Wrestling isn't an exact science but Ypsilanti senior Greg Egbert has a way of dissecting his opponents.
"I like to ride their legs and put pressure on their hips," Egbert said. "The move I use is called the guillotine where I like to take the head and bend it in half."
His favorite way to win a match is to technical fall his opponent. This is when a wrestler goes up by 15 points or more in a match and the match is stopped. For team scoring the team gets five points for a technical fall which is one less than the six points for a pin.
As for the individual regionals this season, Egbert was 50-0 on the season. Most of the wins have come at the one hundred and nineteen-pound weight class. Six wins this season have been at 125 and about five wins have been at 130.
Last year Egbert finished third in the state in his weight class. He made it to the state meet and was defeated in his first match.
"The kid caught me in a throw," Egbert said. "I was really nervous about being at the Palace (of Auburn Hills) and having my family there."
He said his family has been watching him at all his meets this season and he wants to make sure that doesn't happen again. The person who beat him last year was defeated in the next round. The two wrestlers who finished ahead of him in the state have both graduated.
Egbert is very serious about wrestling and trains all year long. Aside from high school wrestling he wrestles freestyle and Roman Greco as well.
"I love to wrestle and I love to stay in shape," he said. "I usually go on runs for 30 to 40 minutes every day and I don't like to be out of shape."
For him eating healthy comes natural and his family eats a lot of fish and chicken. His brother's name is Sam and he is 16 and plays baseball and his sister Shannon is 10 and is into gymnastics. Egbert's father, Scott, is very into wrestling and watching him compete and his mother, Pam, loves to see him win and compete.
Egbert's favorite class in high school is a construction class that is taught by Mr. (John) Engel and (David) Good. He wants very much to wrestle in college where he plans to study drafting and AutoCAD.
Currently he isn't sure where is he will be attending school.
Egbert has been wrestling since the seventh grade and teammate Ben Hand (171) has been right along side of him most of the way. Coach Claudell Ruffin will get on the mat with and Coach James Kelley will put on the shoes and gear and go with Hand.
"Ruffin is a monster from head to toe," he said. "An animal out of the shoot. My coaches are wonderful but I have never been able to beat them."
Ypsilanti wrestling Coach Claudell Ruffin has been very impressed with Egbert.
"I have seen him since the eighth grade and he is very intense," Ruffin admits. "He is a special kid and one of the most talented kids I have ever coached."
Ruffin said that Egbert is one of the captains on the team and really helps the young kids grow.
"He loves to wrestle and he loves to better himself," he said. "He is always working out hard and trying to get better."
Egbert is currently 50-0 and made it to the Division 2 State meet at the Palace of Auburn Hills beginning March 6. He earned his way to the finals by taking first at the regional meet on Saturday with a 3-0 record.
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