Douglas to Minot St.

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Douglas to Minot St.

Sports

Wednesday, 13 July 2011 12:26

News-Gazette Photos/Andrew Sullivan

Josh Douglas, seated between his parents, Shannon and Phil Douglas, signed a wrestling scholarship to Minot State University in North Dakota at Celebration High. Standing are Storm assistant coach Eric Scrivens (left) and head coach Vic Lorenzano.

1st Storm wrestler to earn D-1 grant

By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor
Josh Douglas played baseball for nine years, but wrestling is the sport that earned him a college scholarship.
Douglas signed his letter-of-intent to Minot State University, located in Minot, N.D., where he will compete for Coach Robin Ersland.
Douglas, who recently graduated from Celebration High, became the first Storm wrestler to earn a wrestling scholarship.

“I played baseball, but I got tired of losing, on depending on teammates,” Douglas said. “I like wrestling because it’s something you do on your own. If you are good enough, you can be a champion.”
Douglas blossomed under Storm Coach Vic Lorenzano, who took over the program when Douglas was a junior.
“At first, I was a little bit nervous because some of the things he was saying sounded a bit crazy,” Douglas said. “It was a lot different from the way it was. I don’t think I’ve had a day off in two years, but I loved going to practice because I’m always looking for ways to improve myself.”

Celebration’s Josh Douglas defeated Osceola’s E.J. Jiminez at the Kowboy Kup tournament in December, setting the stage for a school-record 52-win season that saw Douglas place fifth statewide in Class 2A.

Douglas set school records with 52 wins, eight tournament victories and district and regional championships last season.
He competed at 119 pounds and placed fifth at the Class 2A state meet in Lakeland. He nearly upended the eventual champion in the second round before losing 4-3 in overtime.
“It was tough to come back after that match because I was tired and sore,” Douglas said.
He got a late start to his wrestling career, beginning as an eighth-grader at Horizon Middle School.
It didn’t take him long to adopt a wrestler’s mentality.
“It’s tough. It’s a sport where you can break your arm,” he said. “That’s what I like about it.”
Ersland is familiar with good Osceola County wrestlers. Two decades ago, he recruited Frank Cousins Sr. out of Gateway High when Lorenzano coached there. Cousins Sr. was good, and his son, Frank Cousins Jr., was better, winning two state championships for St. Cloud High in 2009-10. He is now competing at the University of Wisconsin.
“Coach Ersland had a laugh about that one. He is a Hall of Fame coach, who coached at Iowa in the 1970s and later at California University of Pennsylvania with great success,” Lorenzano said.
The Celebration coach said Douglas has set a high bar for the Storm wrestlers.
“It’s a milestone for our program to have our first wrestling scholarship. Josh is an untapped pool of talent and skills. In the last 15 months he has launched himself to an elite level as a wrestler and athlete,” Lorenzano said. “His training regimen is unmatched at school, as well as his dedication and work ethic. He sets a great example for younger kids who want to achieve state-level success and go on to college.”
Douglas said he will follow Ersland’s conditioning program and also attend the University of Iowa’s Intensive Training Camp to stay in shape before he reports in August.
He expects to compete at 125 pounds, he said.
He also knows that he had better pack a warm summer coat.
“I’ve never lived up north, but I have a lot of relatives who have,” he said.
He also may want to take a life preserver. Much of Minot was underwater in June after the Souris River overflowed.
There were no reports of serious damage on the campus.