I needed to win in order to win the tourey. Also, Hood River gave out these really cool toy trucks as trophies. They were about eight or nine inches long and really rolled. The one I would win said "Hood River Tournament 103 Pound Winner" on the side. It was kind of trivial but I really wanted one and I only had to beat this one guy to do it. .
Finally, there was one last thing that made this the most important match of my life. It was my chance to make a name for myself. The Pendleton 103, my next opponent, was currently ranked seventeenth in state. If I beat him I would ranked; my dream come true. While he was only freshman, he was one of the best freshman in the state and had been wrestling his entire life. I could see him, standing across Hood River's blue and gold wrestling mat warming up. He was small and muscular with dark hair and even darker eyes. He didn't look so tuff I thought, but in truth I was afraid. There was an incredible amount riding on this match. I would win, I told myself. After all, my only losses had been to the top seven in state and he was only seventeenth. I had to admit to myself though that I hadn't actually wrestled anybody else ranked in state that year. I would just have to go out there and do my best, give it one hundred and ten percent and be happy with that win or lose.
While all these thoughts had been going through my head the match had started and it wasn't going well. We had lost the first match at 145, but had won at 152 and again by major decision at 160 making the score 7-3 in our favor. Then things had started going down hill. We had lost at 171 and received a pin at 189 making the current score 7-12 Pendleton. The 215 pound match wasn't going well either. We were down, though not by a lot in the second round. Then I watched as my teammate Vishal made a bad move throwing himself to his own back. It was only a couple more seconds till he was pinned.
