Richie Boley has won three heavyweight-class tournament medals this wrestling season.

Grade:  Senior.

Parents:  Michelle Boley and Richard Boley.

Sport:  Wrestling.  He started at guard and nose guard for the Bulldogs during football season.

Football or wrestling?  “Wrestling.  You get more wins because it’s more of an individual sport.  I like the challenge of it.”

Wrestling’s biggest challenge:  “Everybody’s looking at you, and every mistake you make, it’s all on you.  You can’t really make excuses.”

Its most enjoyable aspect:  “Getting your hand raised at the end.”

His record:  22-1 in the heavyweight class. He was 15-4 last season, qualifying for the state tournament.  This season, he’s finished first in tournaments at ASB and Lincoln and in the St. Clair County tournament.  At ASB last weekend, he gave up one point and pinned his opponent in the second round.  “I was just working moves.”

The opponent he’d most like to beat this year:  “Dylan Campbell, the three-time state champion from Oak Grove.  We were supposed to meet last year, but it didn’t happen, so I’ve never wrestled him before.  But to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best.”

Important aspects of the sport:  “Conditioning and being ready mentally.  You never know when you’ll have to go the long distance, three rounds and overtime.  Each round is go, go, go, and your conditioning will give you a little extra go when you’re about dead.  You need that because you can never give up.  You’ve got to keep pushing, and if you’re down by points, you can’t get mad.  You don’t wrestle smart when you’re mad.”

Is endurance more important than technique?  “They’re both important.  You may have great endurance, but if someone has better technique, he can take you down fast.  But you can’t just focus on technique at the expense of endurance.  Eventually you develop your own kind of technique, and that comes with a lot of mat time.”

His favorite subject:  “Lunch – no, I’m kidding.  Math.”

After high school:  “I’d like to go into sports in college.  I’ve got a couple of schools sending me stuff for football, but I haven’t decided anything yet.”