The heart of a champion
12/4/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Wrestling
Senior captain Brad Dillon has endured many ups and downs on the wrestling mat during his time at Lehigh. He was injured his first year just before Easterns began, and then sustained another injury during his second year in the last match of the season, which again, took him right out of Easterns. Last season, as a junior, Dillon finally made it past Easterns, taking first place and making it all the way to Nationals. Unfortunately, he suffered a heartbreaking overtime defeat, and lost a shot at a national championship, that has eluded Dillon each of his first three years at Lehigh.
Now, in this his senior season, Dillon is on a mission, and has tunnel vision towards being perched on the top step in St. Louis in early March at the NCAA Championships. That’s when it can all happen for Dillon. He can put all of his frustration of injury and misfortune behind him for good. “After all of the bad breaks, which I think would have brought most wrestlers to consider quitting the sport, Brad has never lost sight of what he wants to achieve. In fact, I think it has made Brad a stronger wrestler and person in general,” explains assistant coach Chris Ayres. “His middle name should be persistence. After each setback he came back training harder and smarter.”
During his training, Dillon was pushed extremely hard by his coaches and staff around him. But he did not seem to mind all that much. “I have high expectations of myself, so I don’t mind putting in the work, especially coming off an injury,” Dillon explains. “I needed to get healthier and stronger and I thank the training staff here at Lehigh for helping me come back. Those guys are really unbelievable, they really understand everything there is to know about strength and conditioning and helped me come back and gain more confidence than before the injuries.”
Dillon would be lying if he told you he doesn’t think about capturing an NCAA title. “To win it all has always been one of my goals, it’s been a vision for me. I think that this year there may be a little added pressure on me because I am starting out the season ranked number one in some polls, but that makes me work that much harder.”
Dillon credits his coaching staff of Ayres, head Coach Greg Strobel and Kerry McCoy for helping turn him into the wrestler he is today. “The coaching staff has been such an enormous benefit to me during my time at Lehigh. That’s one of the main reasons why I chose Lehigh (over Nebraska and Virginia Tech) because I wanted to surround myself with a great supporting cast.” Dillon continues, “I’ve had some great workout partners over the years as well, from Chris Vitale to Travis Doto to the guys we have on the team now, like Travis Frick and Derek Zinck. We push each other harder than we have ever been pushed before, and that has made us great friends off of the mat, and ferocious competitors on it.”
Zinck, a sophomore, competes with Dillon on a regular basis at practice and knows that he always needs to give his all, when the two go head to head. “Brad is great practice partner, he comes prepared every day and gives 100% out there. You’ll never see Brad dog it, or not go full tilt. In terms of leadership, I don’t think we could have a better leader than Brad, both on and off the mat. He’s a great role model, having earned everything that he’s achieved here at Lehigh.”
Dillon, who boasts a 3.41 GPA as a biology major in the classroom, is happy to be back at Grace Hall for his final season as a Mountain Hawk. “It’s a great facility, I really love being in Grace. The fans are right on top of the action, and that’s going to make for a great advantage for us.” Although Dillon says he’s happy to be back in Grace, it’s apparent that he does not care where he is wrestling, or who his opponent is. He is just happy to be back on the mat and to be healthy again. “When I look back, I think I’ll remember the camaraderie that I had with the other guys on the team. The trips we took, all of the time we spent together. It’s been a great four years.”
But come March, Dillon may have one memory that outshines them all, and according to Ayres, it would not be a surprise if that moment becomes reality. “All I can say is that it is not a good year for anyone to be at 174 pounds. Brad is on a mission and I do not think he will be denied his goal.”