The Athlete of the Week is standout senior wrestler Paul Bewak, who earned the number six seed in the NCAA Men’s D-III Wrestling Championship in the 125-pound weight class. The News-Letter asked him a number of questions about his career at Hopkins and the ways in which he has trained and prepared for his final championship quest.
News-Letter: Why did you choose Hopkins? What has been your favorite part about our school over your four years here?
Paul Bewak: From my first visit in October there was something about Hopkins that just really appealed to me. I thought campus was beautiful, the first people I met were friendly and the professors seemed so excited about the material (at the department meetings for prospective students) that it got me excited about a topic I’d never heard of before. Academically and athletically I like to think back to how I acted, the work I did and just see how everything has changed since then. Seeing how much I’ve progressed as a student athlete thanks to Hopkins has made all the struggling times worthwhile to me.
N-L: You are making your fourth straight appearance in the wrestling championships. What types of things have you been focusing on in order to improve off of impressive seventh place finishes as a freshman and junior?
PB: I think back on all of my matches, especially to the loses, and tell myself exactly what went wrong and what went right. I have to use my past experiences to help guide my future actions so I don’t make the same mistakes again. Between that and just day-to-day hard work and pushing myself, I feel prepared to perform better than I have in the past.
N-L: How have you grown as a wrestler since coming to Hopkins? Which people have been most influential to your development?
PB: I’ve definitely gotten a lot stronger and filled into my weight class since freshmen year, seeing as how my natural weight went from about 120 to 135 in 4 years. I’ve also furthered my main techniques as well as gotten comfortable in many situations that I would always shy away from in high school.
N-L: You are the most successful wrestler at Hopkins of all time and rank second in centennial conference history with 129 victories. What do you think has made you so successful at the college level?
PB: The work ethic and mentality that I developed in high school are the biggest reasons I have had so much success. I learned to push and better myself every single day, little by little, until I reached my goals and then set higher goals and continued the pattern. This sport is extremely mental, and having the fortitude to handle the grind of the season as well as balance an academically challenging school was never easy, but I’ve learned how to deal well with pressure and struggle.
N-L: What words of advice or encouragement would you give to the younger athletes on the team?
PB: If you ever find yourself thinking “Is this worth it?,” “Do I want to go the extra mile and run sprints when no one is looking?” or anything along those lines — without a doubt in my mind it is worth every single second of the misery you put yourself through to make yourself stronger. I like to live by the quote “Pain is temporary but pride is forever” because no matter how much it might hurt, your body can handle anything you put it through, and after some amount of time that pain will fade away and turn into the strength you need to accomplish anything you want in life, and those accomplishments can never be taken away from you.
N-L: Following your graduation, what will you miss most about college wrestling?
PB: I will miss my team more than anything. Every year when the seniors leave it sucks because the sport makes you into a family more so than a team.
The Wrestling Championships begin Friday, March 13 in Hershey, Pa. Bewak will look to take his 29-5 mark on the season into championship play and potentially bring home the title in his weight class.
