Mule Profile: Rob Kein
Gearing up for Nationals
Heather Fox
Issue date: 3/1/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 2 next >
|
Kein has been wrestling for 14 years but, originally, had no plans to continue on with it in college. His freshman year he ran cross-country with an intention to run throughout his college years, but he hadn't even considered wrestling when looking at colleges. He commented, "I was 100% positive that I would never wrestle again."
At the end of his 2005 cross-country season, Kein went to play racquetball, but found himself sidetracked by the wrestling practice taking place across the hall. He has remained a member of the Wrestling Team, instead of Track, ever since, and made it clear he won't be competitive again. "I'm glad I made the decision to come out for the team. I feel I would have regretted not having the college wrestling experience," said Kein. This semester Kein won three tournaments: the Monarch Invitation at King's in November, the Petrofes Invitational in December and the Centennial Conference Championships in February. He improved in all tournament performances and Conference placements from last year.
When asked what his favorite times of the season are, Kein replied, "Competition." He proved his talent and skill this year by heading to Nationals with a 17-match winning streak and overall record of 23-2.
But this season has not been without challenges. During a match against Ursinus, Kein tore the UCL in his elbow. He now wears a brace while wrestling in order to protect it. He started off the Conference Championship wearing it, but opted for no brace in the finals. Kein replied he would rather deal with the pain than wear the "large protusion" of a brace which could be easily grabbed by an opponent. He is still undecided whether or not to wrestle with the brace at Nationals. He will take an "all or nothing" approach to wearing the brace at Nationals so he can avoid being an easy, unprotected target by switching it on and off.
Despite all his years of experience wrestling, Kein still faces the challenge of making weight. Weight has always been a difficulty, and Kein tries "to cut as much weight as [he] can." His teammate, sophomore Matt Horn, said, "Somehow he always makes weight." When not worried about weight, Kein enjoys drinking Dr. Pepper.