No one 'kicks the crap' out of Slay anymore

Penn senior wrestler Brandon Slay has dreams of participating in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. Don't ask Brandon Slay to talk about his Olympic dreams. Don't ask him to talk about his impending stay at the Freestyle Wrestling Residence Program at Colorado Springs, Colo., which may lead to a trip with the U.S. Olympic Wrestling team to Sydney, Australia, and the 2000 Olympic Games. For now, Slay is content to focus on winning another Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association title, returning to the NCAA finals and leading Penn to a role as a national contender. Ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the 167-pound division in different preseason polls, Slay opened his season by winning the Keystone Classic November 23, and he is confident going into the Penn State Open this weekend. His dominating presence on the mat began a long way from either Pennsylvania or Australia. Growing up in Amarillo, Texas, his father, who wrestled in high school and college, placed him in a YMCA wrestling class when he was 6 years old. "I was a rough and tumble kid, full of energy, somewhat hyperactive, and he felt that wrestling would be a good way for me to let out all that extra energy," Slay said. "[My father] was familiar with it, he really loved the sport, and he thought it was something I would enjoy, and I ended up loving it." Slay continued wrestling throughout his youth, often having to wrestle kids much older and bigger than he. "They used to kick the crap out of me all the time, but eventually as I started maturing, getting stronger and learning more about the sport, I caught up with them," he said. At Tascosa High School, he excelled in wrestling and football, in which he played both nose guard and offensive guard. Senior year brought a difficult decision for Slay, who had to decide which sport to pursue at the college level. Slay had mixed feelings about the choice between wrestling and football. He actually believed himself to be a much better football player than a wrestler. "I thought wrestling was the one that I could excel more individually at," Slay said, "and I thought it was going to give me a chance to go to a better school." Heavily recruited by a number of schools for wrestling, including powerhouses Iowa, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State, Slay chose Penn, in part due to its high academic standards. Slay also looked forward to the opportunity to join a team on the rise. Being the leader of a program starting a turnaround meant a lot to Slay -- more than being just another face in a long line of champions at a traditional powerhouse. "It was a program that was coming from really little to no success, but I could see that it had a chance for a bright future," he said. And a bright future it is for the Quakers, who ranked 14th in the nation in this year's Amateur Wrestling News preseason poll. Slay, a fifth-year senior, found adjusting to the college level hard at first, encountering consistently tough competition every time out on the mat. "Every time you step out on the mat, you're going to wrestle somebody who has a lot of experience with the sport," Slay said. "So rarely do you go out there and pin the guy in 30 seconds." Slay has had much collegiate success, topped off by a second-place finish last year at the NCAA finals. He credits a healthy balance of athletic, academic and social life. "Being able to relax and be focused is the most important part of my wrestling," Slay said. His success has put him in the position of the hunted one throughout the wrestling ranks, but Slay remains unphased. "Now that I've achieved that level of success, guys are looking to beat me all the time, and I have to concentrate on making sure I don't get wrapped up in all [the rankings]. I just go out there and focus on doing what I know how to do," he said. Slay, a returning captain, brings unmatched intensity and a fierce work ethic to the mats. "He's an extremely intense competitor and a great leader," Penn senior Jeremy Bailer said. "He already started off by leading the team [at the Keystone Classic]." Slay, as captain, acts as a leader for the team, in and out of the wrestling room. Bailer has seen Slay's growth as a team leader in his four years at Penn. "[Slay] has accomplished more than anyone else, but he doesn't put himself above anyone," Bailer said. "He takes time out to help out other wrestlers. [The success] doesn't go to his head." After college, Slay heads off to Colorado Springs, where he will train for a year and a half for the Olympic trials in January 2000. After that he says he will retire from wrestling and enter the business world, perhaps after a detour to Sydney.

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