Cypress Wrestler Wheeler Is Working on Better Ending

David Wheeler came to the Cypress College wrestling program last fall with more attitude than desire.

As a result, he relied more on his natural ability than on training and conditioning. He was good enough most of the time and advanced to the state tournament.

He won his first few matches and seemed headed for a high finish. Wheeler held a 3-1 lead in his quarterfinal match but lost, 4-3.

He lost again in the fourth-place match, finishing fifth, one place shy of All-American status.

Wheeler, who often says he’s competitive, wasn’t pleased with how his season ended. So he dedicated himself to improving.

“This year, I don’t cheat myself,” he said. “I work a lot harder in practice. Last year, I just did what I had to do to get by. This year, I work hard every day.”

Wheeler’s increased desire has resulted in a 10-2 record so far. He won at the Sacramento tournament two weeks ago and finished second at the Cerritos tournament Saturday.

“He came up a little short mentally and physically last year,” Cypress Coach Mike Flook said. “But he’s in a really tough division.”

The main thing that makes the heavyweight class so hard for Wheeler is his relatively small size. He is 6 feet 1 and about 235 pounds. The maximum weight for the division is 275 and most of his opponents are pushing it.

To counter the size disadvantage, Wheeler calls on quickness, much of which was developed while he was the starting quarterback at Cypress High, where he played three seasons on the varsity football team. He also wrestled, winning the Empire League title as a senior.

Wheeler’s first attempt at college athletics was as a football player at Fullerton College in the spring and summer of 1995. Wheeler said he would have preferred to play football but was asked to be a redshirt for at least a year.

Not wanting to wait, Wheeler elected to wrestle, despite being somewhat of a novelty act.

“I’d never seen or heard of a quarterback becoming a heavyweight wrestler,” Flook said. “But he’s just such a natural athlete.”

Wheeler finished 25-8 last season, then spent the spring and summer working hard to improve. He took part in several freestyle tournaments, where he often faced wrestlers who were stronger and older.

“I just liked to beat them,” Wheeler said, “and I let them know I was younger than them. . . . I love to compete, but I don’t honestly know if I would be [at Cypress] if it wasn’t for wrestling. School wasn’t that big a deal when I first came, but it’s becoming an important issue to me right now.”