By Glenn Albarado, Copyright © 2008 All Rights Reserved

Steven West ran off the mat after beating Navy Prep Wrestler Ben Levin 5-1 in a dual match Friday Night in Fort Monmouth, NJ. After the dual, his opponent, a Maryland State Champion, walked up to congratulate Steven and asked "Where are you from?"

"Alabama," Steven said.

"They have wrestling in Alabama?" he inquired.

"Yeah, we've got wrestling." Steven laughed.

West graduated from Oak Mountain High School and received an appointment to the United States Military Academy - West Point.

"I'll spend my first year here at the prep school in New Jersey, and then next year I'll transfer to West Point in New York and get to wrestle Division I. Right now I'm wrestling in the NWCA."

As for most wrestlers, the transition to college wrestling is a challenge. So far Steven has found success. He won his first tournament in Lafayette, PA and made it to the finals tonight against none other than Ben Levin. Winning 4-3 with 30 seconds in the match Levin scored a takedown and rode Steven out for the victory. Eights matches into his first season; 7 wins and 1 loss.

"It has been a big transition moving up a couple of weight classes (133 lbs) but I will probably go 125. The kids here are more brutal and aggressive. In Alabama I kind of had a reputation. But here they don't know me and I don't know them. It's just a lot more brutal, more physical. You don't see a lot of funky wrestlers. They are more solid. You just don't have any easy matches."

A two time Alabama state champion and one time runner-up, Steven is grateful that wrestling opened the door for him to get to West Point.

"Wrestling got me in. I had a 3.0 GPA coming out of high school and West Point has very high standards, so wrestling was the key. Right now I am working hard on my grades. I think Academics will be my biggest challenge. It will be tough to make straight A's. I am going to do my best and study hard. As hard as I can."

The Academy is located approximately 50 miles north of New York City on the Hudson River. Since its founding two centuries ago, the Military Academy has accomplished its mission by developing cadets in four critical areas: intellectual, physical, military, and moral-ethical - a four-year process called the "West Point Experience."

"When you graduate the Seniors who have the highest GPA get to pick where they want to go. I'll serve 5 years after I graduate. So I want it to be at a good place."

It seems like a perfect fit for the kid from Alabama who understands that hard work is fundamental to success.

"Besides academics, my goal this year for wrestling is just to improve and get better. I want to work hard at getting the mindset of a college wrestler. To train like one. I need to eliminate mistakes. Coach critiques all the little things and I have to work on the details and perfect the little things. When I look back I know that I was lenient in my training heading to State. I knew who I would wrestle in the finals and I knew I had success in the past. The important thing is to not get discouraged when bad things happen. It's all about working hard. Work hard at what you know. If you do then good things will happen."

Good things are happening. Alabama is improving. And one day wrestlers like Steven will come home, bringing with them new experiences and knowledge.

"I do get to come home during Thanksgiving which I am looking forward to. But it hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be (being away from home). The bonds we make here are like a family. The team is like a brotherhood. We do everything together. And on Wednesday nights I go to the Taste of Heaven. It's when families from local churches come and bring homemade meals, play music, sing and pray. They have the Cadet Chapel at West Point that is big enough to house all the cadets. My faith is strong."

A favorite expression at West Point is that "much-of the history we teach was made by people we taught." Great leaders such as Grant and Lee, Pershing and MacArthur, Eisenhower and Patton, Westmoreland and Schwarzkopf are among the more than 50,000 graduates of the Military Academy.

History can also me made in Alabama by "future" West Point graduate Steven West.

"I want to be an All-American at West Point. People don't think of Alabama as being a good wrestling state. We are making progress, like Fargo this year. One day we'll have NCAA Champions like some of those other states; like Ohio and Pennsylvania."

One day we will.