The Barometer Online

Issue date: 2/24/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Jeff Wick Jake Gonzales competes in his final Pacific-10 competition this weekend at the Pac-10 Championships in Fullerton, Calif. Gonzales is 53-53 at Oregon State in matches spread among two different weight classes.

In the competitive world that is collegiate wrestling, hard work is essential of individuals who strive to solidify their spot on any team - let alone one as revered as Oregon State.

It is this kind of dedication that senior Jake Gonzales has shown - from his first year at Oregon State to what will be his last Pac-10 tournament- and which has fueled his consistent improvement in each of his seasons in Corvallis. From the practice room to stepping foot on the mat in front of a crowd, Gonzales has an air of confidence and seriousness about him. He lets those around him know that he is ready for any challenge that could present itself.

Growing up into the sport, wrestling is not just something for Gonzales to pass his time, but rather a trade that he plans to continue pursuing after college. He uses his time here at Oregon State as some of the best training a wrestler planning to further his wrestling résumé can get.

"I am going to wrestle a little freestyle," Gonzales said. "I would like to be wrestling until 2012."

With ambitions of Olympic wrestling on his mind as well as the end of the current season, Gonzales is also preparing himself for a future outside of competition.

Pulling from his time on the mat, Gonzales has been able to take lessons he has learned from the sport and integrate them into actions in his life. His ability to connect his leisure time and training time on the mat is beneficial to any competition, arguably more so with wrestling.

"Wrestling teaches you a lot about life, you learn about things that will help you later on," Gonzales said of the correlation between life and wrestling. "Things that you do in the wrestling room, practice and matches, is similar to life. Your competing, I am going to have to compete for a job later on. It translates huge."

As an exercise and sport science major, Gonzales is looking to get his master's after this year, working it around his wrestling goals. Pursuing a master's is an ambitious goal and should not come as a surprise, simply an adverse affect due to Gonzales' constant diligence of improving himself.

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