my kids were taken care of
and I didn't really necessarily want.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
To be their coach.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
I ran into Angel so Hulo and I said, hey,
do you want to be the coach of this school?
Speaker 3 (02:57):
The head coach?
Speaker 4 (02:57):
And we sat and talked a couple of times like absolutely,
and now here we are in our seventh school year, and.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
That's that's the way Valiants started.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
My My job here now is I mean my titles
director of Operations.
Speaker 3 (03:13):
I kind of do a little bit of everything.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
Big decision, small decisions that everyday stuff, travel, you name it.
And then I'm also in that wrestling room us as
one of the assistant coaches.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
What were a couple of things, Eric, you alluded to
it before, you know, a couple of things that you
just didn't align with from a philosophy standpoint. You know,
what were a couple of those things that were really
really important that were non negotiables for you as far
as your kids in wrestling.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
Well, when I sat down with.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
The administration before I took that job, I said, hey,
they were the they were a small school. It's a
it's a private Catholic school.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
They were. They were Division four, So that's small school here, right.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
So we did a lot of traveling to these outskirt
cities and I didn't want to do that.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
I wanted to wrestle the bigger programs, the best ones.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
I know. We are a small school, but I had
a lot of really good kids and they I slowly
moved ourselves up to that fifth year, we're going to
be Division one, which was the big schools with the
sunny sides of the world.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Right, So I was excited about that.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
They made a judgment with the AIA that year where
whatever the football team is, every sport has to be
Because at this school.
Speaker 3 (04:30):
I was the only one that was going to be
Division one.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
I was the only one progressively moving up right, so
that got overturned. Also at that time, when I first
sat with him, I talked to him about being part
of the national preps. I said, I at least want
that on the table. When I proved that what we
can do, can we please do this? And they're like, yeah,
we'll revisit it. Then, well, when we got to that
point where we had six kids ranked in the top
(04:54):
twenty in the country and took second at state, they
shut it down. It got shut down above them, according
to them. So those two things, I was.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
Just like, all right, I'm moving on.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
What are your first memories of wrestling as a kid?
How did you get involved in the sport?
Speaker 4 (05:17):
The first memory I have I think I was I
don't know, ten years old and I was in practicing
in my living room. My dad had me and my
brother drilling moves in the living room only one time,
and then we went to a tournament. It was at
Sunnyside High School, so you wanted to take us there? Well,
I wrestled two matches and I got tech ten zero
ten zero, like right away, and I'm like, I don't
want to do this. Anymore. So two years go by
(05:39):
and all my friends start going out for the wrestling team.
We were all soccer players. I'm like, it was the
same season, so they all went to that. I'm like,
you know what, Dad, I'm gonna wrestle, and I don't
think I lost a match for a little bit after
I started that time.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
Wow, So you were like in sixth grade, right around
sixth grade, twelve years old, you when you really kind
of dove back in.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Yep, it was the start of my seventh grade years
when I started wrestling again.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
I wrestled one time they live in one competition and
then Yeah, I.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Want to talk about Sarah because I think this is
really importance. I mean you you understand as a parent
in your involvement as much as anybody in this topic.
Because when it comes to wrestling, it's my belief that
it's a great sport. It's hard, it's not easy, and
if somebody tries it and they don't like it right away,
(06:34):
if you push them, it's probably gonna blow up. If
you take your foot off the gas a little bit,
maybe they come back. You at least have a chance
speak about that time and how your parents handled you
and and didn't obviously didn't push you too hard to
stay in wrestling when you when you gave it a break.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
Yeah, to be honest, I don't even remember that time.
It was just like they were just like, okay, the
was They didn't even really talk about it with me
after that. And uh, when I started back up in
seventh grade, I was so self driven that they didn't
need to do Like if my dad got up in
the morning to go wake me up to go do something,
(07:14):
I was already gone.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
So I didn't need that. And that that was something that.
