Wake up. Wrestle. Go to school. Wrestle again. Go to sleep. Repeat.

These are the steps it takes to be a great wrestler. To be one of the best in the world, it has to be your life. That is what senior Bo Nickal has made it while proving this summer at the 2013 Cadet World Wrestling Championships that he is a dominant force in the world of wrestling.

“His dedication to the sport has been unparalleled,” Bo’s father, Jason Nickal, said. “He practices more than any individual I have ever seen, and he spends more time preparing than anybody else. There are weekends where his friends are going to concerts or movies or just to hang out while he is working or preparing for events.”

The 2013 Cadet World Wrestling Championships took place in Serbia from Aug. 20-25. The best wrestlers in the world from 10 weight classes and two styles, freestyle and Greco- Roman, poured into Serbia for the five-day competition. Bo represented the United States after winning the world team trials in Ohio.

“I was pretty excited [to go to worlds] because the year before I got second at the trials,” Bo said. “I wanted to go pretty bad, and this was my last year in this age division, so I was pretty happy and excited.”

In 2013 Nickal had a new mindset while competing. When he arrived at the trials he knew what was going to come his way, and he said that was the biggest difference between qualifying and barely missing the cut in 2012.

“It was probably more mental,” Bo said. “Last year was my first time, and so I was just more prepared for what [the competition] was about.”

After his hand was lifted in victory in Ohio, the unfamiliarity of wrestling overseas set in. Bo has wrestled from coast to coast in the states, but the trip to Serbia was his first competition against international opponents.

“It was hard not knowing what to expect because I had never been [to Serbia] before,” Bo said. “You go out there, and you don’t really know how those guys compete or what their styles are.”

Nickal’s weight class competed on the last day, so he had to watch four days of wrestling before getting on the mat himself. Jason said he believes the down time initially hurt Bo when his time to compete came.

“I think just the anticipation and nerves got to him, but once he started wrestling and realized that they put their shoes on the same way he does, he started wrestling a little bit better,” Jason said.

Bo won his first match against Takashi Ishiguro of Japan but then fell to the eventual gold medal winner Batyrbek Tcakulov of Russia. By international wrestling rules Bo would not be knocked out until Tcakulov lost a match. With Tcakulov advancing to the finals, Bo was able to stay alive and win two matches to advance to the bronze medal match where he lost to Iranian Ali Mojerloo. Bo came in fifth place out of 24 wrestlers in the 76 kilogram (167 pounds) division.

“I was pretty disappointed because I felt like I didn’t wrestle my best match, and the guy I lost to first was from Russia, and he was decent,” Bo said. “He went on to win the whole thing, but I felt like I could have beaten him.”

Whether or not Tcakulov would advance was not something Bo focused on. He said with advice from those around him, he stayed prepared to wrestle at anytime.

“I was just watching [Tcakulov] getting mentally ready to wrestle,” Bo said. “My coaches and parents were telling me to stay ready because he was going to make it to the finals. So I just expected him to and just kept telling myself I was going to wrestle no matter what.”

Bo was the third consecutive participant that Allen has sent to the championships. Last year Jack Bass competed in the 69 kilogram (152 pounds) division, and the year before Oliver Pierce competed at 69 kilograms as well. Wrestling coach Jerry Best said having participants at the world level not only betters the wrestler personally, but it also helps the wrestling program as a whole.

“It gives you a lot of notoriety, and it gives the team a lot of notoriety because this is the third year in a row we have had a kid compete on the world team at the cadet level,” Best said. “Anytime you can get that type of press, it’s a great deal.”

His performance at the world championships has already begun to open more doors for Bo and his wrestling career. Later this year he will be competing in France at the 39th Henri Deglane Memorial and will participate in a training camp in Ukraine in order to prepare.

“I feel like exposing yourself and getting as much of that competition is really good because you can wrestle people from the U.S. every day, but if you get the opportunity to go overseas and compete over there, then that is a great experience,” Bo said.

After what he considers a poor performance in Serbia, Bo said that he is now more driven for the future and focused on maximizing his ability as a wrestler.

“Looking back realizing I could have won gold is disappointing, but it’s nice to know if I wrestle to my potential, then I can win gold,” Bo said. “It just gives me more motivation.”

story by Jarret Rogers // sports editor