All In. All the time.
12/17/2013 2:00:00 PM | Men's Wrestling
For Lehigh's Mason Beckman, it all started in the confines of an old Chevy van.
The weekend meant one thing for the Beckman household: wrestling. Ron, Mason's father, filled up the van with all of the necessary gear; wrestling equipment, a change of clothes, overnight supplies, Gatorade and water. Just like that, Mason, his father and his older brother along with a few family friends, were off.
"That's just the way it was," Beckman said. "We'd load up the van, get some friends together and go wrestling every weekend."
The location of these tournaments wasn't always predetermined. The Chevy made countless treks across Pennsylvania, from the Beckman's home in Greenville all the way to New Jersey, Delaware, even Maryland. They'd go west; making the four-hour trip to Columbus, always returning in time for school the next week. But one thing was always known: no matter where there was a wrestling tournament, the Beckmans were there.
"It seemed like every weekend we were out scrapping," Beckman said. "We had a ton of fun over the years [on those trips]. We made a lot of memories."
Wrestling for a top-notch Division I program always seemed to be in the cards for Beckman. Under the dedicated coaching of his father, Beckman enjoyed much success at Reynolds High School.
"My dad did an amazing job," Beckman said. "It was never about winning or losing. It was what we did for fun and was always about simply getting better I've had success throughout my career because of that mentality and what I was raised under."
Top programs took notice, but it was Lehigh's head coach Pat Santoro that saw something special.
"He was beating some of the top wrestlers in the country," Santoro said. "We knew he was good."
Beckman committed in early March of his junior year of high school, citing the unbelievable coaching staff, the high-level program and alumni support as making his decision an easy one.
As a true freshman, Beckman did not defer his eligibility, beginning the season at 125 before moving up to 133 in late December, He made an immediate impact, qualifying for NCAA Championships after a fourth place finish at the EIWA tournament. He posted a 27-11 overall record, including a 19-8 mark wrestling in the 133 weight-class.
"It was awesome, just a lot of fun," Beckman said. "[Competing as a freshman] made me grow so much. For me, wrestling was the best thing because it forced me to grow. I got a feel for what D-I wrestling was like."
Despite the success as a freshman, Beckman, along with coach Santoro, decided to defer his eligibility as a sophomore, giving him an extra year to train and develop.
"Mason came in at 125 and grew out of his weight class," said Santoro. "We wanted to give him an extra year to mature and improve."
Sophomore year proved to be one of the most beneficial for Beckman, as he was able to echo the teachings of his father while not having to worry about taking losses.
"It's a free year to grow and attack your training," Beckman said. "The beauty of the (deferred) year is that it's literally a year of going and trying to get better every night. You do open tournaments, break down the film and figure out where you need to get better."
Last summer, Beckman had the opportunity to travel to Japan for two weeks in the summer to train with some of the top wrestlers in the world, further improving upon skills that he spent an entire year working on.
"It was mind blowing, culturally, seeing how they train, that warrior mentality," Beckman said. "It was unbelievable to be able to wrestle with those guys and get a different look at the sport, different look at life really. I was wrestling with world champions, Olympic medalists…you get to see where you stand.
"They taught me that your body has more in it then your mind will tell you and that's something that I'm carrying with me this year," he added.
Now in his third year at Lehigh, Beckman has already seen great improvement not only with himself, but as a team.
"We've pushed each other a lot more," Beckman said. "There is more accountability among ourselves. We are so much closer and more of a team then we have ever been. It's being part of that and pushing myself every night, listening to coaches, learning from them, it's what's going to make us successful and put Lehigh wrestling back in the top eight, right where they should be."
The closeness that Beckman speaks to has developed in part from the new wrestling facility, the Caruso Complex in the upper level of Lehigh's Grace Hall.
"There are always guys up there doing homework or just hanging out together," said Beckman, who holds a GPA over 3.0 in supply chain management. "It's weird, in high school we used to have to roll out our mats every night in the cafeteria. That was our practice facility. I've never been a part of something this great. The staff, the facility, the support, the team; it's indicative of the type of program Lehigh is."
While Beckman has already enjoyed an illustrious career in the sport of wrestling, he knows there's still much to be done, noting that he wants to win every time he steps on the mat and attributing what he's done during his college career to the strength of Lehigh's program.
"We're getting better every night. It's awesome," Beckman said. "(Coach) Santoro is an absolute encyclopedia of wrestling. The coaching staff, they take care of us, physically I feel great and as I look around the room, everyone is in a good place, striving to get better."
