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Photo by Andy Atkinson Hard work has molded Mike Whitehead into one of the state's best wrestlers. Comet wrestler makes big impact with work ethic By KRIS HENRY If you've ever been pushed around by bigger, stronger bullies, Mike Whitehead is your man. Not because the Crater senior weighs about 200 pounds, but because he has walked more than a mile in your shoes. As a middle school wrestler, Whitehead didn't exactly carry the same frame that he has now. "He was a tubby kid in junior high and he kind of got pounded by people," Crater coach Greg Haga says. "They're not pounding him anymore." Whitehead, 17, will step onto the mat tonight at South Medford as one of two Crater wrestlers still undefeated on the season, with Matt Lee also owning an unblemished record. Both are ranked No. 1 in the state at their respective weight classes, with Whitehead at 189 pounds and Lee at 160. Both are team captains along with 112-pound senior Chad Griffin. But it's been Whitehead's background that separates him from a host of talented Comets. "Whitehead is more of a rags to riches kind of guy," says Haga. The Crater senior doesn't dispute his coach's opinion. "I wasn't cream of the crop back in middle school," Whitehead admits. "It was doughboy who got his butt kicked. I really wasn't that good in middle school." All that changed thanks to a fine mix of perspiration and dedication. "It was always a goal in my head that I have to get better if I want this to work. When I was an eighth-grader, I decided that if I want this sport to be good for me, I have to put the work in," Whitehead says. "This is really the only sport that if you work hard and you put the effort forward, it will come back to you." And it has come back to Whitehead two-fold. All the miles logged running around Crater High and all the time spent working when others may have called it a day have helped the senior become the top-ranked wrestler he is today. "I always put the extra in, just because I know that if those other people aren't putting the effort in then that's what I'm getting on top of them," says Whitehead. That type of inspiration has rubbed off on many of his Crater teammates who also make the trek out to the school each morning to run with Whitehead. "I bring as many guys as I can get in the morning," he says. "That's the part of the season where you find out who wants it most." And judging by the turnout, the defending Class 4A state champions are showing they definitely want another title. That type of leadership hasn't gone unnoticed by Haga. "This is a guy who weighs 210 pounds and can run a five-minute mile," says Haga. "He can go out and run with the cross country kids and he'll be right in there with them. You just don't see that. "He's a great leader because he can do anything that he's asking those guys to do. If it's a matter of working harder or running harder, he can do those things. You normally don't see guys weighing around 200 pounds that can go with the light guys on sprints. The kids look up to him because of that." That's not to say Whitehead isn't capable of ruffling a few feathers. When asked how he is viewed on the team, Whitehead admits that not all of his teammates see eye-to-eye with him. "I bet they would say I ride them too much," the senior says. "I do ride the guys a lot, but it's hard not to expect a lot out of them. They're returning state champions. "I've seen a state champion team and what they've done. Sometimes I don't see what I expect to see, so I do whatever I have to do to get them going." But once again, he's not asking of anything he's not already ready to give himself. Whitehead says he expects the best out of himself, and therefore it's hard not to expect that same effort from his teammates. Fortunately, the Comets aren't a team willing to disappoint when it comes to desire and effort. "I have no doubts the guys want to get back (to state)," Whitehead says. "I know deep in their heart they know everybody wants it." With Crater ranked No. 1 all season in Oregon and ranked eighth in the nation in a recent Matside Publications/ESPN poll, there's little doubt outside Central Point that the Comets are a team to be reckoned with once again. Surprisingly, Whitehead says the team hasn't had trouble coping with all its rave wrestling reviews and thoughts of an expected repeat state title. "It's been much easier this year," he says. "We have a lot of guys who are willing to push themselves beyond their limits." That list includes Whitehead, who fulfilled a personal goal earlier this season when he edged Jake Leair of Grants Pass, 3-2, at the North Bend Tournament. "He's been beating me ever since I was a little kid," Whitehead says of last season's state runner-up at 189. "We've been matched up ever since we were in peewees through high school, and he's always beaten me. It's always been my goal since freshman year to win state and beat Leair." Even with the victory in hand, Whitehead says that thrill could be short-lived considering he and Leair will lock up several more times this season. "I know he's going to come out and work harder," says Whitehead. "He's got something to work toward now. He's never really had anybody that's a rival, until now." Although good-natured, that rivalry or any other match with Whitehead won't do much in teaching wrestling finesse. "I don't have very much technique so I have to make up for it by brawling," says the Crater senior. No matter the style, Whitehead certainly makes up for it in substance -- a facet he says has surrounded Crater wrestling ever since he can remember. "It's basically what's written on our shirts: We will win. That's the mindset here," he says. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford,