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Outgoing Wrestler Ken Brison Goes All Out
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by Ken Johnston
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| SJSU wrestler Ken Brison may seem like the Dr. Jekyll type of personality off the mat, but during matches, he becomes
Mr. Hyde. |
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| Brison has an outgoing type of personality, and he gets along well with his teammates and coach. His opponents
probably find that very hard to believe. |
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| All that the 143-pound wrestler has done this season is to compile a 28-3 record. |
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| "The reason why i like wrestling is because it's more of an individualistic sport," Brison said. "If
i win, i did it. Unfortunately, the same thing goes for losing. I don't like to lose. I have a tendency to fly
off the handle when i do." |
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| Wrestling wasn't what the Spartan athlete wanted to do until his sophmore year at Leland High School in San Jose,
where he competed in the 98-pound division. |
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| Brison's biggest high school accomplishments came in his senior year, when he was the runner-up in the CCS tournament
and he also qualified for the state tournament. |
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| At the college level, Brison competed at 118 in his freshman year at SJSU and had a 5-4 record. |
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| Brison's wrestling career nearly ended during his sophmore year. The athlete had to have surgery on his right knee,
after injuring it during practice. He spent a year rehabilitating. |
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| "There were times when i didn't want to go on with wrestling," Brison said. |
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| "I give my dad a lot of credit for helping me come back. He made me work hard and he gave me the enthusiasm
i needed to overcome this," he said. |
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| Brison made a good comeback the following year, competing in the 143 division and winning the Eagle Tournament
at Biola College. He also placed at all other tournaments. |
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| "Last year was the first year of real competition for me," he said. |
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| Brison kept in shape between seasons by competing in freestyle wrestling during the summer. His work paid off,
as he won the state championship. |
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| This year, his goal is to make it to the NCAA championships. |
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| His biggest obstacle will be the PCAA tournament. All of the first-place finishers and eight wildcard wrestlers
from the tourney advance to the championships. |
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| "Competition in the PCAA overall is extremely tough. If a wrestler gets to the nationals, he's earned it,"
Brison said. |
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| Competing isn't the only tough part of wrestling. Another tough part about the sport is maintaining weight. |
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| Brison said to keep his weight down, he sometimes is able to eat only salads and drink plenty of water. |
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| Another tough part of the sort is the endurance. A wrestler is out on the mat for a maximum of seven minutes. |
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| "When you go out there, it's rough," he said. "You can't let up at all." |
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| The roughest part of any match may be when an opponent in the 143-pound division has to face Ken Brison. |
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