Speaker 4 (07:20):
I wanted my own, my boys to have, was that
inner drive. And I talked to them about that all
the time, like I can't be the one doing this.
I'm not going to be the one doing this. I'll
give you suggestions and I might poke you here and there,
but for the most part, you this is your journey,
your sport. Go find your path. We here's here's a template.
(07:44):
I know how to do this. I know how to
do it better now because I've been on both sides
of it. And yeah, it's very important to have that
self drive someone pushing you from a young age. I mean,
don't get me wrong, that there are all those guys
out there that were pushed it from a young age
that are very successful. I think, just from the way
I view it is the ones that aren't pushed really
(08:08):
loved the sport. Percentage wise most of them. The ones
that are really pushed, there's a handful of them that
really really loved that sport.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Do you think in her self drive you're born with
it or is it something instilled in you? I mean,
what's your philosophy on that inner self motivation?
Speaker 4 (08:30):
Yeah? I think it's nature and nurture, right, I think
it's both. I definitely was born with it, at least.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
I think I was.
Speaker 4 (08:39):
I had really good parents, and my dad and mom
were extremely hard workers and everything they did. My dad
was a firefighter, my mom was She's a couple of
different things, but she worked at Sunnyside when I left Sunnyside.
She was a tendant lady. But when they came home,
they had their chores, they had they made dinner like
(09:01):
they were just I had a really good I had
a really good role model in my parents. But I
definitely know that I was. I was born with that
that fire.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
So in middle school, you're in seventh grade, these stories
just they fascinated me, and at the same time it's
my own believe. It just kind of reiterates my philosophy
as far as you don't need to be winning national
titles at six years old, Like I just think it's crazy.
Like you said, it happens for some, but it doesn't happen.
You know, the majority, it doesn't work. What was it
(09:34):
in middle school about the sport of wrestling that really stuck?
Speaker 4 (09:43):
Kind of being able to go out there and let
go of some of that aggression. I remember practicing and
not wanting to give up certain positions, not really understanding
the positions, but.
Speaker 3 (09:55):
I was really good with with.
Speaker 4 (09:57):
My body and understanding where it was that yeah, and
then being able to control somebody, like put.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
My hands on them and move them and it was
just me and them.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
That's I remember that from when I was a kid, like, ah,
this is a lot of fun, Like I get to dictate.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Where this guy's going. I really enjoyed that.
Speaker 4 (10:17):
I like fighting.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
I liked wrestling, you know what I mean. It's it's fun.
Speaker 4 (10:21):
It's a lot of fun. And when someone is able
to do that to you, it's a good time to
go figure out what do I got to do to
shut that down. So it's just it's a chess match.
It's just I feel like it's everything is in this sport,
the mind, the body, everything.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
You go to Sunnyside High School, I mean that's a
legendary high school. Who are some of the guys that
you looked up to like in middle school? Who are
some of the hammers that were at there high school
at that time?
Speaker 4 (10:48):
There was a bunch of Danny Begah his son won
several Bargo titles, went to Iowa State and transferred to
South Dakota State. His dad ad the kid that Marco
Vasquez Uh. He was a finalist in Fargo his senior
(11:08):
year and I was a freshman. He actually beat me
out for the one with.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
Spot.
Speaker 4 (11:13):
So I didn't even make the team my freshman year
in high school and I won a Cadet national title.
Speaker 3 (11:18):
So that's how good that guy was.
Speaker 4 (11:21):
And then there there's there's a laundry list of guys,
but those are the two that really stick out to me.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
So you would a cadet title in Fargo, which is
basically kicking off right now, and you don't make the
high school team as a freshman. What what was that, Like,
did did that throw you off mentally or were he
you know what was the I mean that's a I
don't know if that's happened with anybody.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
No, it actually just stoked my fire. Really, that was
my goal to beat him by the end of the year.
