Nebraska's lone senior got a look at life after sports during his injury-shortened junior season.
KARL VOGEL / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Friday, February 8, 2008 6:00 pm
A year ago, Jon May was on crutches and watching his Nebraska wrestling teammates from the sideline for most of his junior season.
Other than rehabilitating his injured right knee and not being around his teammates, the Husker heavyweight from Hutchinson, Minn., got a glimpse into a whole different world — a life after wrestling.
It’s something that makes the final weeks of his last collegiate season that much easier to take.
“Last year was the only taste of normalcy I’ve ever had (as a wrestler), as far as not being forced to work out every day at 3:30,” May said. “It was unusual just to see what it’s like to not have practice every day.
“I guess it gives me an idea about what the real world’s going to be like.”
Today, May will not only be back in the surreal life of athletics, he’ll be in the spotlight, honored as second-rated Nebraska’s lone senior before a 2 p.m. dual against No. 17 Oklahoma. May’s match will be his last at the NU Coliseum, something he claims isn’t foremost in his mind.
“I’d rather not think about it because it’s not going to change anything,” May said. “I have to wrestle a match, and it’s a conference match, so I want to focus on winning before I concentrate on any sort of emotional feelings about it being my last dual.
“Maybe it will hit me afterward, but my mom and dad will make a big deal about it. My sister’s been calling me all week asking if I’m nervous. That’s the tough part.”
May has had to scrap quite a bit in the first three months of the season, going 15-8 and clinging to No. 20 in the national rankings in his weight class.
But he enters today’s dual with a little bit of momentum, having knocked off Mark Ellis with a late takedown last Saturday to spark the Huskers to a 22-13 win against 11th-ranked Missouri.
That victory started a five-match Husker win streak, but coach Mark Manning said it may have done as much good for May as it did for the team.
“He’s important. We have 10 bullets to fire at the Big 12s and the nationals, and Jon’s a guy who can score a lot of points for us,” Manning said.
“Getting that win probably gave him a little boost of confidence, and when he wrestles his best is when he’s confident. We need to have him wrestling his best here in March. He’s in a weight class where he can do well, and we believe in him.”
That’s something that May wants, too.
“I’m trying to set my sights high,” May said. “It was a nice win, but it was there for the moment and now it’s gone, so move along. Next match is up.
“I want to be a national champion, either myself or as part of this team, and I can’t afford to have anything take my focus off that.”
After nationals, however, it might be back to the real world.
“I’ll be taking a break, that’s for sure. Maybe check out some concerts … taking it easy. Maybe I’ll have to get a job,” May says, laughing heartily.
“I’ve sent my resume out, and I’ll probably head back to Minnesota, move back to the Twin Cities. I’ve got a girlfriend back there who probably expects me to run back there as soon as the semester’s over, but I don’t know. That’s a long way off.”
Briefly
* A win today would give the Huskers a 3-0 mark in Big 12 duals and put them one win from sweeping the conference for the first time. NU’s last dual of the season is Feb. 24 at Iowa State.
* In a 37-4 victory in a dual against Trinity on Saturday, Division III’s Springfield College (Mass.) became only the fourth NCAA program to earn a 900th dual meet victory, joining Division I powers Iowa State, Oklahoma State and Oregon State. Springfield’s most notable alum is Jeff Blatnick, a 1984 Olympic gold medalist and a former assistant coach at Nebraska.
Reach Karl Vogel at 473-7432 or kvogel@journalstar.com.