College sports: Oswego's Grygas sees the NCAA wrestling podium

Mar. 24—OSWEGO — Oswego State wrestling senior Charlie Grygas saw himself on the national podium before battling his way onto it.

Grygas finished fourth in the 174-pound weight class at the NCAA Division III wrestling championships on March 11 in Roanoke, Va.

The Delanson native and Duanesburg High School product secured his second career All-American nod with the performance and has qualified for the NCAAs in each of his three collegiate seasons.

As Grygas was about to depart for the national tourney, he was handed a book by a professor that was titled "Mind Gym: An Athlete's Guide to Inner Excellence," to scan on his downtime during the trip.

Grygas said that he read the book between the airport and hotel and believes it helped give him a final push — building on goal visualization practices he had previously explored — entering the tournament.

"I read through three-quarters of this book just sitting around the hotel and in the airport, and it was really powerful stuff about the power of positive thinking and other mind-set principles," Grygas said.

He added: "I try to play moments in my mind before they happen, vividly picture them. I'll picture myself winning that big match coming up, or I'll see myself enjoying the win with my friends afterward. I've really tried to work on the mind-set aspect and envisioning, and I think that helps a lot because your brain kind of makes it into a reality and your body follows."

Grygas entered the national tournament as the No. 6 seed in his weight class with a 29-1 season record.

He swept his first two matches at nationals to reach the day-two semifinals, much like he imagined, before falling in the semifinals and finishing fourth overall by splitting a pair of consolation bouts.

Grygas first qualified for the NCAA Tournament as a freshman but the event was called off the day before he was set to compete at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. He was named an All-American based on standing approaching the tourney that year.

He again qualified last year but did not finish among the top-six place finishers. Grygas also claimed his first career NCAA Mideast Regional title this season on Feb. 25.

"Being able to actually and rightfully be an All-American and stand on the podium this year, I feel like I needed that, I owed that to myself, so that was huge for me," Grygas said. "I had my sights set on standing at the top of the podium, and it bummed me out a little not being able to do that, but it was still good."

Grygas has already committed to returning next year with the goal of winning a national championship.

Next season will mark his fourth wrestling campaign and fifth year with the program, utilizing his full eligibility after the 2020-21 season was cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.

"I love the sport and I know I'm going to miss it when it's all done," Grygas said. "I just want to get the most out of it that I can at this point in my life."

Oswego State coach Mike Howard added: "We're extremely excited to have him back, obviously reaching the semifinals and being in that limelight on the Saturday morning of the national tournament was a learning experience for him this year, so we look at him to build off of that."

Grygas spent much of his offseason going for late-night runs and enacted a strict diet once the season got underway. He credited Howard and the coaching staff for their training program molding him into peak condition for marquee matches late in the season.

"I try to submit to their process and stick to that," Grygas said. "It makes things a lot easier for me if I can just do what I'm told and do it hard."

Grygas was a three-time state qualifier for Duanesburg High School, taking third at 160 pounds in 2019, while tallying a 157-31 record, per CNYwrestling.com.

Howard described the standout captain as the hardest worker on the team, crediting his work ethic and competitive spirit for his success on the mat. The veteran coach spoke of Grygas always competing hard, even when they open practice with a dodgeball game to warm the team up.

"He comes in from the start of practice to the end of practice, he doesn't want to stop moving," Howard said. "He's got to get his reps in, it's kind of difficult sometimes because we'll try to stop him and show him some minor adjustments, and he doesn't want to stop, just wants to keep getting after it."