Jesse Nielsen is in his third year at North Idaho College wrestling for coach Pat Whitcomb.

He is one of the few who is successful at the high school level and continues that success at the college level. This transition to the next level of wrestling competition requires numerous commitments and adjustments.

"You are looking at a six-month season in college rather than three months in high school," said Nielsen, who wrestles at 174 pounds. "The first two months we dedicate to get into wrestling shape here at NIC, and in high school we had 10 practices before the competition began."

Another adjustment Jesse had to make was the skill level in the practice room. Everyone wrestling at NIC has had an illustrious high school career. "They don't just go through the motions like in high school," Nielsen said.

These wrestlers despise being thrown around on the mat and require the workout partner to pay with his sweat for every move he works. This makes the competition in the practice room fierce and is what the coaches strive for. High school state champions are sitting on the bench and it does not fit their mentality.

JESSE HAD to deal with this. In his first year, he could not crack the starting lineup. He did get to wrestle in some tournaments his first year. The Best of the West was the initial attempt where he got pinned and beat and exited 0-2 with the realization that he was not one of the best.

Toward the end of that year he wrestled in the Clackamas Open and scored a victory over the No. 1 seed in his weight class from Oregon State University. This was definitely a step up. The next year he earned a starting position on the team for another step. He finished the year with All-American status.

"In high school, I could pretty much have my way in the practice room by my junior year," he remembered.

Now in his final year at NIC he feels he has again attained that level in the college practice room.

Keri Stanley, the assistant coach with Pat Whitcomb, feels the local boys like Jesse have the added pressure of wrestling at home.

"Friends and family are around and accustomed to you winning. At the college level, everyone was a winner in high school but now someone has to lose," Stanley said.

"To be a winner at this college you just have to follow Jesse Nielsen's example," Whitcomb said.

"My whole team is destined to finish with All-American status this year," is Jesse's prediction. This is only part of the goal as their coaches remind them daily that winning NIC's 14th national is also on the agenda. This title would be special because it has the added pressure of being local.

My prediction is the locals will be out in force to support Jesse and the NIC wrestling team on February 25-26 in Spokane.

Jim Landers is a retired dentist and a former wrestling coach and official. He can be reached via phone at 819-3579 or via e-mail at skibums6@aol.com.