I do not hide that my writing style comes directly from two influences – Jimmy Buffett and Aaron Sorkin. Buffett is a tremendous storyteller and Sorkin writes in a manner that I can’t even put into words.
A lifetime ago Sorkin was tending Bar to pay for College and started to scribble down a play on a napkin. Having never written a story before he created the play that became ” A Few Good Men”.
First try and that was his result- I still see Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson in the climatic Courtroom scene. I been a fan of his style for close to four decades now and my favorite thing he ever wrote was a series for HBO called “The Newsroom”.
He tells a story about how Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels) has a problem with himself if he thinks he’s watching someone being braver then himself.
Thursday Night 🌙 I was working on a Column about my Love for Women’s Basketball 🏀 while watching 👀 Kenny Brooks and his Hokies dismantle the #9 Blue Devils.
I already knew that I would be heading from Laurel Fork up to Salem for the State Wrestling event and then back to Hillsville for Basketball 🏀 and then getting to Atlanta for the College Baseball ⚾️ responsibilities. It was going to be a brutally long day before my Sorkin-wantabe mindset upped the steaks.
I am going to try and get inside the thought process of what it takes to bea High School Wrestler. Coach Bowman and his team were kind enough to pose for some send-off photos 📷
I noticed that there were four wrestlers with him when only three had qualified for State. Coach mentioned to me that Christyan Stillwell finished 5th and when one of the Top Four couldn’t compete he moved up a spot and was added very last minute to the group.
The last thing that was mentioned was that of the four only one was going to be able to actually eat Dinner later after the drive 🚗 to Salem.
It was then that I decided that I wanted to attempt to be as tough / brave as this quartet so the first thing I did was head up to Salem at the crack of dawn in hopes of lining up the sleep issues and of course didn’t eat breakfast.
I was feeling pretty good about trying to absorb as much of the commitment as possible. Where I started to lose ground was when I realized that these guys would wait 2+ hours to perform for up to six minutes and then wait another 2+ hours before they would get their next 6 minute window.
At Noon – after roughly five hours on site each person had wrestled ONE time. Add in that they’re not hanging out in the Green Room of a television show or the Admirals Club at the Airport.
Around 12:30 I flinched and made a mad dash out to McDonald’s for some actual food and space as we had been bunched up in a absolutely packed Salem Civic Center.
Finally at 1pm they begin the second round of matches which lasts until 3pm. These four young men finally had their second match in the first EIGHT hours. Then came the news that there would be a break until 4:30 before the competitors still alive would have Match #3.
That window would end at 6pm and then the clock would reset and they would do it all again. It would be over 12 hours in the building when Mr. Dalton would have his fourth match.
The time had come to head back to Laurel Fork to grab my baseball stuff and then to Hillsville for the game and upon its conclusion complete the five hour drive 🚗 to Atlanta. The day was going to end with the final posting at 3am, 22 hours after it began. I was feeling pretty good about matching the effort of the Wrestlers.
The drive down to Gwinnett College gave me plenty of time to thing about what I had witnessed and I kept coming back to young Mr. Stillwell
I don’t know the exact minute of the day that Stillwell found out he would be wrestling at 144 pounds but I do know this, his season was already OVER so after months of having to watch every bite of food you put into your mouth he had been let off the hook.
I am not suggesting that he inhaled two dozen Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts after the Regional meet ended. But I do imagine he was able to enjoy a meal or two.
To be able to compete for Carroll County High School on Friday, Stillwell attended school and then rode to Salem and went to bed without his dinner. Then at 5:30 AM he went out for a Run 🏃♂️ that lasted a few miles in order to make weight.
He then waited 2 hours to Wrestle and lost his opening round match. He cheered on his teammates until he finally went back out to wrestle at roughly 1:40 in the Consolation match. His High School career ended when that matched concluded and then he went back to cheering for his teammates.
In my mind, the level of commitment displayed by Stillwell was something that legends are made of and its the type of story that I love to be able to tell in as many words as I need to tell it!
Once I was able to reconstruct his past 48 hours I couldn’t help but be impressed. How 🤔❓🤔 impressed you ask ????
Enough to let the Will McAvoy in me say that Mr. Stillwell had stood above all else. All I did was stay awake for 22 hours and I was able to eat all the Pizza 🍕 I wanted.
Ethan Richardson and Christyan Stillwell didn’t start their day with anything but a sense of pride in who they are and their Love of competing as Cavaliers !!!
A.S.P.N on The Hill 