Stephanie Croston

    Winning a state title is another goal Mark Fiala can cross off his list.
     Mark, a junior at Seward High, finished the 2007-08 wrestling season undefeated and the state champion in Class B at 152 pounds.
     "It's pretty cool," he said. "It's been a goal since I started wrestling."
     He started wrestling in second grade, following his brother Mitch's footsteps. He qualified for state last year but nerves contributed to his struggles. This year was the opposite.
     "I was never too nervous at state," he said. "I wrestled better at state than I did anywhere else. I knew what I had to do and was focused."
     Mark didn't have much trouble with his opponents, winning 15-0, 13-4, 8-4 and 15-5 en route to the championship. The most difficult match was his semifinal bout with Jacob Cardenas of Omaha Skutt Catholic, he said.
     "I was mad he wasn't doing anything. I was to the side trying to run a chicken wing and got called for stalling," he said.
     He picked up his 100th career victory Feb. 14 against Tyler Martin of Boone Central.
     "It was awesome," he said. "I knew if I wanted to break the other record of 136 wins, I had to get to 100 this year."
     With 44 victories this season, Coach Bob Core said he broke Seward High's single-season win record. Mark also notched the most wins in an undefeated season, Core said.
     "There are not too many undefeated wrestlers," Mark said.
     Mark tried not to let emotions get the better of him during matches but said he did his fair share of celebrating, although Coaches Bob Core and Jeramie Schoepf were more animated. Following the championship match, Mark indulged in a little bit of "ride the pony," a tribute to two-time state champion John Hayek.
     "I wanted to do that all my life," Mark said. "It just kind-of happened."
     Being undefeated is not an easy task, he said.
     "To go week after week consecutively winning matches is hard," Mark said. "You have to not be satisfied and keep striving to improve."
     He said he used the fact that he was undefeated as motivation going into matches.
     "I'm always confident I will win. My goal is to pin or tech fall everyone I wrestle," he said.
     Last year Mark wrestled at 135 pounds but grew and lifted weights in the off-season. That led him to wrestle at 152 pounds this year.
     "I took my quickness from 135 and used it to my advantage at 152," he said. "That was able to help me in almost all my matches."
     His pre-match routine includes warming up, stretching and listening to music, although his music choices vary. He said sometimes he'd listen to music from the movie Rocky, sometimes songs like "Push It to the Limit," and sometimes songs that were more casual to calm himself down.
     Mark also uses an inhaler to help calm the sports-induced asthma he has. Although it may look like he's out of shape when he puts his hands on his head during breaks in a match, it's actually because he is trying to get more air into his lungs.
     "I knew I was in shape," he said, adding that Mitch had used one, too. "The inhaler helps."
     He said Feb. 17 that the state championship hadn't completely sunk in yet, but he's already looking toward next season.
     "Next year it's my goal again, to do it all over," he said. "It won't be easy to repeat."
     He plans to lift weights and wrestle all summer, preparing for football and wrestling, sports that compliment each other, he said.
     He said he wasn't worried about other wrestlers trying to knock off a defending state champion.
     "Maybe there'll be more nerves for them," he said.