And I remember before going to far Well, it wasn't
far it was actually Missouri that year before going to
Missouri that I was get and I was beating him,
so that I always kind of looked at that a
(12:06):
little bit different when I was younger, like just I
just know I got to get better every day, Like
no one really told me that, like just to focus
on your daily stuff. I just always need that, Like, hey,
I just got to get better each day and it's
gonna it's gonna pay off in the end. Like I
always just I just stacked packed my bag with work,
(12:26):
you know what I mean. Like I'd get up in
the morning, I ran all the time. I if I
got in bed and I was goustaing it was midnight.
If we were out with the family, like going to
a movie or something, and I didn't accomplish my checklist,
which was like push upstirs, I'd get out of bed,
and I'd made sure I did it, because the next
morning I'd be like, oh my god, I didn't get
done when I needed to get done, so I didn't
(12:46):
feel satisfied.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
And then your sophomore year, you take what third place?
Speaker 4 (12:54):
Third place? I was undefeated going to the state tournament
and I lost in the orders to I think he
was a two or three times state champ. Just really
strong guy, stayed in good position. I had a bad
match too, But yeah, I took third as a sophomore.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
And we'll talk more about this when we get into
your college career as well. But one thing, Eric, that
I've just really come to appreciate is third place. Talk
about this pretty much every podcast. When you want to quit,
it's just so easy to hang your head and pack
it in. I just think third place is exceptional. Taking
(13:32):
third place, even at that age as a sophomore, coming
back and taking third. What do you remember about coming
back and taking third?
Speaker 4 (13:40):
That one was actually probably the toughest third place I've
ever taken as far as my like, that was devastating
to me. Like I learned how to control that later,
but there was no way I was losing at the
state tournament.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
My sophomore year.
Speaker 4 (13:54):
That's everyone around me, the media, myself, like there's no
way I'm losing, and I get be and I just
remember crying outside and it was hard to gather my
thoughts and get my focus. And Sunnyside one state titles
every year, right, so it was a big deal for
me to come back and take third. Like I had
to come back and take third. So I learned to
(14:17):
kind of get outside myself that that year, like, I
got to do this for the team. This. I know
wrestling is an individual sport, but I got to do
this for the team and everyone around me that supports me.
That's what I think taking third place does. It's like
you learn how to care. You take care of everyone
else around you.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
It's not just for you. Yeah, it's great to go
take third, but.
Speaker 4 (14:41):
Just the support system that you have in your team,
you can't be as selfish because it's easy to just quit, right,
It's easy to get beat in the semis and drop
and take sixth place. It's hard to come back and
take third when you're the one that's supposed to win.
It's really really hard. And I remember that feeling my sophore.
I've taken thirty of other terms and stuff, but I'll
(15:02):
never forget that one. And I learned how to control
my emotions from that from that match.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Then you come back and win two state titles. What
were the biggest you know what? What put you over
the top to get that first state title as a junior?
Speaker 4 (15:20):
Like again, like my sophomore year, I didn't I didn't
have a close match. I think my closest match was
ten points, like I was really supposed to win. I
think I was doing all the right things. The thing
that put me over the top is it humbled me.
It taught me that I can be beat on any day.
(15:40):
So from that point on, I always went in with
that little bit of I wouldn't necessarily call it doubt,
but knowing that, hey, this guy can beat me, So
I cannot take in lightly. I've got to put everything
out there every single time. I can't be cocky. I
can't walk out there like that. I own the mat.
I got to have respect, and I think that's what
(16:00):
put me over the top.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
What is your favorite state tournament memory?
Speaker 4 (16:08):
Probably my sophomore year. We won state as a team.
My brother was a freshman. He won a state title
at the weight class, a couple of weight classes below me.
I think that was my favorite memory watching him win
that first state title and I took third as a sophomore.
I think that was my most satisfying state tournament, watching
(16:29):
the team get extremely excited. It wasn't about me.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
What do you remember standing atop the podium as a
state champion for the first time?
