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Lakenheath's Morrow focused on finals - and beyond
RAF LAKENHEATH, England — The DODDS-Europe wrestling championships, set for Feb. 17-18 in Wiesbaden, Germany, will be the last chance at a title and wrestling glory for many high school athletes. But that may not be the case for Lakenheath’s Austin Morrow.
The tall, slender senior won his first title at Europeans last year in the 140-pound weight class and, at the moment, his 19-0 record means he hasn’t lost anything this season — except a couple of pounds.
Morrow has been wrestling in the 138-pound division for most of the season where, he said, his body frame gives him an advantage with reach and leverage on the mats. Morrow is really looking forward to competing at Europeans.
“We get like seven matches (total) and that’s good,” Morrow said. “The more matches you get, the more experience you get, the better you get.”
But no matter the result for him this year at Europeans, Morrow said he has plans to continue wrestling. He said he hopes to win in Wiesbaden and to be chosen to attend a national tournament in the States, where he’d face the best wrestlers from high schools across the U.S.
Ultimately, Morrow added, he would like to compete in the Olympics in either 2016 or 2020.
“I want to be an Olympian by then,” Morrow said. “I’d love to do that.”
In an effort to get to that point, Morrow dropped weight through a strict diet and worked on his flexibility in the off season. For the last three years he’s trained and competed in freestyle wrestling with a team from London and, he said, sometimes during summer visits to the States he wrestles his old classmates back in his hometown of Wenatchee, Wash.
“Austin has the initiative,” Lancer coach Darryl Brock explained. “This is his main sport, and wrestling is what he wants to excel at.”
“He’s going beyond our wrestling mats,” Brock continued. “He’s training elsewhere with the expectation of a future in the sport.”
Sometimes after practice, if he’s feeling unhappy with the day’s training, Morrow will go work out for another couple of hours in a makeshift gym in the garage of a coach’s house.
“I do extra until I feel like I’ve done something and feel content,” Morrow explained.
Coach Brock attributes this determination to Morrow’s competitive demeanor.
“He’s an all-around great athlete,” Brock explained. “He’s very quick on takedowns and such. To me, that’s his forte.”
Morrow’s competitive spirit is evident.
“I love when it’s a tough match against someone that wants to win as bad as I do,” he explained. “I want to win at everything.”
