Senior Spotlight: Bubba Gritter

By John Denny
Sports Information Student Assistant

Bubba Gritter fell short of his goals during his sophomore season, giving him the motivation for his breakout junior year.

Gritter finished his sophomore season with a 21-14 record and a third-place finish in the Mid-American Conference tournament.  In his junior year, Gritter earned a MAC championship and a berth into the NCAA tournament where he finished fifth and earned All-America honors.

“I didn’t accomplish my goals my sophomore year,” said the Grandville senior.  “I sat down with coach and we came up with new ones that I worked on everyday.”

Now in his senior season, Gritter is currently 23-4 overall, has been named MAC Wrestler of the Week and has been consistently ranked among the nation’s top-10 in his weight class.

CMU wrestling coach Tom Borrelli said that Gritter’s transition is an indication of the type of person Gritter is.

“Bubba had a tough sophomore year,” said Borrelli.  “After that he could’ve gone either direction and become de-motivated or he could ramp up his efforts.  That decision has led to a lot of his success.”

Gritter’s extra work involved adding more competition to his summer schedule and not taking any time off.  He entered more freestyle tournaments than in the past and started gaining confidence.  Gritter also learned some important lessons along the way.

“It really is the work that you put in in practice,” said Gritter.  “It’s a mental thing, having a mental edge and knowing that you have that mental edge.”

That confidence overlaps into the team aspect of wrestling as well.

“You wrestle for yourself, but it’s a team outcome,” said Gritter.  “We all have confidence in each other, that if we take care of our business everyone else will too.”

Gritter says his mental edge comes from working hard in practice and knowing he’s out worked the other guy on the mat.  The extra effort Gritter put in was evident to his teammates as well.

“He put in extra work outside of practice,” said teammate Luke Smith.  “He made more of a commitment.  That showed he wanted to get better.  Failing to qualify for nationals and watching his teammates compete at that level made him want it more.”

Combined, these things have given Gritter a big head of steam as his senior season winds down.  His ultimate goal is to win the NCAA Tournament.  Now, Gritter feels that he has the tools, confidence and experience to do that.

“I know what it takes now,” said Gritter.  “I know what the level of competition is and how big the crowd is going to be.”

That experience makes Gritter one of the most important leaders on the team heading into last few weeks of the 2008 season.

“I try to lead by example and keep the mood light,” said Gritter.  “I think that if I’m focused, the other guys see that and it helps everyone.”