Speaker 3 (16:40):
Relief? Just yeah, like a weightlifted off my shoulders. Like
that's what you're supposed to do with Sunnyside.
Speaker 4 (16:47):
You're supposed to go win state titles, right, That's what
you wake up in the morning dreaming of as being
a state champ. You walk in that room, there's state
champion pictures all over the wall. You want to have
a picture on that wall. That's that's what it meant
to me. Just, Uh, I achieved what I'm supposed to achieve.
(17:08):
So I felt relief.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Walk me through the recruiting process, I mean, you're you're
there in Tucson. I'll ultimately end up at Arizona State.
What was it like for you because you won? You
won two state titles. Did you have other success Eric
at Fargo after that first cadet title?
Speaker 4 (17:25):
Yeah, I want to uh four Fargo titles. I made
a Greco World team cadets.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
Uh yeah, I had. I had some success.
Speaker 4 (17:36):
So I won the high school nationals when it you
should just be seniors in Pennsylvania.
Speaker 3 (17:41):
I won that tournament. So yeah, I was pretty successful
coming out of high school.
Speaker 4 (17:47):
I'm sorry.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
What was it? What was the question? Why did I
start where?
Speaker 2 (17:50):
No, that's okay. Where did you take your visits?
Speaker 4 (17:53):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (17:53):
Yeah, uh nowhere. I went to Yousu.
Speaker 4 (17:56):
I knew I was going there from my sophomore year
in high schoo I wasn't going anywhere. I wanted to
stay close to home. I had a girlfriend that I
started dating, who's.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
Now my wife.
Speaker 4 (18:07):
Uh so, yeah, I was coming to Acy. I told everyone,
now I'm not going anywhere. No way.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
You didn't go onto any visits.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
Not one they I would have went to ASC for free.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
Really what's that? Who was it was it Ortiz? Was
he the coach when you were Lee?
Speaker 4 (18:27):
Leroy Smith Zeke Jones was an assistant. So I got
letters from them, called from them. Lero came to had
dinner at my house. Uh south of Tucson, up in
the mountains.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
Yeah, it was Leroy and Zeke.
Speaker 2 (18:44):
What did you know? What did you appreciate about you know, Leroy?
What was the biggest impact he had on you?
Speaker 3 (18:52):
Uh?
Speaker 4 (18:53):
I mean right off the bat, just his name right,
uh Smith That that excited me and then I need
Zeke Jones at the time, like that was just they
were superstars to me. So I just felt like I
didn't really know much about it. I mean, there wasn't
a whole lot of coverage on. You can't get to
watch a whole lot of video and stuff back then, right,
(19:13):
so not like you can now with social media and stuff.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
You see everything.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
I think the biggest impact was just knowing that they've
been through it, they've done it, and they were gonna
give me the template for it. So I just trusted
that process and knowing that they've been through it and.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
You were there. What ninety eight ninety nine season is
a true freshman correct?
Speaker 4 (19:38):
Yep?
Speaker 2 (19:38):
What are your recollections of getting into that room for
the first time.
Speaker 4 (19:45):
I remember doing orientation meeting with the guys and the dorms,
all the freshmen. I think there's eleven to fifteen of
us coming in and everyone just talking about how we're
going to get beat up this first year. And then
the first couple of practices and stuff. Just listening to
the guys come out of practice and how they were
(20:07):
getting beat up and stuff.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
I never had that.
Speaker 4 (20:09):
Like I walked into that room and I was getting
pretty much everybody for the most part. So I was
really confident that I could compete at that level right
off the bat.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
When you look back Eric at your developments and let's
call it high school. You know you alluded to this
a little bit earlier, but peel the onion back a
little bit in terms of what are some things now
again you can look back at this twenty five years later.
Going these couple things paid more dividends than maybe I
even expected. Being able to go into a college room
(20:41):
and compete when most guys are going in there getting whipped.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
Yeah, I think just confidence.
