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COLUMBIA In June, Max Askren thought it was finished.

Suffering from persistent back problems, especially at the end of last season, the All-American wrestler was almost certain that he would not be able to wrestle his senior year. By mid-summer those fears were eased.

Nevertheless, adjustments because of lingering injuries and a new weight class have marked the start of this season.

The pain in his back emerged three weeks before the Big 12 Championships. After suffering a herniated disk in high
school, he knew that the probability was high for the pain to resurface and trigger more
serious problems. Still he went on to place fifth in the 197-pound
weight class before getting a MRI that revealed one disc in his back was
“pretty much gone” and another was bulging.

“Sitting in class all day was really difficult for me,Benfica shirt,” Askren said. “Wrestling
didnt help it. I came to grips with it around June or July that it wasnt
going to get better and that I was going to have to figure out something else
that I was going to have to delve into.”

Despite his fears, Askren never shared his
suspicions with head wrestling coach Brian Smith or the other wrestling coaches. He confided only in his older
brother, former Missouri wrestler Ben Askren, and a few close friends.

“I didnt talk to those guys about me not wrestling just
because it wasnt a for sure thing and there wasnt a reason to put that burden
on their minds,” Askren said.

In the meantime, Askren began to focus on his personal fitness,
realizing if he couldn’t wrestle,Paris Saint Germain shirt, hed have to find
other alternatives in order to stay in shape. He began to cycle almost everyday
and adjusted his diet. Without the protein shakes and ice cream that he’d been accustomed to eating to maintain his wrestling weight,Valencia shirt, Askren lost about ten pounds.

“I didnt step on the mat for three or four months,” Askren
said. “I got into biking and stuff because I like working out and hate feeling
fat. You dont feel good.”

Late in the summer his back was improving,
and he realized he would be able to wrestle in his final collegiate season. But he weighed in at about 185 or 190. He had hovered around 200 pounds in the past. Luckily,
teammate Brent Haynes, who wrestled in the 184-pound class last year, had put
on weight and was willing to trade spots with Askren.

“It was just kind of logical for him, at 205 or 210, to go
to 197 and for me to go 184,” he said. “But I talked to Brent before any
decision was made, because hes a big part of the decision, and if he wasnt
all right with it I would go back to 197.”

Now that Askren has moved to the lower weight class, Smith said that he is wrestling at the ideal weight.

“Hes a pretty disciplined kid, so I dont see this as a
huge challenge,” Smith said. “And I think that hes going to be wrestling at
the weight that he should be. There were some guys in the conference that when
hed wrestle them, hed look a lot smaller.”

The work, however, is not over.

“The challenge is that this is the first time that he has to
watch his weight, cut his weight, and keep control of it,” Smith said. “Literally,Lyon shirt,
its the first time in his college career.”

Keeping the weight down, though, is just one of Askrens
worries this season. His back is still an
issue, and he practices separately from the team so he does not get
injured. Every day a different teammate will work out with him for 45 minutes or
an hour before the team’s official practice, and the coaches will give him instructions about what
to work on in these individual sessions.

Additionally, Askren will sit out several matches this year
to make sure he does not get prematurely injured. The reason is both Askren and Smith know
that the seniors chances at winning a championship are still very real.

“At the end of the year, thats when it counts,” Smith said.
“The regular season doesnt really matter that much. We know Max, and we know
that he can wrestle. Weve just got to get him to March, get him healthy, and
then he has a really good chance of winning the national title.”