‘Working Like A Maniac’ Has Helped U-Hi’S David Courchaine Get Ready

Wrestling progress has come painstakingly for University’s David Courchaine.

But, like former teammate Reggie Lee, Courchaine is reaping rewards in this, his senior season.

In mid-December, Courchaine finished second in the prestigious Tri-State Tournament, which is usually an indicator of post-season success.

He had previously been third in the Deer Park Tournament at 171 pounds and won the Inland Empire Classic at his normal 160-pound weight.

Tha’s remarkable for an athlete who didn’t begin wrestling until eighth grade, who was injured his freshman season and who last year saw his year come to a disappointingly quick end in the district tournament.

“What he reminds me of a little bit is Reggie Lee,” said Titan coach Don Owen. “Both are intelligent kids and both continued to improve.”

Lee made huge strides between his junior and senior years, going from a fourth-place district finisher as a junior to a once-beaten state champion as a senior.

Until this year Courchaine has never really been a Titan No. 1 wrestler, although he has lettered three years with the varsity.

Instead he has been content to fill various weight classes as Owen strategy dictated. Last year it was at 158 and 168 pounds along with Lee and regional qualifier Zack Ewers.

During districts he was beaten out in three matches - in part because he had missed practice with a staph infection, in part because he simply didn’t wrestle well.

“When it came down to it,” said Courchaine, “I didn’t work hard enough.”

Owen noticed a change in Courchaine during pre-season conditioning.

“He was working like a maniac,” said Owen. “I could just tell he was determined.”

Conditioning proved a precursor to this year’s sudden rise to prominence.

“I want to get to state,” said Courchaine. “It’s been in my mind a long time, but this is my last chance.”

Courchaine became a wrestler in the eighth grade when his coach, Brian Boardman, urged, “give me two weeks” and the North Pines Junior High youngster became hooked.

He broke his foot midway through his freshman year at U-Hi. Flings with football and baseball at U-Hi ended after his sophomore year.

“Football wasn’t fun for me anymore,” said Courchaine, “and the baseball coach looked at me wearing my (wrestling) letter jacket and said, `All your eggs are right there.’ So I went with that.”

He thought surely he would go to regionals as a junior and didn’t. He said that some freestyle wrestling has helped. But the difference between last season and this is that his moves have become instinctive.

Attitude, intelligence and the pursuit of technical perfection, says his coach, have led to success.

“To be honest, when David began he was kind of stiff. He was one of those guys whose moves didn’t flow very well,” said Owen. “He needed to learn a style of wrestling that fit him. He’s been doing those things we teach as well or better maybe than anybody in the program.”

The proof was at Tri-State, where Courchaine lost just 2-1 in the finals. He says he should have won.

“I was just too worked up for it. It was the first big tournament I’d been in that long,” he said.

But it also showed that he can attain his long-time state tournament goal.

“That tournament says I have the ability,” said Courchaine.