CLEARWATER, Fla. — Gavin Nolan doesn’t like to lose.
“I have a brother. If he beats me in anything, he runs cross country at Clemson, and it still kills me that he’s faster than me,” Nolan said.
But when it comes to his sport of wrestling — Nolan rarely takes an ‘L’.
“I am very competitive just knowing that puts that fire in me,” he said.
The Clearwater Central Catholic senior grappler has an overall record of 195-11. But each of those 11 losses is a lesson.
“I study my matches a lot in school or any free time I have, I am definitely watching my matches. Jesuit, a school up in Tampa, they have an edge on me,” he said. “They usually somehow beat me. I’m always studying them and trying to figure out their tricks.”
“He’s a wrestler that is mentally prepared for every match than any kid I have ever coached,” CCC head coach Chris McClure said. “He knows everything about the opponent he’s going to wrestle.”
Nolan became the school’s all-time win leader this season, passing Sean McClure, who is the son of the head coach.
“Right after that match, Gavin called (Sean) and said, ‘Guess what? I beat you,’” McClure said.
Nolan beat a lot of wrestlers to earn the number-one ranking in the state in his 150-pound weight class.
This year, he’s looking to become the first four-time state champion in Pinellas County.
“It’s a lot of pressure, but I think pressure is a privilege,” Nolan said. “It’s cool knowing that when I walk into a room, people are coming for me. I try not to put too much pressure on myself because I don’t want myself to crumble.”
He can reach the 200-win mark this weekend before gunning for another state title.
“He has to get there first. I don’t want to jinx him,” McClure said.
NEWS LITERACY WEEK
Excited, idealistic, and not jaded. Those are a few words ABC Action News reporter Michael Paluska would use to describe the USF journalism students he interviewed for News Literacy Week.