"He's all in, all the time," added Santoro. "He wants to succeed. That's the way he lives his life."
The weekend meant one thing for the Beckman household: wrestling. Ron, Mason's father, filled up the van with all of the necessary gear; wrestling equipment, a change of clothes, overnight supplies, Gatorade and water. Just like that, Mason, his father and his older brother along with a few family friends, were off.
"That's just the way it was," Beckman said. "We'd load up the van, get some friends together and go wrestling every weekend."
The location of these tournaments wasn't always predetermined. The Chevy made countless treks across Pennsylvania, from the Beckman's home in Greenville all the way to New Jersey, Delaware, even Maryland. They'd go west; making the four-hour trip to Columbus, always returning in time for school the next week. But one thing was always known: no matter where there was a wrestling tournament, the Beckmans were there.
"It seemed like every weekend we were out scrapping," Beckman said. "We had a ton of fun over the years [on those trips]. We made a lot of memories."
Wrestling for a top-notch Division I program always seemed to be in the cards for Beckman. Under the dedicated coaching of his father, Beckman enjoyed much success at Reynolds High School.
"My dad did an amazing job," Beckman said. "It was never about winning or losing. It was what we did for fun and was always about simply getting better I've had success throughout my career because of that mentality and what I was raised under."
Top programs took notice, but it was Lehigh's head coach Pat Santoro that saw something special.
"He was beating some of the top wrestlers in the country," Santoro said. "We knew he was good."
Beckman committed in early March of his junior year of high school, citing the unbelievable coaching staff, the high-level program and alumni support as making his decision an easy one.
As a true freshman, Beckman did not defer his eligibility, beginning the season at 125 before moving up to 133 in late December, He made an immediate impact, qualifying for NCAA Championships after a fourth place finish at the EIWA tournament. He posted a 27-11 overall record, including a 19-8 mark wrestling in the 133 weight-class.
"It was awesome, just a lot of fun," Beckman said. "[Competing as a freshman] made me grow so much. For me, wrestling was the best thing because it forced me to grow. I got a feel for what D-I wrestling was like."
Despite the success as a freshman, Beckman, along with coach Santoro, decided to defer his eligibility as a sophomore, giving him an extra year to train and develop.
"Mason came in at 125 and grew out of his weight class," said Santoro. "We wanted to give him an extra year to mature and improve."
Sophomore year proved to be one of the most beneficial for Beckman, as he was able to echo the teachings of his father while not having to worry about taking losses.
"It's a free year to grow and attack your training," Beckman said. "The beauty of the (deferred) year is that it's literally a year of going and trying to get better every night. You do open tournaments, break down the film and figure out where you need to get better."
Last summer, Beckman had the opportunity to travel to Japan for two weeks in the summer to train with some of the top wrestlers in the world, further improving upon skills that he spent an entire year working on.
"It was mind blowing, culturally, seeing how they train, that warrior mentality," Beckman said. "It was unbelievable to be able to wrestle with those guys and get a different look at the sport, different look at life really. I was wrestling with world champions, Olympic medalists…you get to see where you stand.
"They taught me that your body has more in it then your mind will tell you and that's something that I'm carrying with me this year," he added.
Now in his third year at Lehigh, Beckman has already seen great improvement not only with himself, but as a team.
"We've pushed each other a lot more," Beckman said. "There is more accountability among ourselves. We are so much closer and more of a team then we have ever been. It's being part of that and pushing myself every night, listening to coaches, learning from them, it's what's going to make us successful and put Lehigh wrestling back in the top eight, right where they should be."
The closeness that Beckman speaks to has developed in part from the new wrestling facility, the Caruso Complex in the upper level of Lehigh's Grace Hall.
"There are always guys up there doing homework or just hanging out together," said Beckman, who holds a GPA over 3.0 in supply chain management. "It's weird, in high school we used to have to roll out our mats every night in the cafeteria. That was our practice facility. I've never been a part of something this great. The staff, the facility, the support, the team; it's indicative of the type of program Lehigh is."
While Beckman has already enjoyed an illustrious career in the sport of wrestling, he knows there's still much to be done, noting that he wants to win every time he steps on the mat and attributing what he's done during his college career to the strength of Lehigh's program.
"We're getting better every night. It's awesome," Beckman said. "(Coach) Santoro is an absolute encyclopedia of wrestling. The coaching staff, they take care of us, physically I feel great and as I look around the room, everyone is in a good place, striving to get better."
"He's all in, all the time," added Santoro. "He wants to succeed. That's the way he lives his life."
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