Watching his cousins, drenched in sweat beneath the focused lights of a wrestling ring, do battle, Jon May made up his mind as a child that he would be a wrestler too.
"When I was little and I'd go watch my cousins wrestle, they'd always seem so big," May said. "It would always seem like they were giants."
Wrestling in high school was a dream come true for May. Now, going into his last year of college and wrestling for a team like Nebraska, the dream is still growing.
"As I grew up, I started having more and more success with it," May said. "Then a lot bigger schools recruited me for wrestling than for football."
One of those schools pulling him away from his home in Hutchinson, Minn., was Nebraska. After coming to Lincoln, May worked himself into a solid wrestler and sure starter for the Cornhuskers.
"He's really worked the last few years about getting better," NU Coach Mark Manning said. "He's really strong for his weight class."
As one of two Husker heavyweights, the 285-pound May has battled back from a knee injury he suffered nearly a year ago.
"His outlook was good. He was wrestling good. Then (the injury) put him out for the year," Manning said. "It wasn't pleasant for him."
The injury cut into part of May's senior season, but May said he is hopeful that he can finish what he started last winter.
"It definitely makes you appreciate what you've got going and you don't really take things for granted," May said. "It makes you realize that when you're out there, you just need to keep working."
Though May has worked himself back into a starting role, Manning said getting back to where he was before the injury would take more than just physical training.
"I think he's got to fully recover confidence-wise," Manning said. "He needs to mentally get over the hump."
The senior will get his chance in this weekend's Las Vegas Invitational as he starts in his second tournament of the year.
"He's got a lot of good people in his weight class. Honestly, Jon could get first, he could get eighth," Manning said. "We're preparing for first."
May said he's confident in his abilities and the work that he put in during the off-season.
"We have just as much of a competitive (wrestling) room as anywhere in the country," May said. "I know that every single day I come in here, the coaches are going to get the best out of me."
Manning said this weekend's tournament will give May a good idea of how far he's come, and where he has yet to go for the rest of the season. He added that the team has put a lot of time and effort into developing NU's heavyweight class, and he expects good things from May this year.
"We're pushing to be the best at that weight class," Manning said. "We have a freshman who is a great complement for Jon."
May said he believes the key to getting back to full strength is his ability to block out the injury and push forward one day at a time. Both Manning and May said aggressiveness is important for May's success.
"When he forces his will on his opponent, Jon May's really, really good," Manning said. "He's going to be hard to beat; we're hoping for good things this weekend."
DAVEHOUFEK@DAILYNEBRASKAN.COM
