Clif Decius admits he could have done better, the Florida A&M University freshman placed second during the first wrestling match of his collegiate career.
The freshman from North Miami High school lost the tournament Saturday during a close match to a returning national placer and all American junior from the University of Central Florida.
"It was a great opportunity to represent the only HBCU wrestling team in the nation," Decius said.
Decius won one match 10-8 and the following match 11-6. The final match was close, Decius believes that getting his cardio and endurance to a higher level could enhance his next performance.
Head coach Frederick Simmons was excited to have someone participate in the Division two Darton College Cavalier Open.
Simmons says that the team is trying to get better everyday and that they hope to continue their streak of qualifying for Nationals since 2002.
"The team is trying to get better everyday and we hope to continue our streak of qualifying for Nationals every year since 2002," Simmons said.
In addition to maintaining a grade point average above a 3.0, Decius also supports his team through community service and fund raisers.
The FAMU Women's and Men's wrestling team is hosting a Women's self defense course free of charge on Wednesday, November 19th from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m at the Campus Recreational Center, donations will be accepted to assist the wrestling team in their efforts to participate in the National competition in Dallas Texas.
Yen Lam, a third-year occupational therapy student at FAMU says that a self defense training course hosted by the wrestling team is a great idea given the high rate of attacks on college campuses.
"Women are less muscular than men but wrestling exposes one to learn techniques that help them get out of dangerous positions with no muscle," Lam said.
She believes the training course will be extremely beneficial to the students of the university and will help provide some funds for the Wrestling team for Nationals.
For more information about the Women's Self-Defense course contact the Campus Recreation Center at (850) 599-3785 or famu_wrestling@yahoo.com