Speaker 4 (20:50):
I think a lot of times when freshmen get there,
they might be shell shocked. I don't know if that
necessarily happens as much anymore like it used to in
the past.
Speaker 3 (21:00):
I think these guys are so good coming out of
high school.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
Like that.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
That wasn't very common when I was coming out of
high school.
Speaker 4 (21:07):
To be able to step into a room and being
all American is a true freshman but nowadays it's like
these guys are winning national titles. This true freshman, I
think just going in that room and having confidence. I
never really had any doubt. I knew every day I
was getting up and I was gonna get better, and
I'm just gonna impose my all on these guys every
(21:29):
day at least try to and either I'm gonna win
or I'm gonna push them to the limits where I'm
gonna break them, and then I'm.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
Gonna be confident. I think that's what it was.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
So you're a true freshman, go to the national tournament
nineteen ninety nine at Penn States All American, You lose
to Cody Sanderson in the semi finals and you finish
in fourth place. What were you most proud of being
on that stand as a true freshman.
Speaker 4 (22:00):
Making the weight all year? I made one thirty three,
So there's a story behind that. I was supposed to
red shirt my freshman year. They had a guy there
that ranked top ten Sean Ford, and we both entered
the Sunkiss International Tournament and the way it was like
one thirty two and a half or whatever the weight
(22:21):
class was, and I made my way through that bracket
I think I got to the quarters or Semis and
I lost to a Cuban as Sus Wilson and.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
Ended up dropping.
Speaker 4 (22:35):
I got into the concert Semis and I wrestled the
kid that was ranked number two in the country at
one thirty three. I didn't know who he was, Stan
Green from Fresno, and I tecked him in a minute
and Lee Wered sprints across the gymnasium. He's running at me.
He's like, do you know who he just beat? I'm like, no, coach,
who goes the number two guy in the country. I said,
(22:56):
oh cool, and he goes, You're wrestling this year.
Speaker 3 (22:59):
I'm like, watch.
Speaker 4 (23:00):
I said, I can't make this weight every day, but
I didn't say that because the young kid. I was
just like, okay, yes, sir, you know what I mean.
Sean Ford got hurt at that tournament. He broke his
ankle or something, so I got moved into that spot.
I was walking around one fifty five and I'm five ten,
so making one thirty.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
Three all year was horrible. It was.
Speaker 4 (23:22):
It was not a good time, but I did it,
and that third weigh in for NCAAs, making scratch, I
was done. I'll never forget. Before that third place match,
I was like, hey, guys like that. I never really
spoke up like that, but I was in this position
where I know I'm gonna get smashed right now.
Speaker 3 (23:41):
There's no way I'm winning this match. I could barely
like walk.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
I was just dead. And I went to the coade
and say, hey, I don't want to do this, like
and they never heard me say that, and they're like,
you're gonna wrestle. I'm like, all right, So I did
and ended up getting beat But yeah, making that weight
was brutal. So even making one forty one, I put
size on. I should have been a forty nine pound.
If I would have read shirted in my freshman year,
(24:04):
I would have been a forty nine pounder every year.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
I want to go back to something. You just talked
about your rustler guy. You don't know who he is.
You just go out and compete, You beat some guy.
Was that always kind of your approach? I mean was
it just show up, don't look at the just show
up and wrestle. I mean, is that how you were
in college? I mean, what was your what was your
approach to big matches?
Speaker 4 (24:26):
No, the big matches I scouted the guys I watched them.
I was just new to the college scene, and like
I said, there wasn't social media and stuff like that then,
so I didn't really follow it like I like I
do now or like I did in college. So when
I was coming out of high school, I really didn't
know who anyone was except for like the Brands Brothers
(24:47):
or you know what I mean. So I at that time,
as a freshman, it was really easy to take a
big match on because I didn't care. I was just
gonna go out there and wrestle as hard as I could,
and if I win, I win. So it was really
easy being the underdogs as a true freshman. Definitely, as
they got older, I started scouting guy, especially guys I
(25:07):
had wrestled a couple of times, trying to break down
where they're good, their positions that they want to be in.
