Feb. 28, 2005

The story of Darren McKnight starts in the Brazilian rainforest on the coast of the Amazon, called Manaus, where his parents grew up and met each other. McKnight grew up in Chattanooga, Tenn., listening to stories about their taking baths in the Amazon and boats to their school. The tales they tell about their experiences are some of McKnight's favorites, and their experiences have intrigued him so much, he wants to visit Brazil someday.

His father had always wanted to wrestle, but in the Brazilian rainforest, there wasn't an opportunity for him to do so. His father participated in the sports they had instead, making the most of what was available.

It was a trait that was instilled in McKnight at a young age.

McKnight loves all sports, including basketball and baseball, which he participated in when he was younger. When he was in fifth grade, an announcement was made over the intercom about a youth wrestling league the school was starting. He took the opportunity, attended the first practice, and found the sport he loved and has excelled at ever since.

McKnight was state champion his sophomore through senior years in high school, and although all three championships are great, the first was his best experience at this point in his wrestling career.

"I won a close match in overtime that was voted best match of the tournament, and it was an all-time high for me," said McKnight. "The two state championships after that were nice, but they just can't compare to that first one."

McKnight was also a participant on various national teams, but Tennessee is not a state known for being strong on the national wrestling circuit, so he didn't benefit from the best coaches at national meets and didn't have any standout performances.

When the time came to choose a college, McKnight was made aware of another crossroad in his life that passed through Manaus, Brazil. This one involves MSU wrestling coach Tom Minkel and his father, a South American geographer.

When Minkel was in high school, his father took him to Manaus for part of his summer vacation. At the time, Manaus was the rubber capital of the world.

Years later, when McKnight and Minkel were on the phone during a recruiting talk, they happened to get on the subject of where McKnight's parents were from. When McKnight mentioned Manaus, there was an instant connection between the two. Now McKnight is a junior with the MSU squad.

McKnight also has a healthy work ethic that he brought with him to Michigan State and uses to excel on the mat. He's quick to point out that he's not the strongest or fastest athlete, so he defeats his more athletic opponents by outworking them. McKnight is the first to get to practice, the last to leave, and sets the standard for the team to follow. It's a role he's very comfortable with, being someone the team looks to emulate.

His success on the mat in competition shows how his hard work has paid off.

McKnight weighing in at 149 pounds, is nationally ranked for the first time of his college career, currently 14th by the Amateur Wrestling News and 13th by W.I.N. Magazine/Intermat. He came in first place at the North Carolina Open, second in the MSU Open, and fourth in the EMU Open and is currently 28-10 in competition.

McKnight is ranked as high as No. 13 in some polls.

He's defeated five ranked opponents this season, including an upset of then No. 11 C.P. Schlatter to lead the Spartans past Minnesota for the first time in eight seasons. That same weekend, he defeated another top-15 wrestler, Craig Henning of Wisconsin.

McKnight has helped the wrestling team compile a 7-5-1 record overall. The team also put together the second-best start in school history with a record of 7-2-1 in their first 10 matches, including a fifth-place finish out of 59 teams at the Midland Invitational.

Part of his success is due to the fact that he no longer has to fight for a spot on the team every week, which is different than his first two years as a Spartan wrestler. He spent a lot of time the last two seasons working himself into a bundle of nerves before a match, wondering if he was going to wrestle in the next meet, and it took him out of matches before they even started.

"All I have to do is go out and wrestle, and whatever happens, happens," McKnight said. "I think not being nervous has really helped me become a better wrestler."

Having a spot on the team also makes him hungrier for national competition. Before, his college career was all about hanging on, putting himself in the position of having a spot at the end of the season so he could compete in the postseason. This year, McKnight has set much higher expectations for himself. He wants to be among the nation's elite; he wants to compete for a national title.

He's a naturally confident person, he divulged, especially when he wrestles, but his confidence has never been higher than this year, due to both the success he's enjoyed against top-20 ranked opponents and his performances of the past two years.

Another big change he's made in his approach to each meet is that he no longer worries about winning and losing. He doesn't spend time worrying about winning at the beginning of the match, he just goes out and wrestles as best he can, and waits for his opportunity to win. If he's wrestling as hard as he knows he can, the opportunity for a win will come. He relates that there are times when it comes down to the seventh and final minute before his opponent gives him an edge.

"I say `if I go out there and I wrestle for the entire length of the match, as hard as I can, the win will come'," McKnight tells himself before every match. "I think just worrying about going out there and wrestling for pride and wrestling the whole seven minutes has made me a better wrestler this year."

Having a national ranking next to his name gives him a mental edge over some of his opponents, he says. His opponents approach a match against him differently than an unranked opponent, wrestling him more carefully, often giving him victories by being too careful. They also get nervous and take themselves out of the match from the start, like McKnight confessed he had done in previous seasons. Wrestlers can't approach any opponent differently, he says, because it puts them at a disadvantage from the get-go.

"Seeing that ranking next to my name will make people wrestle me very carefully," McKnight says. "That's something that I don't do. Whether I'm wrestling the number one guy in the country or someone with a losing record, it doesn't matter. You're taking yourself out of the match before it even starts if you start worrying about the number next to the name. You've got to wrestle everybody the same."

Another value McKnight was brought up with, and has used successfully for years, is discipline, especially when it comes to balancing athletics and school.

When he reached college, McKnight wasn't sure what he wanted his major to be, and was undecided his freshman year. At first he thought he would be a wrestling coach, but didn't like the teaching or kinesiology classes he took. McKnight then took different kinds of classes over several majors to find his niche, and found he loved accounting.

McKnight is also a member of the Honors College at Michigan State, which he worked very hard to get into, taking the ACT multiple times and applying himself in high school to be able to qualify.

"I'm naturally smart; I'd have to say, but not `the smartest'. I had to work really hard to be able to reach that point," he admitted.

His discipline helps him balance school and athletics as well. "I just have to prioritize. I make sure that I get my school work done and then I can worry about what I have to put into my wrestling."

McKnight said it helps to have a quiet place he can go and study. He laughed at the thought of the amount of time he spends at the Clara Bell Smith Center. He's often there in between classes and after practice, and that helps him stay on top of his school work enough to concentrate on a big upcoming wrestling meet and not have to worry about academics for that weekend.

Wrestling at Michigan State isn't just about dominating on the mat and in the classroom for McKnight. Being an athlete also means spending time participating in community service, another carry-over from his parents. He doesn't help the community only because it was a value he was taught at a young age, however. He does it because it makes him feel good.

He has spoken at a DARE graduation at a local middle school and gone to hospitals to visit local kids that aren't as fortunate as he, but the one he enjoys speaking of the most was Toys for Teams. The program allows teams to help area families with their children's holiday wish list. He's already planning on aiding another family next year because he enjoyed it so much this season.

"Just meeting with that family and giving them those toys was better than I thought it would be. I knew it would be great, and it was awesome. I feel that I've been given so much and I've been blessed, and I need to take some of that and give back to kids that are less fortunate than I am," McKnight said. "Any opportunity that comes my way, any chance that I get, if I have time, I'm going to do it."

The Spartans close out the regular season facing Oklahoma at Jenison Field House Feb. 25. Then, McKnight will take his work ethic and discipline on the road to the Big Ten Championships in Iowa City and the NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Mo., where McKnight will surely meet with the success he's worked for all season.

By Stephani Cramer, MSU Sports Information