Grande plan is state medal

Ross Grande is living large.

The Palatine senior, in a test of endurance and will, advanced into the Class AA state wrestling tournament this weekend at 152 pounds.

Grande will join teammate and three-time state qualifier Dale Jarosz as both roared back to win their third-place matches at the Barrington sectional to ensure a trip to Champaign.

It was Jarosz who indirectly would help inspire Grande nearly one year ago, all without saying a word to the two-time Mid-Suburban League champ and three-time sectional qualifier.

"I had finished (fourth) at sectionals last year and went down to watch Dale (compete) and also as an alternate at 152 pounds," said Grande.

"So I am down there and cheering for Dale, then watching guys climb up on the podium in my weight class to accept state medals.. and thinking ... I lost 3-0 to the third-place finisher (Frank Battaglia), lost to the fourth-place medalist 3-2 (Sam Wrobel, Lake Zurich) and beat the fifth-place guy (Steve Olin of Minooka).

"I could have been there just as easily as they could have, and it really opened up my eyes."

The awakening had a profound effect on Grande.

Always a workout warrior, the three-year varsity veteran decided to make the work-outs and training really count.

"Ross had been and will always be the hardest working athlete we'll ever see at Palatine," said Pirates coach Dan Collins. "But his first in and last out of the room, that Rocky Balboa approach, wasn't translating over and onto the mats, and I know (his) results during his sophomore and junior years were frustrating him a lot."

Collins admitted to bumping heads with the Pirates' captain on this very subject.

"We had a lot of long talks, and I really began to see a change during the offseason when we traveled to tournaments and kept up the dialogue," said Collins. "The biggest thing for Ross is he has matured as a person and an athlete. Now you're seeing just exactly what he's capable of."

Grande enters his first-round match with Leyden senior Matt Soch today with a 41-3 record, more impressive in the fact that after a 3-2 start to the season at the Moore-Prettyman, he then went 36-0 before losing a 6-5 decision to Stevenson's Bobby Vagun in his sectional semifinal.

"Ross got off to such a rough start, seventh place at the Moore-Prettyman, and really not looking all that good while doing so," said Palatine assistant Jerry O'Brien. "But at that point, Ross stopped worrying about winning, and just began to concentrate on one match at a time.

"He went back to basics, improved his work on his feet, and got himself into amazing condition, which is one of the reasons he is so tough in the third period. He is a true six-minute guy. Get that far with him, and you're not going to beat him."

And talk to Grande after a tournament victory or MSL match, and you'll get the same response.

"One match at a time, out-work my opponent, and not look past anyone," he said.

Classic Grande.

His slow start to the season more than likely left previous battered opponents wondering if he were a one-year wonder after his 39-8 season last winter. But Grande's off-season progress was brought to a three-month halt after breaking his radius.

Cleared to begin training just five weeks before the Moore-Prettyman, he would eventually grab a championship trophy at the Berman Holiday Classic, then a second-straight conference and regional title with ease.

And despite his battles with Collins, Grande enjoys the good-cop, bad-cop routine the duo of O'Brien and his head coach constantly perform.

"Together they're the best thing for me," says Grande. "Coach Collins preaches that Iowa wrestling influence of going out hard, staying on the guy and always extending the lead."

"'O'B' (O'Brien) always is the voice of constant positive influence, yet an old school kind of coach."

The owner of 139 take-downs this year, Grande's improvement in that statistical category from a year ago (when he had 97) is proof of his dominance on the mat.

Last season, many a match read 3-2, 5-4, while this season, Grande tortures opponents for nearly six minutes, before recording big bonus-point wins with majors, technical falls and pins.

"Ross' conditioning also forces a lot of stall points in his favor because he's first to the circle after (the) whistle in the late stages and his opponent is dragging, trying to buy time, and the referee makes the call," adds O'Brien.

Grande, who might consider walking-on next fall at Nebraska or attending Division III wrestling power Cornell College in Iowa, feels his defeat to Vagun might have been the best thing for him heading into the state tournament.

"It (loss) kind of helps you refocus on the task ahead," he said.

Which is?

"Not looking ahead and past your opponent," said Grande. "I like the idea of having a first-round match and not a bye, it will help get the jitters out and help give me a good warm up."

Should Grande defeat Soch, next up would be No. 1 Steve Zimmerman of St. Rita.

"Ross is a serious medal contender," says Collins. "He didn't dwell on that loss at sectionals, and it in fact lit a fire under both he and Dale to the point that each are changed young men and ready for the challenge ahead."