Herrington: frosh phenom

Crisp shards of metallic red and blue erupt into the sky. Two flaming pillars roar, and between them emerges a six-foot, 174-pound man of steel. He calls himself "The Smackdown." Cloaked and masked, he is more monolith than man. The Smackdown, new to the WWE, addresses hordes of fans. "I've been trained to become a lethal machine," The Smackdown declares. "I really do know how to hurt people." The Smackdown is 100-percent pain generator, but he is also a figment of the imagination. He is the hypothetical alter-ego of Penn freshman wrestler Matt Herrington. Herrington comes to West Philadelphia from Cambridge, N.Y., after one of the most prolific prep wrestling careers ever. His 243 victories -- contrasted to just nine losses -- stand as the national record for wins in a high school career. "You don't set out in your career and say, 'One of my goals is to break the national record for most wins,'" Herrington said. "At the beginning of the season my senior year was when we actually realized, 'Wow, I've got a shot to break the national record.'" With the ballyhooed record marking his steps for the whole of his senior season, the recordbreaking win was more exhale than exhilaration. It "was a really big sigh of relief," he said. Herrington's storied career started when he was 6 years old. At that point, he divided his time between wrestling, football, soccer and cross country. "I got really serious in cross country for a while -- I thought that might be my sport," he said. "Then wrestling just kind of outlasted the rest of them." After becoming a member of the varsity high school wrestling team in the seventh grade -- legal in New York -- Herrington progressed into a nationally-recognized blue chip prospect. His early rise to prominence gave him a two-year head start on breaking the career-wins record. During his junior and senior years, he won two Greco-Roman national titles and two New York state championships. Penn wrestling coach Roger Reina heard about Herrington through word of mouth. "We had some people in the upstate New York area who had been involved in our program who were saying, 'Hey, this is a top-level student, athlete [and] leader,'" Reina said. "He's the whole package." Herrington spearheaded the Quakers' lauded recruiting class that also featured national high school runner-up and two-time New Jersey state champion Matt Valenti. The two are neighbors in the dorms and best friends. "It doesn't matter who he's around," Valenti said. "He's easy-going and just gets along with everybody." During a meet, however, Herrington puts away his amiable side and instead, puts his opponent's face to the mat. Herrington has garnered the publicity that comes with early success. Herrington is ranked No. 20 in his 174-pound weight class. Over Winter Break, he captured an individual title at the UC Davis Aggie Open. More impressive yet, he was the only Penn wrestler to advance to the second day of competition at the Midlands Championships in Evanston, Ill. "I think he is at least as good or maybe a little bit ahead of many of the best that we've had come through here," Reina said. Comparing Herrington to other highly-touted wrestlers he's coached, Reina added, "He got to the round of place at the Midlands as a freshman. Brandon Slay didn't, Brett Matter didn't [and] Rick Springman didn't." Slay -- the 2000 Olympic gold medalist, that is. For Herrington, however, it's not about reveling in success -- it's about building off failure. He said that of his 243 high school victories, he could name no more than half of his opponents. But ask who he lost to and he can rattle them off as though the matches were yesterday. And that was the easy part of his career to date. "You're used to being the best at what you are when you're in high school," he said. "When I come here, no one cares. You really feel like you're dumb in your classes. And when you get into the wrestling room, all the juniors and seniors are beating up on you at first." A semester into his four-year journey, Herrington admits that adjusting to collegiate wrestling hasn't been easy. But in adapting to the amplified intensity of college competition, Herrington believes that his early stumbles make for a sweeter recovery. "It feels good to finally just break into some college success," Herrington said, "and know that you're not completely clueless on how to get there." For Herrington, "there" is a very ambitious place. The freshman hopes that by the time this season comes to a close, he will be an All-American. But that isn't enough. Loftier yet, he hopes that when he graduates, he will be a three-time NCAA champion. "It might seem outrageous because Penn has never had a two-time national champion, but I don't see why it's not possible," Herrington said. "It's just going to come down to how much work I'm willing to put in to achieve it."

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