But yeah, I definitely took advantage of my freshman year
not knowing anybody.
Speaker 2 (25:18):
Did you? I was I going to ask you, did
you Did you have any like favorite college wrestlers when
you were in high school? You just mentioned the Brands Brothers,
you have anybody that you loved watching? I know it
wasn't as accessible. As you said, with TV and social media,
it's a whole new ballgame now. But at that time,
were you a fan of anybody in particular?
Speaker 4 (25:37):
Yeah, the Abbess Brothers definitely, just their funk, their slickness,
their speed.
Speaker 3 (25:43):
Yeah, I was really intrigued by those guys.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Yet, an interesting career from the standpoint that you go
four three two one. So you take in two thousand
and one, that's the one that was impressive. You lose
to Grand Hero Wisconsin, and then you came back to
beat him, you know, for third place, getting that next
best thing. What you know, how did you handle you know,
(26:08):
that loss and then coming back and finding way to
get it done. What do you remember from that tournament?
Speaker 4 (26:13):
Well, it kind of starts back three days before Pack tens.
So three days before Pack Tens, I tore my knee.
It was a bucket handled tear. Bucket handled tear, so
my knee would lock on me and I couldn't get
it unlocked. And my options were have surgery and not compete,
(26:34):
or tape my leg with a bend in it where
it's locked, wrestle through the Pac ten tournament with a
bent leg where I could barely use it, fly home
that night.
Speaker 3 (26:45):
I didn't even get on the podium.
Speaker 4 (26:46):
I don't think they flew me home that night after
I won the PAC ten title.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
Had surgery that morning.
Speaker 4 (26:53):
And that's pack tens was two weeks before the NCAAZ
well a week and a half, right, So the first
time I wrestled live from my surgery to that first
match with Grant was when they blew the whistle at
nc Double A's and we shook hands. That's when I
wrestled live. They were shooting up my knee every match.
So as the tournament went on, I mean not my
(27:13):
first match. I hadn't matched before that, so whoever I
wrestled prior to that, but Grant was my first like
real test in that tournament, and he got me. But
as that tournament progressed, I kind of started getting my
rhythm again and feeling better. And by the time that
third place match came around, I was I already felt great,
felt confident like I wasn't going to get beat. So
(27:36):
it was it was kind of scary because at one
point when I tore my knee and my knee kept blocking,
there was a chance I wasn't going to wrestle the
tournament but when the doctor said we can tape it
like this, do you want to do it? I said,
of course, I'll do it.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
Yeah, you lose the grain here in the quarters and
then you beat him for third. I'm just trying to
wrap my head around Eric at that level. I mean,
you're you're injured. I mean you're not hurt, you're injured,
and there's a difference like how do you how do
you put it together mentally in not up for lack
of a better way to say it, and get it done.
Speaker 3 (28:10):
That's all I knew.
Speaker 4 (28:11):
I mean when I mean, we were taught from me,
like if you're hurt, you're hurt, right, you just you
suck it up. You don't show weakness, just kind of
keep your composure, right, So when I was injured, I
always tried to do the same thing, even when I
like with that, Like, I just always tried to hide it.
(28:33):
And I remember when I heard it, I ran out
of the room and I went and sat in the
locker room, and I'm just like, I don't even know
if I want to tell the coaches, but I probably
should because I can't strain my leg out. Like I
didn't want to say anything because I didn't want any
buzz around me being hurt. So that's kind of just
how I was brought up unless I was injured, like
you said, right, So I just I just did it,
and I just knew I had to do it.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
And Eric will be back with more of this has
been great episode run with Eric Larkin looking forward to
episode to Thank you so much.
Speaker 4 (29:02):
Thank you,
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